Mum-of-three shares her ‘six ways to stay young forever’

Mum-of-three Valeria Lipovetsky shares beauty and lifestyle content on her YouTube channel, where she has amassed 1.64M followers over the year. One comment she says she gets time and time again is about how youthful she looks, and this pushed her to share the six key things she does to “stay young forever”.

In a video, Valeria said: “Today I wanted to talk about ways to stay young forever. I get so many comments from people that I see that I look really young that it actually used to be such an annoying thing for me.

“I used to try so hard to look older, we all do when we are teenagers but now I really do enjoy it. Especially when people think I’m like 13 or 14 years old. I always say I invest in my skincare.” For Valeria, skincare doesn’t just encapsulate what you put on your face, but also how you look after your body.

Skincare products

Naturally, there are some skincare products which Valeria uses as part of her routine, with one ingredient, in particular, shining through as her must-have item.

“Honestly, skincare has been such a fast-paced evolving industry but there are some things that are just so so proven to help you and your skin,” she said. “One ingredient that I feel is so so crucial to start introducing into our skincare routine is retinol.

“Retinol is a vitamin A that encourages skin turnover. In your mid-20s that process starts slowing down. Also, think about hormonal charges like pregnancies – three of them.”

Some retinol products can be quite harsh on the skin at first and may result in sensitivity or dryness, so it’s important to find one which fits your skin type and routine.

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Wearing sunscreen

As well as dedicated skincare products, sunscreen is a simple but vital base you should always use on your skin. “It’s been literally proven that the number one cause for premature ageing is sun damage and ultraviolet (UV) rays,” explained Valeria. The UV rays from the sun penetrate into the skin where they then damage the elastic fibres which keep the skin firm, allowing wrinkles to develop.

Experts from Yale Medicine recommend wearing broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. “Trust me there is no one that loves basking in the sun more than this person but I slather myself in sunscreen like there is no tomorrow,” added Valeria.

“I feel like a lot of the time we are not too diligent about it so we have to make it into a religious habit. If there is a moisturiser that has an SPF in it it’s not enough.

“Honestly, double up. For me, even if I use a product that has SPF in it I want to make sure that I am so fully protected that I use another layer of specific just sunscreen.”

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Investing in skincare tools

Valeria also uses dedicated “tools” as part of her skincare routine. The YouTuber recommends using a jade roller and gua sha in the morning and at night. A gua sha is a small, smooth board which is pressed along the skin of the body and has been adapted for the face and neck. The idea is that it will release facial and muscular tension, and move lymph fluid to tone the face. A jade roller is a beauty tool that uses a cool-to-the-touch gemstone to massage the face.

Valeria said: “The lines form when we keep using the same muscles but we don’t really exercise or stretch them so these kinds of tools are really about de-bloating and keeping the elasticity.”

Getting enough sleep

During sleep, your skin’s blood flow increases, and the organ rebuilds its collagen supplies. In turn, this means your skin is able to repair some of the damage from UV exposure. With three young children to cope with, Valeria admits this is something she struggles with but is working on.

“Ideally, you want between seven and eight hours, but especially for me, I feel that I don’t get that really deep sleep anymore,” she said. “So I have started to use different things that help me ensure I have a good night’s sleep. One of the things is meditating before sleep.”

Using guided meditation allows the mum to “relax” and switch off her “busy state of mind”. Experts from Sleep Cycle cite that research has found meditation to help with sleep by reducing pain sensitivity, changing our perception of discomfort, and improving control of the autonomic nervous system, which also reduces how easily you wake up in the middle of the night.

Eating a good diet

Healthy whole foods can help to keep you looking and feeling your best. “There is so much education out there and there is honestly the same repetitive messaging you see across the board,” said Valeria. “You want to eat healthy fats for skin health, you want to make sure you get your proteins and that doesn’t have to come in animal form, there are a lot of plant-based proteins out there.”

Valeria eats a diet rich in nuts, avocados, and fish, but says she is trying to marry her “traditional way of eating with more plant-based” foods.

Boosting nutrients with supplements

She also recommends boosting your dietary intake with supplements, in particular, collagen. She explained: “If you can get all of your nutrients from your diet that’s amazing but the one thing I can attest to from personal experience is collagen supplements. I personally have been using collagen powder for the past six or seven years.”

Experts from Web MD explain studies have shown to aid stronger bones, skin hydration and elasticity, thicker hair and healthier nails. “With the collagen powder I will actually add it every morning into my coffee, just blend it and I am good to go,” said Valeria.