This week we celebrated International Women’s Day and this blog is dedicated to women over 50, because our mothers, sisters, aunties, and grandmothers play a huge roll in our lives and sometimes they too need a little help when it comes to beauty, health and style tips.

Here are just a few tips to keep you looking fabulous.

Beauty tips

1. Moisturising everyday will keep your skin looking more hydrated. As you get older your skin loses its elasticity because of hormonal changes and you need to use a richer/thicker moisturiser. Using moisturiser also helps everything applied look more flawless: your concealer, foundation, sunscreen, blush – everything.

2. Exfoliate your skin regularly to avoid it getting dry and flaky. Use a gentle exfoliator for sensitive skin and get a good scrub for your hands and feet to help you get rid of dead skin cells. You can also take a face cloth and soak it in coconut oil and use that as an exfoliator.

3. Before going to bed remove your make-up and use a rich night moisturizer if you have dry skin.

4. Lastly protect your face, neck and hands from the sun. Sun damage is the largest cause of wrinkles, sunspots and skin cancer. Find a non-greasy face moisturiser with a high UV factor and wear it come rain or shine! If you are out in the middle of the day wear a hat. Also apply your sunscreen to your hands and neck.

Health tips

1. As you get older everything you do whether it be diet, smoking, drinking, it all starts to show. Your skin doesn’t renew itself like it did when you were younger. So if you are going to do these things, do them in moderation. Cut down on your drinking and try to give up smoking for a healthier lifestyle. Also, it is very important to do regular exercise. Walking briskly is a good start.

2. Learn to start eating right. Choose healthy options with lots of vegetables and fruit. It will not only give your body the power it needs to keep you going longer, but it will also help you look good. Keep hydrated! Remember how they say you need to drink 8 glasses of water and when you were younger you didn’t really care, but it really is one of the most important things you can do for yourself.

3. Have regular check-ups with your doctor or at the clinic where they will check for things like diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure. For women it is important to have pap smears and breast checks and for men it is important to get your prostate checked.

4. Start checking your skin for any skin cancers that might occur. If you start noticing things that weren’t there before then please consult your doctor.

5. Learn to cut down on your salt intake to avoid high blood pressure, also choose the fats you consume wisely as that can impact your health greatly.

Here are some ‘super foods’ that are really good to include in your diet to keep you healthy:

Green leafed vegetables (broccoli, spinach, cabbage), nuts, oily fish (sardines, salmon, mackerel, mussels), yoghurt, cinammon, avocados, berries, eggs.

Eat brown rather than white as less refined foods are healthier:

So choose: brown rice, brown/wholewheat bread.

Cut down on processed foods, like polony (or many ready-made meals) as they often have very little nutritional value.

Cut down on sugar – especially in fizzy drinks! Check the can/or packet to see how much sugar something contains!

Healthy eating can make a world of different and make you feel a lot younger and more energetic!

Fashion tips

1. Just because you are over 50 doesn’t mean that you can’t still look good. First things first choose a hairstyle that makes you look younger. What most people don’t know is that your hair can make a huge difference to how you look overall. So for a really drastic change go to a trusted hairstylist and get them to give you a new youthful looking hairstyle. Hair gets thinner as you age so you might need to use a different shampoo to stimulate hair growth.

2. Don’t just wear baggy clothes. Baggy clothes tend to make you look older than you should, even for a young person. If you are not sure what looks good on you when clothes shopping ask an assistant or a friend to help you with finding your right size. Buy clothes that fit right, add some nice bright accessories to add the right amount of sparkle. Don’t hide behind old clothes, spoil yourself and go shopping because you will actually find more appropriate clothes and style trends that will keep you looking youthful.

3. Stop it with the black everything. You can actually look ten years younger wearing some colour than you would just sticking to black. Or if you wear black, add a pop of colour with a scarf, belt or shoes. Experiment with your colours. There is a blog I wrote on the colour wheel which you can read and learn to use colour to your advantage.

4. Once you hit a certain age you stop trying to compete with the rest of the world and this is when you should start embracing your very own personal style. I have a few blogs that I wrote a while back which can help you do just that. Body Confidence, Unique Style and Personal Style.

I hope that you found this week’s blog useful and please share it with a women of a certain age that you might know. #keepittrendy

Written by Phoebe Sibomana and Ros Haden

***

If you would like to feature on our Facebook Page, email us your best styled outfit on justtrendiblog@gmail.com

Find me on Facebook or on Twitter using the handle @JustTrendi