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Sometimes we fear the aging process and wish there was something to slow it down, at least just a little bit. Well, there is a way and it comes down largely to avoiding external environmental factors that can damage the skin.

Our skin is exposed to so many threats that many have become numb to the fact that these are the factors causing us to age just a bit faster than we would like. If you want to protect your skin, take the next couple of key issues into careful consideration and start protecting yourself.

The Sun

The sun can be warm, fun and make someone feel happy. Your skin even likes to feel its warmth. In fact, a moderate amount of daily sun exposure is very healthy. However, you must be extremely careful to limit that exposure because the sun is also the number one reason why people age faster than they should.

The sun's rays come down in three ultraviolet rays: UVC, UVB and UVA. The UVC is so far contained in the Earth's atmosphere that it doesn't reach the skin.

The other two, however, are a different story. These UV rays dry out and burn the skin, causing the cells to wrinkle. They also break down the collagen in your skin and allows free radical cells to form which cause wrinkles and can even lead to various forms of cancer.

Hot and Dry Air

The temperature of the air can cause aging problems for the skin as well. The most important part of preventing wrinkles is to keep your face moisturized. Hot air will dry your skin because it's sucking all the water from your body while dry air dries out your skin causing a breakdown of collagen while allowing free radical cells to pop up.

During harsh weather, try to drink lots of water during hot days - at least 8 glasses per day. And on cold days you should wear a scarf around your face and moisturize regularly.

Second Hand Smoke and Pollution

Second-hand smoke and pollution will cause wrinkles. Skin cells need oxygen. However, smoke and pollution will both clog the skin, and the cells subsequently are deprived of oxygen.

On another level internally, the oxygen that would normally be used to help create new cells in the skin is now being used to help the function of vital organs like the lungs.

These are just a few environmental factors that cause great damage to our skin and cause the aging process to accelerate. Sometimes it is hard to avoid these influences because of the environment in which we live.

However, you can take a few basic and necessary precautions to protect yourself. Wear sun block to avoid major sun damage. Use it liberally when your time in the sun is expected to be more than about 30 minutes. Also, realize that - surprisingly - the impact of the sun's UV rays can be most striking on cloudy days.

Additionally, moisturize your skin routinely, drink a lot of water, and do your best to avoid from second-hand smoke and other damaging pollutants in the air.