10 Tips for Healthy Skin
Don't have time for intensive skincare? You can
still pamper yourself by acing the basics. Good skincare and healthy lifestyle
choices can help delay natural aging and prevent various skin problems. Get
started with these five no-nonsense tips.
1. Protect yourself from the sun
One of the most important ways to take care of
your skin is to protect it from the sun. A lifetime of sun exposure can cause
wrinkles, age spots, and other skin problems — as well as increase the risk of
skin cancer.
For the most complete sun protection:
-
Use sunscreen.
Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. Apply sunscreen
generously, and reapply every two hours — or more often if you're swimming or
perspiring.
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Seek shade.
Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun's rays are strongest.
- Wear protective clothing. Cover your skin with tightly woven long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and wide-brimmed hats. Also consider laundry additives, which give clothing an additional layer of ultraviolet protection for a certain number of washings, or special sun-protective clothing — which is specifically designed to block ultraviolet rays.
2. Don't smoke
Smoking makes your skin look older and
contributes to wrinkles. Smoking narrows the tiny blood vessels in the
outermost layers of skin, which decreases blood flow and makes skin paler. This
also depletes the skin of oxygen and nutrients that are important to skin health.
Smoking also damages collagen and elastin — the
fibers that give your skin strength and elasticity. In addition, the repetitive
facial expressions you make when smoking — such as pursing your lips when
inhaling and squinting your eyes to keep out smoke — can contribute to
wrinkles. These Nicotine Patches to Quit Smoking will help you stop smoking.
In addition, smoking increases your risk of
squamous cell skin cancer. If you smoke, the best way to protect your skin is
to quit. Ask your doctor for tips or treatments to help you stop smoking.
3. Treat your skin gently
Daily cleansing and shaving can take a toll on
your skin. To keep it gentle:
- Limit bath time. Hot water and long showers or baths remove oils from your skin. Limit your bath or shower time, and use warm — rather than hot — water. Here’s this Moroccan Kessa.
- Avoid strong soaps. Strong soaps and detergents can strip oil from your skin. Instead, choose mild cleansers.
- Shave
carefully. To protect and lubricate your skin, apply
shaving cream, lotion, or gel before shaving. For the closest shave, use a clean,
sharp razor. Shave in the direction the hair grows, not against it.
- Pat dry.
After washing or bathing, gently pat or blot your skin dry with a towel so that
some moisture remains on your skin.
- Moisturize
dry skin. If your skin is dry, use a moisturizer that fits
your skin type. For daily use, consider a moisturizer that contains SPF.
4. Eat a healthy diet
A healthy diet can help you look and feel your
best. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. The
association between diet and acne isn't clear — but some research suggests that
a diet rich in fish oil or fish oil supplements and low in unhealthy fats and
processed or refined carbohydrates might promote younger-looking skin. Drinking
plenty of water helps keep your skin hydrated. This product may help you as
Dietary Supplement.
5. Manage stress
Uncontrolled stress can make your skin more sensitive and trigger acne breakouts and other skin problems. To encourage healthy skin — and a healthy state of mind — take steps to manage your stress. Get enough sleep, set reasonable limits, scale back your to-do list and make time to do the things you enjoy. The results might be more dramatic than you expect. Use these foot pads
6. Exercise
‘Outdoor exercise will get your blood circulating and give your skin a healthy glow. It’ll keep you drinking lots of water too,’ say skin Consultants Dermatologist, ‘The physical activities we undertake impact every aspect of our life from sleep to posture, and even mental wellbeing, all of which affect how we look. Exercise is a fantastic way to enhance the appearance of your skin because it helps all of the other bodily functions and systems run at their best.
7. Invest in skincare with Vitamin C
There’s a shed load of research to back up the
benefits of vitamin C when applied topically. For starters, it helps your skin
to fight free radical damage. Unfamiliar with free radicals? Let’s break it
down. A type of short-lived molecule known as a photon, they’re generated by UV
light and pollution and have lost an electron, which makes them unstable and
able to damage DNA, proteins and lipids in your skin leading to premature skin
aging.
Vitamin C has the unique ability to donate an
electron to a free radical thus stabilizing it so that it’s unable to cause
harm. It also aids collagen production because its acidity triggers the skin
into healing itself. The main protein found in skin, collagen is the good guy
responsible for maintaining support, suppleness, and elasticity of the skin.
8. Always cleanse before bed
Granted, you may be wearing less make-up these days, but that doesn’t mean you can forgo cleansing on the occasions where you do bother to wear it. Why? Leaving make-up and dirt on skin doesn't just clog pores; it can cause excessive dryness and even breakouts.
'Most make-up contains a sugar-type molecule that
can grow yeast overnight,' Don't forget to thoroughly remove eye make-up too.
'It can lead to bumpy rashes around the eyes or small white bumps called milia
cysts.
09. Clean your makeup brushes
A British study found that 72% of women never
wash their brushes or sponges, even though they collect dirt and bacteria which
can cause breakouts – not what you want when you're trying to get better skin.
'You should wash loose powder brushes every two to three weeks, and those used
to apply foundation once a week,' says Wu.
Mix a couple of drops of gentle facial cleanser
or shampoo and lukewarm water in a cup, swish your brushes around, rinse with
lukewarm water, pat dry, and lay flat to air dry.
10. Use a jade roller
'Fluid fills up under our eyes each night because we're lying down. When we wake, this fluid leads to those dreaded puffy eye bags. The best way to reduce them? Reach for a jade roller, they’ve has been revered for centuries due to their powerful skin-awakening benefits. Gently massage the roller over the contours of your face to kick your lymph flow into gear and drain any fluid build-up from under your eyes and along your jaw.
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