Skin Care
Your skin is your body’s biggest organ, and it shields the rest of your body from dirt, germs, and other daily danger of the outside world, given that it has such a vital job to do, taking good care of your skin is a major part of protecting your overall health!
If you have sensitive skin or are nervous about using a lot of artificial chemicals in your skincare routine, there are lots of gentle, natural options you can turn to. Take care of your skin by cleaning and moisturizing it daily and using gentle products like plant oil and colloidal oatmeal.
Good skin care and healthy lifestyle choices can help delay natural aging and prevent a variety of skin problems. Get started with these five no-nonsense tips.
Tips Proper Routine
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.
- 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 (one of the most abundant proteins in the body) — 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.
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.
- 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.
Therefore, 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.
Also use a vitamin C serum for brighter skin. As skin ages, collagen production dwindles, causing the skin to lose its elasticity. Vitamin C topicals help brighten your skin tone and a combination of topical and oral Vitamin C can help boost collagen production, potentially helping minimize wrinkles and fine lines. People with especially dry skin can benefit from layering a serum with a moisturizer.
5. Manage stress
Also, 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.
Finally, taking care of your physical body is good for you mental health. The mind and body interact and influence one another in complex ways. Physical illness can make managing your mental well-being more difficult. Stress, lack of energy, Poor sleep, and other problems can also take a toll on how you feel mentally