Your skin is the largest single organ in your body. It protects your delicate anatomy from the outside world. Taking care of your skin is not just an aesthetic exercise, healthy skin contributes to your overall health and can even extend your life. In this article you can find some great tips for treating your skin better.
Your skin care regime should include a healthy diet. Fresh fruits and vegetables are packed full of nutrients that will give your complexion a boost. Foods rich in Vitamin C can aid in maintaining the skin’s collagen, ensuring firmness and elasticity. Lycopene, which is found in red-colored fruits and vegetables, can help to protect the skin against damaging UV rays.
To protect your skin, you should wear sunscreen every time you plan to spend time outdoors. Sun exposure can damage your skin, leading to freckles, age spots, wrinkles, dry skin and possibly even skin cancer. Choose a sunscreen with a high SPF so that you can be sure it will provide adequate protection.
One great way to refresh your skin, especially in the summer, is to use a cotton ball soaked in witch hazel. Witch hazel is a mild herbal-based toner, low in alcohol. It will deal with the oiliness that builds up on your face on a hot summer day, but not in a drying way, and will leave your face feeling cool and refreshed
Many cosmetic companies market extra-expensive “night creams” in beautiful tiny jars. If you want the benefits of moisturizing while you sleep, save yourself some money and use a bit of the regular day cream around the skin of your eye area that you would normally use. The moisturizing benefits are the same, but your wallet will notice the difference.
When you are putting on hand cream, don’t forget to put a bit of lotion on your elbows. This easy step can help your elbows to look better and feel softer. A little bit of lotion goes a long way on the elbows. Do not overlook this part of your body, because elbows need love, too.
Although you should normally pick skin care products for your skin type, you may have been buying the wrong products for so long that your skin has become denatured. So, in order to truly know what your skin type is, sometimes you have to go back to square one. Start with a simple routine, a gentle, non-drying cleanser morning and night, toner if your skin is truly oily, and a moisturizer (again, unless you have very oily skin). After a couple of weeks of this normalizing routine, you should be in a much better position to evaluate your true skin type and can buy products that meet your skin’s true needs.
Proper skin care begins with face washing. You do not want to strip your skin of the essential oils that keep it supple and young. Using soaps can actually cause more damage than good, it is best to know your skin type and buy facial scrubs that are designed for your specific type of skin.
You can actually lose moisture in your skin during the winter months when it is cold. Make sure that you wear lots of layers, and stay warm when the weather outside is chilly. This will prevent moisture loss and also prevent chapped skin. If you are still experiencing dry weather skin, put on a heavy moisturizer right after your shower or bath to lock in the moisture.
There is little vanity involved in good skin care. It is true that well-tended skin looks more appealing, but there are much better reasons to take care of your skin than aesthetics. Using ideas like the ones presented above can keep your skin healthy, and healthy skin is your first line of defense against the dangers of the outside world.
