Our skin can be pretty needy sometimes. Giving it the most amount of love and care possible can sometimes require research, as well as paying plenty of attention to our own bodies.
There’s a number of easy things we can do right now to help--including several things we should not do.
In this article, we’ll give you plenty of the best skin-care tips for how to keep your skin nice and healthy, as well as bring awareness to the skincare rumors that you might have heard over the years.
Skin Care Do’s
Some things are an absolutely essential part of a good skin care routine, and becoming more familiar with the things you can do to improve your skin health can help you achieve the skin of your dreams. Skincare do’s include:
See A Skin Therapist
Some people are unaware that skin therapists even exist, making this important to bring up early. Skin therapists are licensed professionals specializing in skin health. They can tell you exactly what type of skin you have and which types of products or medication will best suit you and your unique needs.
Drink Plenty of Water
Water keeps you healthy and hydrated on the inside, and our skin can benefit, too. Our skin needs plenty of moisture and hydration to thrive, but it loses water periodically throughout the day. Making sure to drink plenty of water ensures that your skin stays resilient and even reduces the chances of wrinkles.
Use Face Masks
Face masks are excellent for cleaning out your pores–at least on your face that is. If you have sensitive or dry skin and you notice pain or redness when removing a mask, certain face masks may not be for you.
Masks can contain active ingredients for blackheads and acne maintenance, glowing skin, a more even complexion, or improvement of your skin barrier. There is a wide variety of household ingredients that have proven to be successful in cleaning and healing skin and making it feel comfortable afterward.
Believe it or not, using combinations of egg whites, olive oil, vinegar, honey, charcoal, or coffee grounds can be very healthy. The ingredients that are ideal for you depend upon your skin type and whether or not you have any allergies.
Oily skin and sensitive skin have different needs, for example.
Eat Whole Foods
Some foods are particularly healthy for your skin if you eat them consistently enough. These foods are filled with antioxidants or sometimes omega-3 fatty acids that are great to work into most diets.
You may notice not only will your skin clear up or feel better, but you will feel energized overall. These foods include nuts, beans, fish high in fat, spinach, and other green vegetables, tomatoes, avocados, berries, carrots, apricots, oranges, and bananas.
Obviously, if you are allergic to any of these, you should avoid them, but it is important to treat everything in moderation, even if you are not.
Invest In Essential Oils
Essential oils are an easy product to begin working into your daily routine to expect quick results. They can always moisturize and soothe your skin, but they are even known to bring healing and potentially prevent various types of skin diseases.
Performing a soothing facial massage with calming oils can help boost circulation, but it is best to consult a professional to determine which oils might work for you.
Skin Care Don'ts
In the same way that some activities can help support your skin health, other activities may be doing you more harm than good.
When aiming to improve your skin, try to avoid doing the following:
Showering too much
Don’t get too lazy and forget to wash off that sweat, dirt, and grime you built up throughout the day or at the gym. An effective cleansing routine is a key component of healthy skin, but you may not realize that our outer layer of skin hosts a wide variety of bacteria and organisms.
Some of these bacteria and germs do need to be dealt with. Our skin, however, is equipped with certain antibodies that help to take care of the unwanted dirt and bacteria naturally. If we shower too much, then we risk ridding ourselves of this protection.
In the process of showering and drying off, there is also the possibility that we are provoking dehydration and tightness in our skin, which can contribute to fine lines.
Stress
Okay, yes, it’s obviously so much easier said than done. But the truth of the matter is that our body can physically react to too much stress.
Gray hairs and wrinkles can indeed exist due to stress, and the same goes for pimples. The oils that our body excretes cause acne, and stress management methods may help prevent this.
Guesswork
Be very careful with your skin! It can be resilient and strong, but if you don’t listen to it then you can end up damaging it or even causing diseases. It is always best to do plenty of research and seek professional advice before trying new skin-care products on yourself.
Your skin type should drive your decision-making process for every product and even for how you exfoliate. Improper care or rough exfoliation could lead to scarring and irritation.
Overdo Products/Sunlight
Some skin types cannot handle too many products in one cream or lotion and become irritated or damaged as a result.
On the other hand, SPF is one of the safest lotions available and essential for healthy skin. You should always wear sunscreen during sun exposure to prevent UVA and UVB rays from damaging your skin.
Remember: soaking up that sun is nice and healthy and a good source for plenty of vitamins, but too much of it and you can be at risk of skin cancer. Tanning, for this reason, has been deemed “nearly useless” by most specialists.
While the vitamins the sun provides are essential, looking tanner does not hold any benefits.
Conclusion
Skin care is a great way to keep your skin looking young and healthy, and there are a variety of tips that can help you take better care of your skin.
Next time you are on the hunt for new serums, sheet masks, toners, or eye creams, do your best to hone in on products formulated for your skin type.
Leading a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and good personal hygiene can work wonders for your skin and overall health, and when in doubt, it never hurts to consult a professional.
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Sources:
Do Face Masks Really Work? The Magic Behind Face Masks | Penn Medicine
The best foods for healthy skin | Mayo Clinic
Commercial Essential Oils as Potential Antimicrobials to Treat Skin Diseases | NCBI
Don't fall for these skin myths | Harvard Health
