Taking Care of our Skin

By Cristine Sphan


Genetic and environmental factors will cause a lot of wear and tear to your skin throughout your life. But you are never too young or too old to start taking care of your skin. In fact, skin care and protection should be an essential part of your health, fitness, and beauty regime.

Damage prevention is the first step of skin care. Sun, wind, pollutants, and simply aging can degrade the condition of your skin. Common complaints include dry and itchy skin, wrinkles, sagging, and age spots. Below are some steps that you can take to keep your skin looking and feeling its best:

Good nutrition, exercise and rest are the foundations upon which you build beautiful, healthy skin -- inside and out. For your skin to maintain and repair cells, it requires vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. A proper diet helps to ensure this, and is good for your overall health. Drink plenty of water. Your body needs water to hydrate the skin and move waste and nutrients through the system.

Protecting your skin from the damaging rays of the sun is the most important way to care for your skin. Wrinkles, premature aging, age spots, and cancer can all be a result of damaging ultraviolet radiation. Use sunscreen to make sure your skin is not exposed to the sun's rays. But don't use too much. A bit of sunshine every day is good for your skin.

As we age, dry skin is even more common. There are more sweat and oil glands in younger skin than in older skin. Dry skin may be caused by frequent baths, certain cosmetics or medications. If possible, cut back on the number of baths or showers each week, and avoid using harsh soaps when bathing. Try using a natural, mild soap that does not contain any dyes or perfumes, when you do use soap. Moisturize after bathing. Keep skin healthy by continuing to moisturize throughout the day. You may need to moisturize your hands and face several times because they are particularly susceptible to daily damage.

Create a Routine for your Skin

Base a skin care routine on your daily activities, skin type, and nutritional needs, to be sure you are caring for your skin in the best way possible. You can also more closely evaluate your skin for abnormalities when you follow a daily skin care regime.

Develop a customized washing routine for yourself. Wash your skin thoroughly on a daily basis to remove the dirt, debris, pollutants, and perspiration that accumulates on a daily basis. Use only warm water to wash your skin and use a mild natural cleanser every few days, if you have dry or sensitive skin. For normal or oily skin, a gentle cleanser on a daily basis is preferred.

Your washing routine should include moisturizing. Unless you have very oily skin, a daily moisturizer is important to keep your skin hydrated. Use moisturizer all year long, because both indoor winter heat and summer sun can be equally damaging to your skin.

Your daily skin program should include protection. Even if you don't plan to spend much time in the sun, use a natural sunscreen if possible. If you get in the habit of applying sunscreen everyday, you will never be left without protection from the sun's damaging rays.




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