Cleansing, toning, and moisturizing isn’t all you need for radiant skin; your skin quality and health is dependent on a lot of factors and habits that you never give a second thought to. All the same, you don’t need to follow an intensive skin care tips for healthy glowing skin! Get the basics right, lay off certain habits, and you’ll be on your way to beautiful skin. Here are ten things you need to do.
Get Enough Rest
Sleep Right
Protect Your Skin From The Sun
Avoid Direct Heat Exposure
Eat Healthy
Stay Hydrated
Choose The Right Skin Care Products
Follow Makeup Best Practices
Keep Irritants Off Your Skin
Exercise Regularly
Get Enough Rest
They don’t call it the beauty sleep for anything! While you’re sleeping, your body gets busy repairing itself in all ways, including working on your skin. Your skin sheds off dead skin cells and replaces them with new ones, and builds collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid that helps keep it plump and soft. Further, increased levels of the sleep hormone melatonin help fight fine lines and wrinkles, age spots, and skin cancer.Not getting enough sleep can lead to increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body. This can cause inflammation, affecting the quality of your skin, and increase the severity of skin conditions like acne or psoriasis. Sleep deprivation also dehydrates your skin and decreases blood flow to the facial area, preventing pollutants and free radicals from being flushed out. So make sure you get 6-8 hours of restful sleep each night.
Sleep Right
How you sleep affects your skin quality too! Sleeping on your side or stomach and pressing your face into the pillow can lead to premature ageing as your pillow pulls on your skin and deepens sleep creases and wrinkles. Instead, sleep on your back to keep your skin free of contact. Alternatively, use a silk or satin pillowcase to reduce friction between the case and your skin and to keep your skin healthy and smooth.Note that your pillowcase accumulates dirt, bacteria, and dead skin cells as you sleep. Sleeping on all this gunk can cause pimples, inflamed skin, and other illnesses. To keep your skin from breaking out, change your pillowcase twice a week or flip pillows over mid-week. Also, wash your pillow once in 3-6 months.
Protect Your Skin From The Sun
You need sunlight to boost vitamin D production, regulate your circadian rhythm, stimulate endorphins, and more. However, you can get these benefits from anywhere between 5-30 minutes of sun exposure. Avoid sun exposure between 11 AM to 3 PM as this is when the sun’s rays are the strongest.When stepping out in the sun, always wear protective clothing. Use a good sunscreen – SPF 15 and above will offer decent protect from ultraviolet rays, and SPF 30 or above is recommended for foolproof protection. Apply sunscreen evenly on all sun-exposed areas of your skin and buff it in so it is completely absorbed. Do this 30 minutes before stepping out in the sun.
If you wear makeup, apply sunscreen first as makeup products won’t keep harmful UV light from damaging your skin. Water-based sunscreens can keep oiliness at bay; these are also recommended over oil-based ones if you have sensitive or acne-prone skin. Physical sunblocks containing zinc or titanium oxide act as a wall and let light and heat bouncing off the skin, keeping it cool. On the other hand, chemical sunscreens containing oxybenzone, avobenzone and the like absorb the sun's rays, heating up the skin. Applying a mineral foundation over a broad-spectrum sunscreen can boost the heat-blocking effects of the SPF.
Avoid Direct Heat Exposure
Research shows UV light isn’t the only thing responsible for skin damage; regular exposure to heat can boost melanin production and induce oxidative damage, harming the skin in the same way as UV rays. Physiologically, heat causes dilation of the blood vessels, upping inflammation and triggering melanocytes to produce more pigment. This is one reason why some individuals are affected by hyperpigmentation after undergoing laser treatments.Skin-damaging heat exposure happens during cooking or sitting too close to heaters too. Also be wary of hot showers, hot yoga classes, and sauna and steam room usage. According to a study, as little as 30 minutes of heat exposure, three times a week can change your skin in two months by causing antioxidant levels to drop and breaking down collagen. Long hot showers also strip the skin of the outermost layer and essential oils, causing skin irritation and making the skin scaly, dry, and itchy skin.
Eat Healthy
What you eat, shows on your face, so nourish your skin from the inside out. Load up on fruits and vegetables; they contain powerful antioxidants that protect your skin from damage caused by free radicals and slow down the effects of aging. Build healthy skin and even skin tone by eating at least five portions of colourful fruits and vegetables. Ensure you’re getting enough vitamin C to produce collagen to keep your skin supple and firm.Scary fares for your skin include milk chocolate or anything laden with sugar, high glycaemic index foods like white bread and white rice, fast foods, spicy and processed foods, alcohol, and caffeinated drinks. Laying off these foods isn’t all, you must also stay away from crash dieting as frequent weight gain and loss creates stretch marks and sag.
Focus on eating balanced meals so you’re getting all the essential vitamins and minerals needed to keep your skin healthy and radiant. Avoid skipping meals to prevent skin from looking blotchy, dull or blemished.
Stay Hydrated
Nothing can give your skin a natural glow as staying hydrated can. That being said, water reaches all your other organs before your skin, so you’ll really have to drink up for the results to show! Drink at least eight glasses of water a day to help your body flush out toxins efficiently. Staying hydrated throughout the day is important, so guzzle at regular intervals. Fruit juices count, but make sure they’re not sugar-laden.Staying hydrated helps boost your circulation so your skin keeps repairing itself. Your skin’s natural moisture levels keep fluctuating depending on what its protective lipid barrier is exposed to. Since water doesn’t go straight to the skin, it’s necessary to minimise elements like sun, heat and harsh winds that can cause dryness. Keeping your shower temperature in check, balancing out booze, spritzing with rosewater, and using a good moisturiser can help keep skin soft and supple. A good idea to lock in moisture is to use a moisturiser while your skin is still wet or damp after a bath.
Choose The Right Skin Care Products
Walking down the beauty aisle can be overwhelming considering the number of skin care products to choose from. To add to this, you also have to deal with tall claims made by manufacturers. One thing to keep in mind when choosing skincare products is to not go by price tags; the most expensive ones might not be right for you! Know and understand your skin type fully well first. Buy products that suit your skin type as this can impact the efficiency of the product you use.Stay away from products with benefits that seem to be too good to be true, and never buy a skincare product without carrying out adequate research. Read the ingredients list, paying special attention to the active ingredients. Some ingredients to watch out for are parabens, phthalates, alcohol and fragrances, formaldehyde, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) or sodium Laureth sulphate (SLES), BHA and BHT, triclosan and triclocarban, and coal tar (aminophenol, diaminobenzene, or phenylenediamine). If you find an ingredient you’ve never heard of before, use the Internet to carry out research.
If you don’t know where to start, go for the basics – cleanser, toner, moisturiser, and sunscreen. Exfoliants, serums, and face packs can be added at a later stage once you find the basics that work for your skin type. Be gentle on your skin by avoiding harsh products, limiting bath time, and patting skin dry instead of rubbing it vigorously.
Follow Makeup Best Practices
Just as for skincare products, always be sure to buy makeup products that suit your skin type and are free of harmful ingredients. You can play around with makeup a bit; for example, if your skin gets sufficient hydration from your trusted moisturiser, you can do without a foundation that is specially formulated for dry skin. Remember to buy makeup that is fortified with sunscreen and refrain from using makeup that is past its expiry date.Prepare your skin before applying makeup and never go to bed without taking all of it off. Makeup can clog your skin pores and give rise to blackheads and acne, so clean it off at the end of the day using a scentless lotion or plain old olive oil.
Allow your skin to breathe on some days by avoiding the full foundation-concealer-contour routine for just mascara, eyeliner and lip gloss. Clean your makeup brushes regularly to avoid build-up of bacteria, oil, and dead skin cells. This will keep your skin from breaking out. If you wear makeup every day, wash brushes with a mild shampoo once a week and allow them to dry completely before using again. You can also spritz rubbing alcohol or tea tree oil onto the brushes and wipe them clean with a tissue or a microfibre cloth.
Keep Irritants Off Your Skin
Hard water contains a high amount of metals and minerals. Coupled with impurities naturally found in tap water, your skin can break out from excessive dryness or due to irritation. If the hardness and pH level of your tap water isn’t suitable for your skin, consider installing a filter system for your shower. You can also use boiled and cooled water to wash your face as the skin on the face is more sensitive than that on the rest of the body. If you go swimming, make certain you’ve got all the chlorine off by using an extra sudsy soap or cleanser.A common habit that can cause breakouts and acne is touching your face too often. This seemingly harmless act serves to transfer countless bacteria, grime and oil to your face, so just be conscious and avoid it! Choose a haircut that keeps hair off your face, as hair strands and the oil and grime accumulated on them can cause your skin to break out from frequent contact. Also, be careful to not let hair care products come in touch with your face and rinse shampoo and conditioner off your body thoroughly to avoid back acne.
You can also blame breakouts on your mobile phone; keeping your phone screen – that carries ten times more bacteria than a toilet seat – glued to the side of your face can irritate and clog pores. Clean your phone screen regularly and go hands-free, use the speaker, or just hold your phone a little away from your cheek.
Exercise Regularly
Regular exercise is not only great for your heart, lungs, and mental health, but also for your skin. Exercise helps increase blood flow, boosting cell nourishment and flushing out toxins effectively from the body. Exercising also helps reduce stress, which can help improve certain stress-induced skin conditions like acne and eczema. In addition to this, working out produces more endorphins in the body that help decrease levels of cortisol and other acne-causing hormones. Exercising helps the body produce more collagen too, which is important in keeping the skin supple and elastic.It’s important to note that certain skin conditions get exacerbated by heat and physical activity. Prevent flare-ups of psoriasis, eczema, or rosacea by exercising in a cool environment. Applying cool compresses to the body after a workout also helps. For some individuals, the salt from perspiration acts as an irritant. Slathering on moisturiser before beginning the workout can protect the skin from sweat. Always shower after your workout to wash off sweat and grime. Do clean your skin before your workout as well to keep pores from clogging and prevent breakouts.
Do wear the right clothing to reduce chaffing. Your best bet is moisture-wicking clothing that can keep your skin dry and cool while you sweat it out. Keep your hair pulled back and remember – no touching your face!
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