Tips for Healthy Skin

Here are just a few tips to help keep your skin healthy and glowing for years to come:

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. Be sure to always use sunscreen, seek shade whenever possible, and wear protective clothing.

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. This depletes the skin of oxygen and nutrients that are important to skin health.

Smoking also damages collagen and elastin, which are 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.

Treat Your Skin Gently
Daily cleansing and shaving can take a toll on your skin. To keep it gentle limit your bath time. Hot water and long showers or baths remove oils from your skin. Limit your bath or shower time, and use warm water instead of hot.

Avoid strong soaps. Strong soaps and detergents can strip oil from your skin. Instead, choose mild cleansers. After washing or bathing, gently pat or blot your skin dry with a towel so that some moisture remains on your skin. If your skin is dry, use a moisturizer that fits your skin type. For daily use, consider a moisturizer that contains SPF.

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. The association between diet and acne isn’t clear, but some research suggests that a diet rich in vitamin C and low in unhealthy fats and processed or refined carbohydrates might promote younger looking skin.

Manage Stress
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. 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.