While there is a multibillion dollar industry dedicated to products that promise to reduce wrinkles and keep skin supple, the best way to achieve healthy skin is from the inside out. According to Medical News Today, poor diet and a number of lifestyle factors like stress, lack of sleep, excessive smoking, dehydration, and certain medications can negatively impact the skin’s protective barrier.
Eat a Healthy Diet
The largest organ in your body needs proper care and nutrition to thrive. “Eating a diet full of excess sugar, dairy and processed foods leads to inflammatory processes in the skin,” Samolitis says. “When this happens, it leads to breakouts and general head-to-toe inflammatory issues.”
She suggests eating blueberries, strawberries, dark chocolate, kale and nuts for the antioxidants that can help reduce inflammation in your body. She also recommends avoiding foods with added sugars, as these can lead to acne and other skin-related problems.
She says leafy greens are rich in vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, which fights dry skin; vitamin C, which undoes the sun’s damage to your collagen and elastin; and folate, which helps prevent DNA mutations. She also recommends drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated. Drinking enough water also hydrates the cells that make up your skin, which in turn keeps it supple and smooth.
Moisturize
Moisturizer is one of the most important steps in our skin care routine. It prevents dryness, makes skin look more youthful, hides blemishes and decreases inflammation. The type of moisturizer you choose and how you apply it will greatly impact its benefits.
The best time to apply moisturizer is after you bathe or wash your face. Damp skin absorbs products better and the moisturizer will lock it in.
Moisturizing also helps balance your skin’s natural oil production. Many people with oily skin think that they should dry their skin but this can actually cause the skin to produce even more oil to compensate for the loss of moisture. Moisturizing will keep the skin perfectly balanced and beautiful.
It is recommended to use a light to medium weight moisturizer that is appropriate for your skin type. Avoid creams that contain a lot of perfume, which can irritate the skin. Also avoid taking hot showers or baths as this strips the natural oils from the skin. Always pat, don’t rub the skin dry after a bath or shower.
Exfoliate
It’s a skin-care step that’s often overlooked, but exfoliating is an essential part of any good skincare regimen. This is because, while your cleanser gets rid of makeup, dirt and oil, an exfoliator helps slough off dead cells that accumulate over time and can make your skin look dull.
Exfoliation also helps stimulate the growth of new skin cells and prevents the build-up of dead ones, which can lead to clogged pores, blemishes, blackheads and whiteheads. It can be done through both physical and chemical exfoliants, but both come with their pros and cons.
If you have sensitive skin, you should try introducing physical or chemical exfoliation into your routine very gradually and only as many times as your skin can tolerate. For example, it’s a good idea to start with once a week and only increase that frequency if your skin can handle it. Oily skin, on the other hand, can exfoliate more frequently without causing any problems.
Get Enough Sleep
You’ve probably heard it said many times before, but getting enough beauty sleep really is crucial to healthy skin. The skin uses the time it is at rest to repair itself, shedding dead cells and repairing any damage from the sun or other environmental stresses. It also balances moisture levels and produces the proteins collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid, which make the skin smooth, soft and supple.
In fact, research has shown that those who get adequate amounts of sleep have fewer wrinkles and less sagging than those who don’t. The complexion is also refreshed and glowing with a rejuvenated color and less inflammation.
Lack of sleep may lead the body to produce excess cortisol, which can break down collagen and cause blemishes. The best way to avoid this is to ensure that you are getting adequate amounts of sleep on a regular basis. This can be done by establishing a bedtime routine that includes a relaxing ritual and avoiding screen time right before bed.