Five Easy Ways to Take Better Care of Your Skin

Adopting a skincare routine is essential for maintaining healthy, glowing skin. Aging, sun exposure, environmental pollution, and poor diet choices are only a few of the factors that affect the health of your skin. Although the effects are subtle in the short-term, the damage tends to accumulate. Only a skincare routine can minimize the health and beauty risks that your skin is constantly exposed to. So, how to protect it? Thankfully, this is not difficult. The key to success is consistency.

[ image: pexels by shinny diamond ]

Read on to discover five easy ways to take better care of your skin without spending a fortune on products or cosmetic procedures.

1. Exfoliate and Moisturize

Air carries dirt, bacteria, and toxic elements, especially if you live in an urban environment where there’s considerable pollution. So, always give your skin a good cleaning at the end of your day. But cleansing is not enough. You also need a good body exfoliator so you can remove dead skin cells and give yourself a clean, radiant look. 

Exfoliation is key for rejuvenation and for that bright complexion that you seek to achieve. Plus, it prepares your skin for better absorption of moisturizer and other nourishing products. The last stage of your routine should be thus moisturizing. If exfoliation has a drying effect on the skin, moisturizing gives it the much-needed hydration.

2. Increase Your Vitamin Intake

You can take better care of your skin from the inside too. In fact, many dermatologists claim that diet has a bigger impact on your skin than using high-end products. To look healthy and radiant, ensure that you get adequate amounts of vitamins and nutrients from your diet. 

This means eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, filled with vitamins. Vitamin C and A are crucial for healthy skin because they stimulate collagen production, thus reducing wrinkles and fine lines. They can also offset other similar effects of aging. Your skin also needs vitamin D, which can be sourced from sunlight. Take supplements during winter to avoid vitamin D deficiency.

3. Protect Your Skin from the Sun

Tanned skin looks beautiful, but do you know that the sun is responsible for premature aging? Excessive exposure to UV radiation causes severe skin damage through dehydration and the action of free radicals. For youthful, healthy skin, wear sunscreen whenever you spend time in the sun, even in cold seasons or during cloudy days. 

UV rays can penetrate clouds easily. If you’re an outdoorsy person, try to either limit sun exposure or always wear protective clothing to cover your skin. Your face, neck, and hands are most vulnerable to sun damage. You can still get a tan while wearing sunscreen, so buy sunscreen with an SPF of 50 if you want to avoid that.

4. Get Plenty of Restful Sleep

Has it ever happened to you to look in the mirror in the morning after a night of little or no sleep? You may have noticed that your skin looks dull and tired when you don’t get enough sleep. The expression “beauty sleep” is based on real, scientific evidence. When you sleep, your body repairs and rejuvenates itself.  

And this is also true of your skin. During sleep, your skin produces the collagen that gives it a youthful, glowing, and plump look. But you need at least seven hours of restful sleep every night to benefit from these restorative powers. So, don’t ignore this essential need of your body.

5. Drink Plenty of Water for Hydration

Hydrated skin looks bright, smooth, and soft. But how do you keep your skin hydrated? The answer is simple: you drink water. Even though your body announces you when it needs water because you simply become thirsty, there are cases when this sign is not enough. In cooler weather, for example, you don’t feel thirsty as often as in hot weather, but your body still needs a lot of water. 

In some situations, it can be difficult to tell whether your water intake throughout the day is adequate. If you care about your skin health, be sure to monitor how much fluids you consume daily so you can tell for certain that you’re drinking enough. But your skin can also show you if you are not well-hydrated because it will start to look dry and dull. 

For flawless, young-looking skin, include the practices above in your daily routine, and you will start to notice results immediately. Adopt healthy lifestyle habits and find the right products for your skin type to improve your appearance. The sooner you start taking better care of your skin, the longer you will enjoy a youthful, vibrant look.