Best Beauty Habits For Healthy Skin

By: on September 16th, 2015 in Skin and Beauty, Women's Health

 

“Skin is the most amazing organ in the body,” says Steven Feldman, MD, PhD, professor of dermatology, pathology, and public health sciences at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., and author of the book, Compartments. “All the other organs usually have the same day, every day. Skin suffers consequences of chronic abuse and can withstand trauma, heat and cold, UV exposure — your skin is pretty tough.”

Even though your skin is resilient, it still requires daily care and attention. Healthy skin isn’t just about beauty and aging well — healthy skin creates a strong and crucial barrier between your body and the rest of the world.

Healthy Habits for Healthy Skin

There are scads of products on shop shelves that promise youthful, healthy skin. Yet many of these items aren’t subject to approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and can be quite costly. Instead of dropping a small fortune on a product that may or may not work, here are a few easy habits to incorporate into your daily routine to maintain healthy skin:

  • Wash your skin with gentle cleansers. Some soaps and cleansers have alcohol, dyes, and fragrances that can strip your skin of its natural oils, making it feel dry and scaly. Try mild soaps and body washes that moisturize, especially if you live in a low-humidity climate. Since hot water can also dry out the skin, use warm water for bathing. Set your timer: a 10-minute soak can help hydrate if you lock in moisture with lotion as soon as you get out, but lingering longer in the tub has the opposite effect.
  • Moisturize daily. Moisturizers can help your skin stay supple; that lotion you slather on puts down a barrier that seals in skin’s natural moisture. Your best bet is to find a moisturizer with a minimum SPF of 15 for double duty sun protection. If you need to slough off dry skin, look for ingredients like urea or lactic acid. Using an emollient-based moisturizer consistently can also prevent flare-ups of eczema — swollen, red, and itchy skin.
  • Use razor-sharp care. To avoid irritation, shave after showering and use a rich shaving gel or cream, not your bath soap. Minimize your risk of developing dry skin and folliculitis (inflammation of the hair follicles) by shaving carefully. Use new razor blades or an electric razor and shave in the direction in which the hair grows.
  • Protect skin from the sun. Even though the skin is a remarkable organ, it’s no match, in the long run, for the sun’s harmful effects. “The skin does have some protective measures built in, but they’re limited,” says Dr. Feldman. The sun emits ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, which can severely damage your skin, causing wrinkles, premature aging, and skin cancer. More than 90 percent of all skin cancers occur on skin that’s constantly exposed to the sun, and about one in five Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer at some point in their lives. Remember that indoor tanning beds aren’t any better: They use ultraviolet radiation, which causes the same type of damage as the sun’s rays. Using SPF 15 or higher sunscreen is one of the best ways to maintain healthy skin. Wearing protective clothing, staying in the shade, and avoiding direct sun exposure between late morning and early afternoon will keep your healthy skin even healthier.
  • Don’t smoke. The detrimental effects of smoking involve most of your body, including the skin. A recent study showed that smokers are more than three times more likely to develop skin cancer than nonsmokers, and cigarette smoking can also cause wrinkles. “It always seems that people who smoke tend to get more sun exposure,” says Feldman. “They almost always smoke on the sunny side of the building.”

Source: (everydayhealth)