6 Things To Do for Great Skin
How to Take Care of Your Skin
Happy Wednesday! I'm so excited for the weekend, now that I'm finally feeling better! Our weekend is pretty packed, between me working and some fun events in Ardmore & Philly Sunday, but I'm thrilled to see friends & family and have fun after being cooped up all of last week and working all of this week! What are you all up to?
Unfortunately, one downside to being out a lot in the winter, is the cold, and the damage it can do to your skin, and even your health! If I'm honest, I spent most of my life emabarassingly unaware of the importance of skin care. When I started to notice slight wrinkling around my eyes and on my forehead about a year ago, I finally realized I needed to become more knowledgable and proactive about taking care of my skin, and soon! It's even more important when your exposing your skin to elements like harsh wind & cold or direct sunlight. While I'm certainly no expert, I've definitely learned a lot over the past year, and am constantly looking for and trying out new habits and products to improve my skin. Since it sounds like we're going to be having wintery weather for a few more weeks (at least according to Groundhog Day results 😉), I thought now would be a great time to share some of the things I've incorporated into my lifestyle that help me feel and look my best!
1) Drink Water!
It's so important to stay hydrated, especially for skin health. When you under-hydrate, your skin looses elasticity, which in the long term usually results in wrinkles, sunken skin, and dullness. You don't need to over-hydrate, it won't make a difference if you do, except for making you use the restroom quite a bit. ;) But you should be drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day, or a little more if you're working out. It keeps your body functioning well and skin in better condition!
2) Avoid Sugar
A great saying to go by when looking for what to eat or not eat to improve your skin is: "if it's not good for your waist, it's not good for your skin". Sugar has a harmful effect on your skin because when consumed, it attaches to proteins to forms molecules called AGEs, which damage other proteins that are good for you skin, like Collagen and Elastin. Collagen and Elastin keep skin firm, plump, and elastic. (source) Essentially, eating sugar leads to wrinkles, sagging skin, and dullness.
3) Eat Healthy Foods
That said, it's important to put good foods into your system! Eating foods rich in vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants (think fruits, nuts, and veggies and anything colorful that comes from a plant!) will help greatly in diminishing the signs of aging in all areas of your body. Foods high in antioxidants are especially important, because they help fight the cell-damaging effects free-radicals, which in turn helps your skin look brighter and younger, and they're also said to help prevent cancer! Drinking green tea or matcha is also a great way to get more antioxidants into your diet.
4) Sleep
Sleep is so important for allowing your skin cells to repair themselves! When you get enough rest, your body produces more HGH (human growth hormone), which helps keep skin thick and elastic. Lack of sleep is right next to sugar in causing wrinkles and dull skin. When you dont get enough sleep, your body produces cortisol, which has a lot of nasty effects on the body, along with breaking down skin cells!
5) Take Vitamins
Taking supplements is a great way to make sure you and your skin are getting all of the vitamins you need. It can be hard to eat healthy or tailor your diet to make sure that you're hitting each of the ones that are important, especially since some are found in foods that don't taste the greatest, like liver! 😬 Vitamins B1 and B6 are AGE inhibitors, so these are very important to make sure you're getting enough of, especially if you have a sweet tooth like me! Vitamin A helps stabilize sebum production in skin, which helps prevent breakouts (and consequently, scarring) and the risk of overdrying skin with products to prevent acne. Vitamin C helps boost collagen production, and fish oil supplements which have essential fatty acids like omega 3 & 6 help nourish skin and keep it elastic and youthful.
6) Use Good Products Consistently!
Even when leading a healthy lifestyle that supports skin health, it's still important to use good products on your skin, and to do so consistently! When looking for products to help your skin, you want to look for ones that will hydrate, fight free-radicals, and boost collagen production. Great ingredients to look for are retinol, vitamin A, C, & E, alpha hydroxy acids, pomegranate, peptides, and botanical extracts. It's also important to be consistent in your use. Using a product once a week is not going to help much. Make sure to follow the instructions on the packaging for the best results!
As always, I hope you found this helpful, and I'd love to hear your thoughts, so make sure to leave a comment below!
Please Note: I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or dermatologist. These are tips I've learned from reading/research over the past year or two that I try to follow every day and believe have helped me feel and look my best!
