Tips for your healthy skin

SLEEPING BEAUTY

I don’t care what else you do to your skin, if you are sleep deprived your skin will look sallow, dull, tired, and saggy; with your puffy eyes, you will resemble a frog prince or princess. And of course, your energy level will be less than desirable

Your skin, which is prone to damage during the day, is repaired as you sleep.

Some people require as much as eight to nine hours of sleep every night; others can make do with just five.

Remember, there is so substitute for sleep if you want great skin.

Sleep is the best-kept skin care secret

YOU MUST DRINK A LOT OF WATER

What goes in must go out, and water helps move everything along. Impurities not disposed of in a timely manner via the internal organs of elimination (such as the kidneys, liver, lungs, and large intestine) will find an alternate exit, namely your skin, sometimes referred to as the “third kidney.” Pimples and rashes may develop as your body tries to unload its wastes through your skin. Consciously make an effort to have at least eight to 12 glasses daily will help cleanse your body of toxins and keep your colon functioning as it should. Water also keeps your skin hydrated and moisturized, so drink up!

DO SOME EXERCISE

Try to exercise outside, to help oxygenate your cells with fresh air and facilitate waste removal through your skin. Exercises such as walking, biking, in-line skating, and weight lifting improve cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance, which translates into increased energy and a rosy complexion. If you live in a city, try to find a green space—a park or a greenway—in which to exercise. If city streets, with their attendant pollution, are your only outdoor option, exercising in a gym may be a better alternative.

FOODS FOR YOUR HEALTHY SKIN

Most people do not consciously realize that what they eat affects the health of their skin and eat the wrong things which cause all these problems. They get skin care products that never work because the root problem is still present. Diet is probably one of the more common causes of skin problems, so eat well and you may even be able to dump your skin-care products in the bin forever.

Eating foods rich in anti-oxidants is one of the keys in having great skin. This slows down cell-damage and as you may have already heard a million times, fights free radicals. Berries such as cranberries and blueberries are one of the richest sources of bio flavonoids, antioxidants that destroy free radicals which destroy tissue and reinforce the cells that make up blood vessel walls, increasing blood circulation and giving you those beautiful rosy cheeks. Bright colors on vegetables and fruits signify richness in antioxidants, so eat more of these as well. They include plums, apricots, strawberries, spinach, broccoli and other leafy vegetables.

Chicken, fish and other seafood are also great foods that will benefit the skin. These are good sources of high-quality, low fat protein which helps make your skin more elastic and toned. An additional advantage of eating these is stronger, shinier hair. Also, try to avoid red meats as these will cause less desirable effects on the skin. You have to eat about 60 grams of these a day for a difference in your skin.

Foods with Omega-3 fatty acids are also great for the skin. You can get these as daily supplements, or you could find them in fatty fish like Salmon, Cod and other foods including ground flaxseeds, walnuts, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and cabbage.

Vitamin E rich foods will help to prevent dry skin and also helps in the repair and reduction of scars and stretch marks. These foods include hazelnuts, almonds, broccoli, spinach, mango, kiwi, peanuts and sunflower seeds.

Poultry, red meat, fish, bananas, peanut butter and eggs are a rich source of Vitamin B. Eat foods with a low glycaemic Index as they are absorbed very slowly by the body and not cause a sudden rush in blood sugar level. When the blood sugar level increases too rapidly, the pancreas will produce excess insulin that will cause cell-damaging chemicals which cause inflammation. This causes premature aging, among other illnesses such as cancer.

THE THINGS YOU MUST AVOID

Avoid your sugar

This may hurt, but try to avoid sugar as much as possible. Sugar has been known to weaken the collagen fibres of the skin and also cause them to lose their elasticity. Brown discolouration marks and age spots are caused by this, and no wonder even the middle-aged people nowadays have skin that look decades older. Sugar is hard to avoid, especially now where it is used in many of our processed foods that we don’t even realise contain this sweet substance. Soft drinks and alcohol are one of the most notorious for having plenty of sugar and should be avoided as much as possible.

Control your carbohydrate intake. Eating too much of carbohydrates will cause a hike in your blood-sugar level. Bread, corn, white rice, peas, pasta, potatoes and all refined pastries are high GI carbohydrate foods which you should avoid.

Cut back on caffeine

Caffeine makes it very unlikely that the skin cells will ever pick up enough water, even if you drink a gallon of water a day.

Avoid cigarette smoke

Cigarette smoke exposes you to damaging free radicals that will accelerate the aging process by damaging the microcapillaries in the skin.

Say good-bye to stress

Stress and tension accelerate the formation of lines around your eyes and can even produce abnormal skin conditions like eczema (where the skin gets dry and itchy; it can even result in broken skin and bleeding).

The way to have a healthy and beautiful skin

Your skin portrays your health and holds the key to your overall beauty

Your skin, especially the skin on your face, is probably one of the last things you want looking terrible with pimple scars, acne and an oily appearance.

The skin is the organ that determines most of our appearance and how good we look, so taking care of it to make sure it is always at its most pristine state is vital for a great image. No one likes acne-infested faces or skin with age spots. They simply look unpleasant and sometimes leave the impression of contagiousness, which leaves people afraid of even going near you.

It's never too late to start caring for your skin; of course the earlier you start the better. 'Prevention is better than cure'. A good cleansing routine is important for looking after the skin externally, but a balanced nutritious diet, plenty of water and another factors is a combined effort to have a beautiful skin

Caring for your skin

The skin naturally produces sebum (oil), sweat and grease naturally build up on the skin and can block pores and follicles and lead to infection. But that's not all, on top of that we love to layer on the make-up, 'cosmetics here we come', which can also cause congestion and irritation, especially if not removed properly. Not to mention all the pollutants in the air, especially if you work in a city. Dust and dirt in the air land on your skin and build up a healthy layer throughout the day and rubbing or touching our faces with grubby mitts just adds to all the congestion. As you can imagine by the end of the day there is quite a collection of yuk built up on our skin and consequently blackheads and spots can fester…

Cleanse your skin twice daily using a mild, natural, inexpensive cleanser designed for your skin type. Add a couple of drops essential oil of rose, spearmint, or orange to your cleanser to boost its cleaning effect and aromatic quality. Cleansing your skin is especially important before going to bed, because your body excretes toxins through your skin as you sleep. If facial pores are clogged with makeup and dirt, breakouts can occur. If you perspire a lot in your line of work or exercise heavily, then rinse off and massage your body with a coarse cloth or loofah before retiring to remove salt and dead-skin buildup. Your skin needs to breathe while you sleep !

This is 4 steps to keep your skin look young and healthy :

CLEANSING
There are lots of different products on the market for cleansing the skin. I would generally recommend a cleaning milk, lotion or cream. They should state on the packaging which skin type they are most suitable for, but generally, if it says it's a lotion, its for combination or greasy skin; if it says its a cream, its for dry or mature skin; and milk tends to be for dry skin prone to sensitivity or sensitive skin.

TONING

Toners not only balance the skins natural pH, they are recommended to remove all traces of cleanser and grease. They cool the skin, creating a tightening effect and closing the pores, so reducing the flow of sebum and sweat onto the skins surface (so great for oily skins).

EXFOLIATING

Exfoliating encourages cell regeneration - so brilliant for mature skin - and with no dead skin cells and grease to block its absorption, means moisturisers can be soaked up more easily into the skin. As with all products, there are lots of different types of exfoliants; on the face make sure you use a facial exfoliator (they are more gentle)! The granules in them are either chemical or vegetable origin. I don't think that is terribly relevant, it's a matter of personal preference, which you go for. I'd recommend exfoliating once to twice a week, concentrating on areas like the nose and forehead where you get the most congestion.

MOISTURISING

It is important to moisturise even if you have an oily skin. When the skin is exposed to cold, less sebum is produced; this means the skin has reduced protection, allowing moisture to evaporate. The loss of moisture from your skin is affected by the water content in the air around you (humidity). In hot dry weather humidity is low - the amount of water in the air around you is low - so the air, as such, absorbs the water out of your skin. In mild conditions humidity is high - there's plenty of water in the air - so water loss from your skin will be low. With central heating we create a humidity similar to that in a desert environment - it is very drying on your skin. In very hot weather your skin sweats and you loose lots of moisture through this perspiration. Extremes of weather or alternating hot and cold, for example going into a heated building in the winter or going into an air conditioned office in a hot summer can lead to broken capillaries. All of these damaging effects caused by the climate can be reduced by using moisturisers and facial oils - these spread a protective layer of oil on the skin, pushing nourishment and moisture into the skin while reducing evaporation of water from the skin. In a building with central heating humidifiers can be used to moisten the air.
Moisturisers also plump out fine lines, and provide a protective barrier between your skin and cosmetics and pollutants. They often contain additional ingredients and nutrients, the most common being vitamin E. A lot of moisturisers these days also sensibly contain some UV filter to protect against the age-accelerating effects of sunlight. They protect, soften and nourish the skin and are, I would say, the most important part of your skin care routine. I often suggest my clients use a moisturiser and a facial oil, especially if they have a dehydrated skin or are concerned about aging.