We all want to feel beautiful, and a large component of that is having glowing skin, but advertisements and commercials of celebrities and supermodels, promoting skin care products and radiating beauty, it’s hard not to feel envious or confused about how to best get that glow. Nevertheless, beautiful skin is not expensive, exclusive, or difficult to maintain without a little discipline.
Establish a Routine
Beautiful skin takes work. By establishing a routine, you will be able to give your face the tender-loving care it needs without eating into your already busy schedule. Your skin care routine absolutely depends on what your skin type is.
You should also understand that your skin may change based on the weather, products you use, your stress level, and a number of genetic factors. It’s important to pay attention to what your skin is doing at different times of the day so you can give it the right TLC. At the very least, your skin care routine should include a cleanser, exfoliant, and moisturizer.
Cleansing your face
Having a clean face is very important, which is why it’s so crucial you remove all makeup or dirt before going to bed. Your skin needs to breathe while you sleep, and it can’t do that if you have remnants of your day clogging your pores (even if you don’t wear makeup!).
It’s ideal to wash your face at least twice a day, once in the morning and at night, but a third wash certainly won’t hurt. Just some warm water and facial cleanser or soap should do the trick.
Moisturizing and Exfoliation
Beyond cleanliness, a deeper-level cleansing regimen will remove dead skin cells and help you prevent those sagging fine lines and wrinkles before they get too serious. Once a week and so long as you don’t experience any adverse effects, you can gently exfoliate with a product made with glycolic acid, or even commit to a chemical peel.
Afterwards, a little moisturizer will help you replenish dry skin, especially after something as intense as a face mask or exfoliant. Try to find something with a serum containing hyaluronic acid to help your skin retain water from your daily cleansing, ensuring you wake up shining like the sun!
Maintain Healthy Habits
Working out has a number of benefits for your skin, allowing us to sweat out toxins and bacteria that would otherwise harbor beneath the surface. After as little as 30 minutes of exercise and with the help of a dedicated facial cleanse, you’ll notice dirt and grime disappear, along with any potential blemishes they might have brought with them.
Eating right
Exercise is not the only way to achieve glowing skin; eating right is also a part of the game! Sodas, processed foods, and high volumes of sugar can cause redness, inflammation, and blemishes to form on our faces. Replacing those items with healthier options like herbal teas, leafy greens, and foods rich with vitamin B3, indulging only every now and then, will have a noticeable impact in your complexion.
Hydrating
Humans work from the inside out, which means you have to drink a lot of water to see the many benefits it provides, especially in relation to your skin. Water makes up about 60% of the naturally occurring collagen in your body, a protein that helps keep your skin supple and shining.
A good rule of thumb is to drink half of your body weight in water. If you have trouble with hydration, set a goal to drink a certain number of ounces per hour, or invest in a water bottle pre-designed to track your water intake.
Destressing
Working out and healthy activities like yoga and meditation can also help relieve stress. Stress breakouts, worry lines, and bloating will eventually lead to visible signs of skin aging; and the first rule of skin care is finding ways to reduce wrinkles by any means necessary. Practice some self-care and learn how to manage your worries so they don’t creep up on you.
Get Your Beauty Sleep
Sleep rejuvenates your skin because blood flow increases during slumber, which helps repair your skin and reverse some of the damage it sustained throughout the day. Why do you think the most notable sign you’re not sleeping enough is bags under your eyes? If you’re having trouble getting to sleep and are serious about developing and maintaining healthy skin, try developing a nighttime routine to help your body get ready for bed.
There are many nighttime teas to help wind down at the end of the day. Meditation and reading, anything without blue lights emitted by TVs and phones, can also help you get to sleep. If you don’t have trouble falling asleep but find your sleep isn’t restful enough, try scheduling your days so you get into bed at the same time every night so you can wake up after 7 or 8 hours of peaceful, purposeful sleep.
Protect Your Skin
Tanning beds and the sun are not your friends. They create free radicals in your skin which can lead to preventable dark spots, and, worst case scenario, melanoma (skin cancer).
Every day when you leave the house, apply sunscreen to your skin. Even the smallest amount of exposure to UV rays from the sun can negatively impact your skin care efforts. SPF 30 is going to be your best friend here, and you may even find moisturizers designed with that level of sun protection.
If you really want a more tan look, there are better and safer ways to achieve it. Tanning lotions and spray-on tans are much better alternatives. You should, however, keep in mind clogged pores, but regular cleansing is a much simpler task than trying to reverse damage done to your skin cells by harsh UV rays.
Clean Your Environment
Hidden germ habitations are everywhere, causing us to break out even after spending time committing to the most efficient skin care practices. The number one culprit: your phone. As you press it up against your face, all of the germs and dirt collected there plug your pores, creating oily skin that’s tough to combat. You can, however, remove these germs so your face is no longer at risk by simply wiping down the surface of your phone each day with an alcohol-based cleaner, without causing any damage to your phone.
The second culprit: your pillow. Our pillows collect dirt and germs, as well as slobber and dead skin cells, while you sleep. Those then transfer from your pillow to your face while you toss and turn all night, requiring weekly cleanings at a minimum. You should also avoid lying in your bed with clothes that were in the outside world, as it may help limit contact between the dirt you collected throughout your day and your beloved bed.
Be Kind (To Yourself)
It does not take the most expensive products the pharmacist has to give you beautiful skin. You also need to leave those pimples alone, because you don’t want scabs or skin marks. These blemishes simply have to work themselves out.
If all else fails and you find yourself struggling to prevent or treat age spots, then it might be the time to see a health professional. Just make sure to be patient; if you’re experiencing damage, know that it didn’t happen overnight, and therefore, fixing it won’t happen overnight either.