How can you improve your skin naturally without a bunch of products or crazy gimmicks? Here are seven healthy skin tips you can start today for free.
The best skincare routine includes more than just the products you use. Many of these healthy skin tips you’ll read here are simple lifestyle changes that can improve both your skin and your health.
And many of these things will actually save you money!
For many people (myself included!), clean beauty means setting priorities for what you can and will spend money on. So isn’t it great that there are things you can do for free?
Healthy Skin tips
1. Turn down the water temperature when you shower.
Anyone else come out of the shower looking like a lob-stah? While you may love long, hot showers, your skin doesn’t. (Cue the tears.)
Hot showers can cause dry, itchy skin by removing oil and moisture. Plus, the longer you’re in the shower, the more oil and moisture you remove.
Don’t worry, though, you don’t have to bathe in cold water! But you should take shorter, lukewarm showers for healthy skin.
And by turning the temperature down, you probably won’t want to stay in the shower any longer than you need to. So you’ll actually save money on your gas, electricity and water bills!
2. Get your beauty sleep.
I think we all know that sleep is important for our overall health. But just how important is it for healthy skin?
Our skin repairs itself while we sleep, which leads to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and higher levels of collagen, a protein that promotes healthy skin, nails and hair. Better sleep also leads to brighter eyes, glowing skin, and fewer wrinkles.
One study showed that chronic poor quality sleep led to increased signs of aging and a lower “skin barrier function,” which means that your skin doesn’t work as well protecting against environmental stressors.
Also, that same study showed that people who slept better were happier with their appearance and physical attractiveness. Sleep is good for your mental health, too!
3. Cut back on your alcoholic beverages.
Heavy alcohol consumption is associated with “increased upper facial lines, under-eye puffiness, oral commissures, midface volume loss, and blood vessels. (BTW, oral commissures are those downturned lines at the corners of a person’s mouth. I had to Google it. Here’s a photo.)
And do you know how the researchers defined “heavy” drinking? Eight or more drinks per week.
That’s just one glass each day, plus a second glass one day a week. One standard drink is five ounces of wine, and chances are you’re probably pouring more than that into your glass at home.
It’s so easy to drink more than that, isn’t it?
Plus, alcohol consumed before bed disrupts your quality of sleep and normal sleep patterns. So the lesson here is that less alcohol leads to better sleep, and better sleep leads to healthy skin. It’s related!
4. Reduce stress.
Some of the negative effects of stress on our skin are acne, eczema, psoriasis, and itchy skin.
I understand that reducing stress isn’t easy, especially right now during the mess caused by COVID-19. I struggle with stress and anxiety, too. But I have some tips.
I mentioned earlier that the stress hormone cortisol decreases when we sleep, so getting a good night’s sleep is one way to reduce stress. I also like to read, go for walks, and talk to friends and family. (BTW, drinking alcohol does not help stress.)
My go-to person for help managing stress is Dr. Ellen Vora, a holistic psychiatrist who practices in New York City. She recommends getting back to the fundamentals, like keeping your phone out of your bedroom and going to bed early.
5. Don’t smoke.
We all know this one, but I needed to include it anyway. (And if you don’t know this, are you living under a rock?!?!)
Smoking contributes to premature aging and wrinkles. It harms collagen and elastin, two proteins that contribute to your skin’s health.
6. Avoid the sun when it’s at its highest.
The sun is beneficial to our skin for many reasons: it helps regulate our sleep patterns (See #2 for the benefits of sleep!); it can help lessen depression; and it helps our skin make Vitamin D, which we need for health and to maintain strong bones.
But, as we know, the sun can also damage our skin. If we’re not careful, sun exposure can cause premature aging, including more wrinkles, and leathery skin.
Oh, and it can cause cancer. Ever heard of it?
For healthy skin, try not to be out in the sun for extended periods of time. Wear sunscreen between the hours of 10 a.m., and 4 p.m., and throw on protective clothing and sunglasses.
7. Don’t touch your face.
Take a second and think about all the places your hands touch throughout the day: door knobs, pens, tables, and credit cards, among many other things. Then think about all the germs that were on those things and are now on your hands.
Still wanna touch your face? I didn’t think so.
If you’re prone to acne, touching your face can trigger breakouts. It spreads the acne-causing bacteria to other parts of your face that could cause more pimples.
Last thing about these healthy skin tips
While you can do all of these healthy skin tips at once, it might be easier to take it slowly. Start doing what you can and eventually these things will become habits.
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You can improve your skin naturally with these seven healthy skin tips.
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