When it comes to my skin, I definitely don't mess around with how I care for it, and neither should you. One's skin is the body's largest organ, and for that reason should be maintained just as we would our heart, lungs etc. As a young teen I never really suffered from acne or breakouts, they would happen to me yes, but more on a here and there basis. For this reason, I never was really faced with starting any specific routine to keep my skin looking its best. It wasn't until I entered college that I found myself a freshmen, studying all the time, stressed out, and eating greasy food from the cafeteria at all hours simply out of convenience! I definitely noticed a change in my skin, and I knew that this was the time to really step it up as far as maintaining clear, healthy skin. It is rather simple to do naturally. Sure there are fancy scrubs etc that one can do, and if you feel that you absolutely have to do those, than by all means do them, but really when it comes down to it, its all about what you eat, how active you are and how clean your face is.
Below are a few of my tips to maintaining clear, healthy skin:
1.
You want to ALWAYS protect your skin from the suns harmful rays. As your skin sits unprotected under the searing sun, picture your skin becoming aged leather, drying out and becoming supremely chapped and distressed. There is no turning aged leather back to fresh leather, and this goes the same for your skin, care for it from the beginning and have no worries later on in life. I always recommend wearing a sun hat if you are going to be out in the sun for a prolonged amount of time ex: garden work, pool lounging etc. Along with avoiding the harmful rays of the sun comes wearing an SPF that is going to protect from UVA AND UVB rays. I would say an SPF 30-40 is pretty sufficient!
2.
Drink lots of water, I cannot stress this enough! The more water you drink the more hydrated your skin gets and this allows for more elasticity. You skin reacts negatively to anything greasy or fatty in foods, what the water will do is flush the body of these toxins and allow more room for vitamins to take root and be sucked up! :)
3.
Eat foods loaded with antioxidants! Foods like these above contain a lot of antioxidant power that helps to repair damaged skin cells and regain skins elasticity. The suns rays as well as other pollutants to the skin release what are called free radicals. These free radicals break down healthy skin cells and even collagen, which helps out skin be so flexible/elastic. These foods as well as others rich in antioxidants pretty much counteract these free radicals, how great to be able to do something so naturally!! I LOVE snacking on raspberries or blueberries, they are easy to pack for a quick snack and they will help keep your skin looking great as well! :)
4.
Removing your makeup before going to bed is another must. Imagine having to sleep with a plastic bag taped to your face for 24 hours a day, feeling a bit claustrophobic yet? Well, that's how your skin feels! Just like your lungs, your skin needs air flow, and wearing makeup can often hinder this, especially when left on through the night when your skin is trying to regenerate itself. I myself use organic makeup remover wipes as I find that they leave my skin looking and feeling super refreshed without clogging my pores even more with nonsensical oils. I recommend Yes to Blueberries (did I just mention blueberries?! a food rich in antioxidants?? YES I did!!)
5.
Moisturizing your skin is another super important step in keeping that glowing look to your skin. When applying moisturizer think of it as quenching your skins thirst. There are times that after being outdoors in the sun or even just in very hot weather, my skin becomes so dry and chapped feeling, it almost burns a little because its so dry and tight. Skin creams help to fix this problem and create a layer of protection for your skin as well!
6.
I previously did an entire blog on my favorite face scrub to exfoliate with, I will link it below. Exfoliating is something that I do once a week to my ENTIRE body down to my little toes :) I think it is so important if you don't ever want to have dull worn out looking skin. Exfoliating removes dead skin cells and gives you a fresh start, also, in my opinion, stimulating healthy skin cell growth :) For more on exfoliating check out my other blog post
here !
Everything listed above can and should be considered for your entire body, the skin is so large, even the skin between out toes shouldn't be left out when trying to maintain! haha Keep in mind that the first impression you make on someone is appearance and this is where healthy, glowing, youthful looking skin comes into play, after all, who wants leathery, dried, over sun exposed, over worked, crying out for health skin anyway?! NOT ME! :)
To Healthy Skin Always,
xox
Don't forget to follow me on twitter @Alyseap
