10 Tips for Healthy Skin: How to Take Care of Your Skin
When your skin looks good and feels healthy, you feel more confident. Fortunately, improving the way your skin looks and feels is easier than you think. With just a few changes to your skincare routine, you can make significant improvements to the health of your skin.
What Is Healthy Skin?
Healthy skin is smooth, moisturized skin from the inside out. Healthy skin tends to mirror overall health, and when your skin is healthy, it is more effective at protecting your body from pollutants and irritants. So, it’s important to keep it healthy and well-nourished.
Skin is resilient, which means it can bounce back with proper care, so it’s never too late to start taking care of it. When you find the right skincare routine that works for your unique skin, you can see noticeable results in your skin's look and feel.
Our Top Healthy Skin Tips
Getting your skin to look and feel its best doesn’t have to be complicated! You can achieve glowing, healthy-looking skin by adding a few simple steps to your daily routine. Here are some of our top tips for healthy skin that can help you achieve soft, smooth skin.
Take Care of Your Skin
1. Moisturize Daily
Applying a moisturizer each day is one of the most important things you can do to achieve and maintain healthy-looking skin. Depending on your skin type, we recommend applying a body moisturizer at least once a day to replenish the moisture at your skin's surface.
As with all skincare products, not all moisturizers are created equal. For best results, use a moisturizer that contains at least one of the following ingredients known to nourish your skin:
- Shea Butter
- Vitamin E
- Argan Oil
- Coconut Oil
The best time to moisturize is while you’re in the shower or immediately after showering or bathing. That’s because the warm water and steam open your pores, which allows the skin to absorb moisture more effectively. For a fast-absorbing lotion that you can apply after showering, try a wet skin moisturizer.
2. Cleanse With Hydrating Products
Too many body cleansers are harsh and dehydrating for your skin. To maintain a beautiful glow, use a hydrating body wash in the shower to wash away impurities without drying out your skin.
To wash your face, select a pH-balanced cleanser that won’t strip natural oils away from your skin. Remember, the oil on your skin is helpful because it helps hold moisture in and prevent dehydration.
3. Protect Your Skin From Excessive Sun Exposure
The sun’s rays are very harsh and damaging to your skin. To keep your skin safe from excessive sun exposure, wear sunscreen anytime you plan to spend more than 10 minutes in direct sunlight. Sunscreen can help your skin stay healthy over time while minimizing sun spots, wrinkles, and other types of skin damage caused by the sun.
If you want to get a beautiful summer glow without the sun damage, try a self-tanning moisturizer. It will give you a natural-looking glow without the risks of sun exposure. Another plus: sunless tanning moisturizer can keep your skin smooth and hydrated!
4. Exfoliate Regularly
Did you know you have a baby-smooth layer of skin just waiting to be revealed? Exfoliating regularly can help you reveal radiant skin that's hiding beneath your dead skin cells. Exfoliating improves your skin's health by getting rid of rough skin, unclogging pores, and increasing circulation.
Depending on your skin type, we recommend exfoliating one to three times per week. Exfoliating too often can strip your skin of its natural oils, which can cause dehydration and potentially contribute to acne and other breakouts.
Take Care of Your Body
5. Get Quality Sleep
For healthy-looking skin, give your body plenty of time to rest. Poor sleepers may be susceptible to a variety of unpleasant medical conditions, and lack of sleep can also cause your skin to age more quickly!
To help yourself drift off to sleep, put away your phone and try meditating, applying a luxurious lotion with lavender essential oil, or journaling.
6. Practice Healthy Eating Habits
Achieving healthy skin starts from the inside out. What you put in your body has a remarkable effect on how your skin looks and feels. For strong, healthy skin, eat a well-balanced diet that includes plenty of vegetables, fruit, and water.
- Drink Water: Proper hydration means your body will have the tools necessary for keeping your skin healthy. Plus, water helps to flush toxins to reduce the potential for inflammation.
- Choose Healthy Fats: Healthy fats can be found in foods like salmon (omega-3), walnuts and almonds (omega-6), or avocados (omega-9). These fats help to strengthen your skin and retain moisture.
- Cut Down On Sugar: Too much sugar can lead to weaker skin and more wrinkles. Instead of choosing a sugary snack, try fruit or other foods with natural sweetness.
- Add Antioxidants: These are commonly found in many foods, like leafy greens, acai berries, and dark chocolate. Antioxidants counteract premature aging and skin damage.
7. Stay Active
Regular exercise can increase blood flow to the skin. When your skin has healthy blood flow, it’s more likely to look and feel its best. Even 10-15 minutes of exercise every day can help you put your best skin forward.
Just make sure to wash your face right after sweating so that the toxins you have just sweat out don’t have a chance to retreat back into your skin.
8. Put Down That Cigarette
Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide and nicotine, both of which are harmful to your skin.
- Carbon monoxide can displace the oxygen in your skin and leave it looking dry and leathery.
- Nicotine reduces the blood flow to your skin and can lead to a pale, discolored appearance.
Take Care of Your Mind
9. Manage Stress
Did you know stress can have a significant major impact on your skin? When you constantly feel anxious and stressed, your body goes through hormone changes that cause it to produce more sebum and oil. This over-production, in turn, can result in increased acne and skin sensitivity.
To maintain healthy skin, minimize stress whenever possible, and take time to practice stress-management techniques such as deep breathing and yoga. Your skin will thank you.
10. Practice Self-Care
A healthy mind and healthy body go hand-in-hand. Self-care can look like a full spa day with a relaxing body butter, or it can simply be a positive mindset for your day to come. Whatever it may be for you, show yourself some love and reap the benefits not only for yourself as a person, but for your skin as well.
Remember, everyone is different, so pay attention to what you need. Don’t be afraid to change it up if it’s not working for you. The most important thing is that you get the hydration, nutrition, and exercise your body craves.
Everyone’s skin is also different. You can always adjust your routine to your skincare needs. If your skin feels dry to the touch, try applying moisturizer more frequently. If your skin looks and feels oily and greasy, continue to moisturize regularly, but exfoliate more frequently.
Key Takeaways
- Use a daily moisturizer to nourish your skin and protect it from dryness.
- Drink plenty of water to hydrate your skin from the inside out.
- Use gentle exfoliation to get rid of rough, dry skin.
- Use a hydrating body wash to leave your skin feeling moisturized and visibly radiant.
- Treat your body with kindness by giving it proper nutrition, avoiding smoking, and exercising regularly.
- Deeply moisturize your skin overnight with nourishing body butter.