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Skin care: Top 5 habits for
healthy skin
Provided By:
 Proactive
skin care, from skin protection
to proper shaving technique,
will help you keep your skin
youthful and healthy.
Your busy lifestyle leaves
little time for pampering skin
care. The result: Your skin
isn't the baby-soft body glove
with which you were born. With
age, your skin gradually becomes
thinner and finely wrinkled.
Oil-producing (sebaceous) glands
grow less active leaving your
skin drier. The number of blood
vessels in your skin decreases,
your skin becomes more fragile,
and you lose your youthful color
and glow.
Good skin care — such as
avoiding the sun, washing your
skin gently and applying
moisturizer regularly — can help
delay the natural aging process
and prevent many skin problems.
These simple skin-care habits
will help you protect your skin
to keep it healthy and glowing
for years to come.
1. Protect yourself from the sun
The best way to take care of
your skin is to protect it from
the sun. Ultraviolet light — the
invisible but intense rays of
the sun — damages your skin,
causing deep wrinkles, dry,
rough skin, liver spots, and
more serious disorders, such as
noncancerous (benign) and
cancerous (malignant) skin
tumors.
For the most complete sun
protection, use all three of
these methods:
 Avoid the sun during
high-intensity hours. The sun's
rays are most damaging from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. Reduce the time
you spend outdoors during these
hours.
Wear protective clothing.
Cover your skin with clothing,
such as long-sleeved shirts,
long pants and wide-brimmed
hats. Also, keep in mind that
certain clothing styles and
fabrics offer better protection
from the sun than do others. For
example, long-sleeved shirts
offer better protection than
short-sleeved shirts do. And
tightly woven fabrics such as
denim are better than loosely
woven fabrics such as knits.
Use sunscreen. Apply sunscreen
liberally 20 minutes before
going outdoors and reapply every
two hours, after heavy sweating
or after being in water.
2. Don't smoke
Smoking can accelerate the
normal aging process of your
skin, contributing to wrinkles.
Skin changes from smoking can be
seen in young adults who have
been smoking for as few as 10
years.
Smoking causes narrowing of the
blood vessels in the outermost
layers of skin. This decreases
blood flow, depleting the skin
of oxygen and nutrients, such as
vitamin A, that are important to
skin health. All of these
factors increase damage to the
elastic fibers (elastin) and
collagen which give your skin
strength and elasticity.
In addition, the repetitive
facial expressions you make when
smoking — such as pursing your
lips when inhaling and squinting
your eyes to keep out smoke —
may contribute to wrinkles. It's
also possible that repeated
exposure to the heat from
burning cigarettes may damage
your facial skin over time.
3. Wash your skin gently
Cleaning is an essential part of
caring for your skin. The key is
to treat your skin gently.
Use warm water and limit bath
time. Hot water and long showers
or baths remove oils from your
skin. Limit your bath or shower
time to about 15 minutes or
less, and use warm, rather than
hot, water.
Avoid strong soaps. Strong
soaps — those most capable of
stripping oil from your skin —
can leave your skin dry.
Instead, choose mild soaps with
oils and fats added to them
during the soap manufacturing
process.
Avoid irritating additives. If
your skin is sensitive, avoid
products containing perfumes or
dyes. These can irritate your
skin and may trigger an allergic
response.
Remove eye makeup carefully.
Use a soft sponge, cotton cloth
or cotton balls when removing
eye makeup to avoid damaging the
delicate tissue around your
eyes. If you wear heavy,
waterproof makeup, you may need
to use an oil-based product such
as petroleum jelly.
Pat dry. After washing or
bathing, gently pat or blot your
skin dry with a towel so that
some moisture remains on the
skin. Immediately moisturize
your skin with an oil or cream.
4. Moisturize regularly
Moisturizers help maintain your
skin's natural moisture levels.
They work by providing a seal
over your skin — to keep water
from escaping — or by slowly
releasing water into your skin.
The moisturizer that's best for
you and the frequency with which
you need to moisturize depends
on many factors, including your
skin type, your age and whether
you have specific conditions
such as acne. A good way to test
if you need a moisturizer is to
wait 20 minutes after bathing.
If your skin feels tight, you
should apply a moisturizer.
Select a moisturizer with a sun
protection factor (SPF) of at
least 15 to help protect your
skin from damaging ultraviolet
rays. If you have sensitive
skin, look for products free of
heavy dyes, perfumes or other
additives. If your skin is very
dry, you may want to apply an
oil, such as baby oil, while
your skin is still moist. Oil
has more staying power than
moisturizers do and prevents the
evaporation of water from the
surface of your skin. If your
skin is oily, you may want to
skip moisturizing.
5. Shave carefully
Shaving is a common and
inexpensive way to remove
unwanted hair. But shaving can
cause skin irritations,
especially if your skin is thin,
dry or very sensitive. For a
smooth shave:
Press a warm wash cloth on
your skin before shaving to
soften the hair. Or shave after
a warm bath or shower.
Don't shave dry skin, which
can cause razor burn. Apply
shaving cream, lotion or gel
before shaving to protect and
lubricate your skin.
Use a clean, sharp razor. If
using an electric razor, don't
use the closest setting, which
can irritate the skin.
Shave in the direction of hair
growth, not against it.
Rinse your skin afterwards
with warm water.
If irritation does occur, apply
a lotion that doesn't contain
ethyl or isopropyl alcohol.
Though alcohol and alcohol-based
products may feel cooling, they
don't really soothe irritated
skin because the alcohol
evaporates rapidly from the
skin.
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rights reserved. A single copy
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for Medical Education and
Research. |
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