As we age, the effects on our skin become much more apparent. The sun and our environment wreak havoc on our skin, and cause it to age and wrinkle before it's time. Luckily there are a few things you can do to slow the progress of these effects.
One of the most important things that our skin requires is water. Water is very important for the entire body, as well as the skin. Every day we are taking in pollutants from the foods that we eat, and the air that we breathe. These pollutants are removed by water through perspiration, and urination. If we don't have enough water in our body, the pollutants are not removed efficiently, and store up in the skin. This can cause our skin to look aged, and wrinkled.
Making sure to get enough water will help rid your body of the pollutants, as well as keep the skin hydrated. Well-hydrated skin is more elastic, and softer than skin that is dehydrated. With this in mind, it is not hard to understand how chronically dehydrated skin could become wrinkled, and age early in life. Just think about a dry riverbed. After the water in the riverbed dries up, the mud on the bottom becomes dry, and cracked. Your skin is much the same way, and drinking the appropriate amount of water each day can help to keep this from happening.
If you ask one person what the appropriate amount of water to drink is, they may tell you 5 eight ounce glasses per day. Another may say 6 to 8 eight ounce glasses per day. The thing is that each person is different, and may require a different amount. A simple rule of thumb is to take your body weight, divide that by two, and drink that amount in ounces each day. In other words, if your body weight is 150 pounds, you would take that number, divide that by two, and you would come up with 75 pounds. The 75 pounds now becomes ounces, so you would need to drink at least 75 ounces of pure filtered water per day. If you were working in hot weather, then naturally you would want to increase that amount to replace what is lost through perspiration.
Foods That Promote Healthy Skin
There are a number of foods that promote healthy skin, and we will cover a few here. Several types of fruit promote healthy skin, and the types to be considered are the many different berries out there. Blackberries, Blueberries, and Strawberries are high in antioxidants, as well as many other nutrients, and antioxidants are responsible for eliminating free radicals in the human body. Free radicals are very damaging to skin cells, and eating a diet rich in antioxidants will help your body eliminate the free radicals, thereby helping your skin remain healthy.
Another thing that your skin needs for good health is essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are responsible for promoting healthy cell membranes. The cell membranes act as barriers to harmful things trying to get inside the cells themselves, if you can stop these from getting inside the cells, your skin cells will be that much healthier. These fatty acids can be found in many types of food, one of which is fish. Many fish contain them, but one type in particular contains them in abundance, and that is Salmon. Eating Salmon two or three times per week will give you a good amount of these fatty acids, the health of your skin cells will improve. When your skin cells are healthy, your overall complexion will show that.
Spinach, and other green leafy vegetables are also great ways to promote healthy, vibrant skin. Spinach for one has an abundance of vitamins, and the kinds of vitamins in spinach, as well as the quantity of each puts spinach into the super food category. Some of the vitamins in a one-cup serving of raw spinach, as well as their quantities are as follows.
As you can see, spinach has a very high nutritional value to it. These vitamins, as well as many other nutrients found in spinach are very good for the health of your skin. Putting these in your diet, even a few times a week, should help to improve the health and overall appearance of your skin in a very short period of time.
Finally, don't over expose yourself to the sun! A little sun can go a long way, and everyone should invest in a high SPF sun block and wear it religiously.
We need the sun to survive because it plays a vital role in metabolizing certain nutrients. However, too much sun is a major cause of wrinkles, and worse. If you are interested in achieving a great tan without the potential damage, a product which we've found works well are sunless tanning towels. They go on smooth, are natural, and they don't leave you orange.
Using Lotions And Creams For Healthy Skin
In addition to eating a proper diet and drinking sufficient amounts of water to promote healthy skin, using good moisturizing lotions can help also. A moisturizing cream should be formulated to draw moisture to your skin, not just add oils to it. Glycerin, and Butyline Glycol are two ingredients that help attract moisture to the skin. Any moisturizing lotion that you buy should at least contain these two ingredients.
Many skin care lotions claim to moisturize and promote healthy skin, but many of them merely add oils to the skin, and don't really moisturize. Be careful of what type you use in this regard, because the object is to draw moisture to the skin, but at the same time, allow moisture in the form of perspiration, to escape. If you are clogging your pores with an oily or greasy lotion, perspiration will not be able to occur as easily, and remember that your body needs to be able to perspire in order to rid itself of pollutants.
Another concern many women have, especially those that are pregnant are stretch marks. Stretch marks are caused when your skin has to stretch farther than it is capable of. When you're skin is hydrated and elastic it can stretch much further reducing the possibilities of developing stretch marks. Again, drinking plenty of water is a must, but to get that little extra protection, you might try Everderm stretch mark cream. Many people, both men and women, have had exciting results preventing stretch marks and even reducing existing stretch marks with Everderm.
I hope that you have gained a little insight into the proper care of your skin, and will begin to use this information. The skin is the largest, and one of the most important organs of the human body, and it's proper care is essential to your good health. Take good care of it, and your body will thank you.
James is a health, beauty, and wellness writer. Having great skin is a passion of his so as he comes across skin care information he habitually shares it with the world.
James also likes to share findings about great skin care products. As he or those he knows uses them, he'll often write reviews to benefit others.
One product in particular that he is always talking about is Hylexin dark circle eye cream. James has suffered with allergies and sinus problems for years resulting in chronic dark circles. Hylexin has helped him stop looking like a raccoon.