How To Take Care Of Your Skin Correctly

Author: Joseph Camilleri

Skin Care
Your outer shell is the clearest indication of your inner health. The smoother and shinier your skin is, the healthier you will look. Taking care of your skin is easy and it only takes 10 – 15 minutes per day.

What you should know
Contrary to what most people believe, bacteria and dirt are not the main cause of problematic and blemish-prone skin. In fact the problem might be hereditary. The inability of your skin to shed old, dead skin cells allows dirt and bacteria to be trapped and this might be the cause of most of your blemishes. Also eating fatty foods such as pizza, chocolate and French-fries rarely effects your skin, however knowing this should not encourage such foods into your diet (as I believe you should know).

Skin and Sun
Another myth is that sun is not good for your skin. The latter statement would be true if there was the word excessive in the beginning. Sun is vital for the skin and believe it or not the sun delivers a vitamin that helps your skin’s elasticity, which will prevent it from cracks. Yes! You should avoid spending too much time in the sun but give your skin the chance to be exposed to natural light. Consult your dermatologist to buy a product that protects excessive UVA and UVB rays from damaging your skin, with an optimum SPF (sun protection factor) for your skin type especially if you are going to spend long hours in the sun.

Avoid over-washing
A common mistake within people with problematic skin is over-washing. This is due to the fact that they think that washing the skin more frequently will help to get rid of the bacteria that are causing blemishes. This is so not true. Limit washing to no more than two to three times a day. Apart from causing an increase in oil production, over-washing may lead to tear or irritate fragile skin and will aggravate problems. Limit the use of facial scrubs to 2 – 3 times a week. Facial scrubs usually carry high levels of isopropyl alcohol which tends to tear and irritate fragile skin, so limiting the use of abrasive scrubs will allow your skin enough time to produce new cells.

Damage cycle
Avoid squeezing blemishes because this only serves to force bacteria deeper into the skin causing inflammation and infection. Infections will make you itch and itching will worsen the problem. This will cause a damage cycle to your skin.

Oily habits
Wash your hands frequently and get out of the habits of touching your face or resting your chin on your hands as you read or think. The heat produced by your hands when in contact with your face will trigger the oil glands to produce more oil. Also your hands will produce sweat. Sweat and oil will clog the pores and produce perfect grounds for bacteria. If you need to touch your face for any reason use the ring finger which according to statistics is the least to come in contact with surfaces (in fact the ring finger-nail grows much faster that the other ones). Avoid stress which raises the levels of the hormone cortisone, which increases oil secretion.

Workout rules
Avoid wearing make-up while you exercise, also avoid wearing fitted clothing and hats. If you have long hair tie it up to avoid blocking the pores from perspiring.
Joe Camilleri writes about everything that can enhance the personal well being of a person. He also likes to write about personal image improvement and life etiquette. Get more information about health and fitness, wealth and success at http://www.brains4success.com