Usually it is women who worry about skin care, but men are becoming more aware of the importance of good skin, too. There are multitudes of products on the market which were created to improve or preserve skin. Probably, the most effective product line is sun protection for everyone no matter the age.
Give yourself a spa day, every now and then. Not only will a facial, mud mask or detoxifying body scrub, help you release stress which is good for your skin, it will also give it a day of pampering. Try to save up each quarter and make it a special occasion.
Age spots are a form of sun damage that can become more visible as we age. To avoid getting these freckle-like spots, wear a good sunscreen every time you go outdoors. Once you have them, some people get good results with a skin-lightening cream, but you must be consistent with its use, and be patient, as results may take several weeks.
Plain nonfat or low-fat yogurt is calcium-rich, which makes it an ideal and affordable skincare treatment. When applied to tight, dry skin, yogurt will impart a soft and silky feeling. It can also be applied to oily skin as a masque; after five minutes, rinsing off the yogurt will also remove excessive oils without stripping the skin.
Avoid taking long, very hot baths or showers. The intense heat from the hot water and the prolonged exposure to water breaks down the lipid barriers in your skin leading to moisture loss and dry, cracked skin. Lukewarm baths with added essential oils or short showers are much healthier options for your skin.
You should keep your skin care products in a cold environment, especially in the summer time. When you apply warm products on your skin, your face might get flushed, and your warm skin is an ideal environment for the bacterias that were on your fingertips to thrive. With cold products, you reduce the flushing and keep bacterias from spreading.
If you have sensitive skin, avoid facial scrubs that feel gritty or grainy; they will only make your skin retreat in pain. Instead, wash with a gentle castile soap (Dr. Bronner’s is a quirky but reliable brand) and pat gently dry after rinsing. Your sensitive skin is very reactive to its environment and needs the gentlest of treatment. Using grainy scrubs, or especially any products containing AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids) will further aggravate your skin’s sensitivity, creating redness and irritation.
Start using anti-aging creams before wrinkles appear. Most anti-aging creams contain retinoids and Vitamin A, and applying these to your skin can not only reduce the signs of aging, they can delay their onset. Retinol can help skin to get rid of dead cells and increase the amount of collagen produced – leaving your face with a smooth, healthy glow.
To keep your beautiful sunless tan from going to “Maui wowie” to “Minnesota pale,” apply moisturizing lotion at least twice a day. The body loses millions of skin cells every day. When you apply lotion, it keeps old skin feeling new and slows the time it takes for old cells to slough off.
Skin care doesn’t have to be expensive; try a few do-it-yourself remedies to relieve your skin of common problems like pimples. If a blemish appears, put a hot compress on your skin several times and then put hydro-cortisone cream on the spot for two hours. This will help reduce the size of the bump.
If you suffer from allergies or skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis, you may want to try hypoallergenic skin care products. Hypoallergenic skin care products, are specially formulated for those with sensitive skin and provide all the cleanliness that regular skin care products offer, without the possibly of irritating skin.
If you notice that white bumps have appeared on the skin under your eyes, don’t worry. They are the harmless indication that you have an excess of dead skin cells under your eyes. If you want to get rid of them, do not exfoliate since this can damage the paper-thin skin that sits just above your cheekbones. Instead, use an eye product with vitamin A, which will gently slough away the bumps.
If you are a smoker, quitting the habit can be one of the best things you can do to protect your skin. Smoking both decreases the blood flow to your skin and damages the fibers that keep your skin elastic and supple. A long-term smoking habit can be very bad for your skin.
A beautiful tan is very attractive, but the sun can do real damage to skin over an extended period. Even if skin cnncer does not develop, the skin will beocme wrinkled and dry and become less attractive. There are effective self-tanning products which will produce a lovely natural looking tan without damage to the skin.
