Maintain your skin

Nothing defines your age more than your skin. If you have a few gray hairs you can easily color them with hair dye, but once your skin has begun to show the signs of age it can be very difficult to make it look young again. Your skin is the largest organ in your body and it is very important to keep it as healthy as your heart, lungs and liver. Skin protects us from the extremes of our environment and from pollutants in the air around us. Fortunately the same things that will keep your skin healthy will also keep it younger looking.

The sun is your skin's worst enemy. When you sunburn your skin you damage the cells. When skin cells are damaged, your skin must generate new cells to replace them and this process weakens your skin every time it is repeated. Your skin will suffer from premature aging if you don't protect if from UV rays and repeated sunburns. Not only can UV rays cause your skin to look older than it is but they can also cause skin cancer. The only way to fully protect your skin is to use a sun block cream every single day. You can find daily moisturizers with UV protection as well as foundation makeup with SPF's up to 15. Wear a hat or visor to protect your face from the sun. Clothing alone will not protect your skin from UV rays. The more exposure you have to ultraviolet rays the more wrinkles you will find on your skin in the coming years.


Besides causing lung cancer, yellowed teeth, and a terrible odor, smoking also causes your skin to age prematurely. Smoking depletes your skin of oxygen and nutrients and breaks down the skin's stores of collagen and elastin. The skin of a smoker becomes dried out and wrinkled because it is dehydrated and has lost its resiliency. Smoking can also cause your skin to look pale or grayish in color. Quitting smoking will improve your health and the appearance of your skin greatly.

One way to keep your skin from wrinkling is to keep it hydrated from within. Drinking plenty of water really does help your skin become healthier and less susceptible to wrinkles. Eight to ten glasses of water per day might sound like quite a bit but our bodies really need that much water to stay healthy inside and out.

Skin needs plenty of oxygen to stay healthy and what better way to get extra oxygen than to exercise. Do regular aerobic exercises and fill your lungs up with as much oxygen as you can breathe in. Exercising keeps your skin toned and your body in good shape. When your body is in good shape it is better equipped to keep its organs healthy.

Exfoliated skin is healthy skin. It's important to exfoliate the dead cells from your skin on a regular basis to keep your skin looking good. If you don't exfoliate your skin it will be less able to benefit from the creams and moisturizers you apply to it. Rubbing sea salt on your skin with a bit of water is an excellent way to exfoliate. Regular soap can be very drying for your skin and leave a residue as well.

Using a moisturizer every day will help your skin stay elastic and healthy looking. A moisturizer should be used all over the body each time you bathe or shower. Body oil applied to slightly wet skin after a shower will help seal in moisture and keep your skin from drying out. Use a moisturizer on your face in the morning and at night. Vitamin C creams can provide excellent wrinkle control and they may also help brown spots to fade. A product that contains alpha hydroxy acids can be effective in keeping your skin younger looking as well. Expensive creams that claim to restore certain elements to your skin are not usually effective.

If you take good care of your skin from the inside out it will provide you with many years of protection without making you look older than your years. Make skin care a regular part of your routine.

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