How To Make Your Skin Care Count
Why Should I Take Care Of My Skin?
Proper
skin care makes a difference!
Your skin is one of the most powerful indicators of health. Wrinkles, dry or oily skin, acne, and inflammation all are signs of poor internal health, often brought on by consuming unhealthful foods and avoiding skin-healthy nutrients.
After all, skin is the body’s largest organ, but it’s often taken for
granted. Most people ignore their skin until they notice acne breakouts or signs of
aging, a wrinkle or an age spot. Healthy looking skin should be a top priority!
There’s more to your skin than its cosmetic function.
The skin is important to good health. Your skin is a mirror of the life you lead, all skin conditions,
from acne to aging to psoriasis. If you’re not eating right or receiving sufficient sleep or
exercising enough, your skin will show it.
Consider
these skin facts:
- An adult’s skin
comprises between 15 and 20 percent of total body weight.
- Each square
centimeter of skin has 6 million cells, 5,000 sensory points, 100
sweat glands and 15 sebaceous glands.
Skin is constantly
being regenerated. Your skin cells are created in the lower layer of
the skin called the dermis. The dermis is a busy place, full of nerve
endings and sweat glands, hair follicles and capillaries. Capillaries
transmit nutrition to the cells in the dermis and they help the skin
to perform an important cooling function. The epidermis is the outside
layer, providing a barrier to the body. The epidermis has
no direct blood supply, but instead is supported and fed by the dermis.
Skin cells migrate
upward from the dermis to the epidermis. Each cell spends about two
weeks in the epidermis, where it eventually flattens out and moves toward
the surface. There, it dies and is shed. You lose two to three billion
skin cells EVERY DAY! The body works hard to create a strong, healthy
skin barrier, capable of protecting against dehydration, infection,
or toxins in the environment.
Skin cells can
detoxify harmful substances with many of the same enzymatic processes
the liver uses. However, poor diet, drugs, alcohol, excessive sun exposure,
environmental toxins and tobacco smoke increase free radical activity
and age your skin, creating wrinkles, discoloration, saggy skin, and
a dull complexion. As your skin is weakened, its ability to protect
you is also diminished.
What
Can I Do NOW To Create Visible Improvement?
Use Chemical-free and Petroleum-free Skin Care Products
A nourishing skin
care ritual is important to creating an appearance which is vibrant
and healthy. Your skin care products should contain natural, active
ingredients. Plant extracts and vitamin-derived antioxidants are rarely
irritating and can actually improve your skin health. Stay away from
soaps and detergents (like sodium lauryl sulfate and cocamide DEA) which
are harsh on skin and can be toxic.
Avoid Sun Damage
Avoiding sun damage
is the single best thing you can do for your skin. But, even wrinkles
and discoloration respond to vitamin supplements and healing foods,
along with a nourishing skin care regimen. And always drink plenty of
water. Proper hydration is important, not just for your skin, but for
overall good health.
Eat Right For Healthy Skin
What you put in your mouth can make all the difference in whether
or not you have active or inactive acne. Foods that cause internal
inflammation are the same foods that exaggerate skin and acne breakouts.
Properly balanced foods are essential for fighting and preventing skin outbreaks.
Inflammation-causing foods are those that trigger a rapid rise in blood-sugar levels.
When this happens, the pancreas gland excretes insulin. The insulin lowers the
blood-sugar levels back to a healthy range, but in the process, the body
experiences inflammation.
You can avoid inflammation by simply not eating the foods that cause this rapid
rise in blood-sugar levels. Foods that are low on the glycemic index are the
best for you to eat. High-glycemic foods are the worst for you to eat.
Nourish And Protect Your Skin
Daily skin care
makes the difference. Just as daily exercise and proper nutrition contribute
to physical fitness, proper skin treatment can create a visible improvement
in your appearance. Some beauty products merely mask problem skin, while
others actually work to repair the damage caused by aging, stress, poor
nutrition and environmental toxins. Skin care products with Aloe
vera, vitamins, antioxidants and plant botanicals nourish your skin,
rejuvenating your body’s largest organ.
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