10 Tips For Radiant Skin
I get a lot of questions about how I keep my skin radiant and glowing from men and women alike, so I thought it best to make this post. To be honest, I haven’t attained my goals for my skin yet, but my skin and I have definitely come a long way.
I’m one of those people who are lucky to be born with good skin, but good skin isn’t exactly great skin. Also, I took my good skin for granted and didn’t take care of it, until my good skin became bad. I started to suffer from constant acne break outs, severe sun burns and discolorations from too much unprotected sun exposure. It wasn’t until then that I saw the necessity in taking care of my skin.
Initially, I thought I’d be content with wearing a lot of makeup everyday to cover them up, but that got tiring and also made the blemishes worse. I then tried short cut treatments that only took care of the breakouts short term. That also didn’t work as well as new ones always arrived shortly after. I tried several products, some of which worked on the blemishes, but left my skin looking stripped of all moisture. I was very oily skinned at the time, and thought it was a curse and the cause of all my breakouts; so I tried everything to “de-oil” my skin. How wrong I was! Finally I decided to do some proper research on skincare. This lit up my interest in skincare and led to my taking classes and becoming a certified skincare consultant.
Over the years, I have studied skin and how to get really radiant skin long term, and I’d be sharing them below. Note that these tips are not instant cures or speedy treatment of skin problems. They are more of a lifestyle adjustments and regimens to keep your skin glowing long term.
Note that it is best to pay attention to skin on your entire body, but with extra attention to areas like the face, hands and feet; not paying attention to just the face and neglecting everywhere else. With that being said, below are ten tips that will ensure your skin stays beautiful and supple.
- Always wear a sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher, to avoid sun related skin injuries, premature skin damage due to photoaging. This will also do well to prevent discolorations and preserve your natural skin complexion. Finally and most importantly, wearing a sunscreen helps to prevent skin cancers.
- Cleanse your skin regularly and carefully. Dirty skin breeds bacteria that causes skin breakouts. I personally suggest to wash or shower twice a day if the weather permits it. If not, cleanse at the end of your day. This is because we accumulate more dirt and germs during the course of our daily activities, than we do while asleep at night. Ensure to take off makeup first, with a makeup remover. Then follow up the shower with a face toner or cleanser.
- Anytime you rid your skin of moisture by washing or cleansing it, you have to restore the moisture with a face or/and body moisturizer. Your body moisturizer is your lotion or oil. Most body lotions cannot be used on the face cause they are too heavy for the pores on the face. So you either get one suitable for both face and body, or get separate moisturizers for your face and body respectively. Ensure to choose moisturizers suitable for your skin type. Most of them have information on them for the skin type they are suitable for, e.g suitable for dry to normal skin.
- Exfoliate mildly regularly, to remove dead cells and leave skin looking fresh and healthy. Either use a gentle exfoliating wash with a washcloth (or other mild exfoliating agents) once daily; or use an exfoliating cream or exfoliating face brush/sponge two to three times weekly. Don’t scrub too hard, as this can damage the capillaries.
- Drink lots and lots of water daily. Hydration is very key to radiant skin; dehydrated skin tends to look worn out and full of lines. The body loses at least one pint (600ml) of water daily by evaporation through the skin, this is minus the ones lost through excretion. Drink at least eight glasses of water daily to maintain the hydration balance. I also find that there is something extra about drinking a glass or two of water right before bed and right when you wake, that gives you such an exceptional radiance that lasts all day long. Finally, water helps to cleans the body of impurities and this helps to detox the system. A healthy body is a healthy skin.
- Exercising regularly increases blood circulation. This ensures that nutrients supplies to the body are carried to the skin. Exercising also increases the body temperature, the heat opens the pores and increases sweating, which helps unclog clogged pores. Finally, exercising increases the circulation of oxygenated blood, which helps with the renewal of skin cells.
- Eat lots of fruits and vegetables daily to keep your skin looking beautiful. Fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants and help protect the skin from environmental damage. I personally do this by having a fruit and/or vegetable smoothie everyday. I get an intake of more fruits that way. I also recommend Omega 3-6-9 supplements, Biotin supplements for maintaining good skin. Another thing that is key for good skin is staying off processed sugar and eating healthy in general. Your skin will definitely thank you for the sacrifice.
- Sleep at least seven hours everyday. Rested skin always looks refreshed everyday. Sleep is great for you, because it is when your body recuperates from the stress of the day.
- Allow your skin to breathe. I cannot over emphasize this. Do not overload your skin with makeup daily. Have days when you keep your skin makeup free. Also, never go to bed with any trace of makeup on your face. Wiping with a makeup removing wipe is not enough. Wash, cleanse and moisturize before bed.
- Be gentle with your skin and handle it with care. Do not rub in products roughly unto your skin, especially not on your face. Pat your face products on instead of rubbing it in. Rubbing, pulling and tugging at your skin (especially the eye area) makes it age faster. Also ensure that you keep items that come in close contact with your skin clean, like your bed linen and towels. I cannot emphasize this enough.
Photo Credit: Google images.
