Your skin is the largest organ in your body, so it stands to reason you should do your best to keep it as healthy as possible. Some skin conditions can be a lot worse than others, possibly leading to other health concerns as well. But, for the most part, skin problems are more of an aesthetic issue. They don’t necessarily cause harm, but they can impact the way you look, which might damage your mental health.
Of course, you also have some of the annoying symptoms that come with common skin problems. This could include things like a burning sensation, itchiness, painful acne bumps, etc. So, while they don’t necessarily harm your health, they do cause a bit of discomfort.
As a result, it’s good to take better care of your skin health to reduce these symptoms and make yourself feel much better about yourself. The good news is that you can see improvements and prevent most skin conditions with a few simple pieces of advice. The guide below will tell you what to do, and you could see improvements within a couple of weeks!
Figure out your skin type
Firstly, you need to figure out what type of skin you have. This is extremely important as it basically dictates the main things you have to do to keep your skin healthy. Traditionally, there are five main skin types:
- Normal skin – not too dry or too oily, perfectly balanced
- Dry skin – lacks the production of key skin oils, so it often appears dried out and cracked
- Oily skin – produces too much oil, can look greasy
- Combination skin – has a combination of dry and oily skin in different parts of your face/body
- Sensitive skin – prone to reactions, can often be red, inflamed, or itchy
If you don’t know your skin type, you are probably going to do things that won’t help your skin and will make your problems worse. For instance, if you have oily skin and you use a lot of oily moisturizers, you’re exacerbating the problems that come with this skin type – such as acne and clogged pores.
Here’s a really good video that will help you find your skin type in just a few simple steps:
Limit your products
Look around your bathroom or bedroom and count how many skincare products you currently have. It’s most likely going to creep into double figures as you’ve bought everything you can possibly think of to improve your skin. In reality, this is probably what’s causing most of your problems.
A good skincare routine will only need a handful of products. In truth, you’ll need three main things to use every single day:
- A good moisturizer
- A serum
- A cleanser
You can add an exfoliator to this, but you won’t use that every day as it can damage your skin. When it comes to making your skin healthy, less is certainly more.
Pick the right products for your skin type
Going back to the first point, you now need to pick the right products for your skin type. If you have dry skin, you need a moisturizer and cleanser that suits dry skin. Typically, these products will be oil-based as they help replace the oils your skin is losing every day, making it dry. The opposite is true if you have oily skin – your products need to be geared towards reducing oil levels.
For normal or sensitive skin, your products should also align with your needs. There are plenty of products out there for sensitive skin which are typically designed to prevent reactions. This can stop your skin from becoming red and inflamed if you are prone to reactions during your skincare routine.
When it comes to your serum, you should pick something that’s important for your skin type. Again, think about what your skin needs if it is overly dry – you want serums that hydrate it, which is why a simple hyaluronic acid serum is a fantastic option.
For oily skin, you want serums with ingredients that try to balance oil levels and deal with common issues, like acne. Here, a serum that contains salicylic acid is a fantastic option, as is one with AHAs and BHAs.
Don’t worry, the beauty industry has made life much easier for you in the last decade or so. Pretty much every product will now be labeled as good for this or that skin type. So, when you’re browsing, you can easily see which serums and moisturizers, etc. are the best for your skin.
Cleanse & moisturize twice a day
Regardless of your skin type, cleansing and moisturizing are essential. It’s a daily practice – one that you should be doing twice per day, actually.
When you wake up, use your cleanser to clear your face of any dirt, debris, or sweat that’s accumulated while you’ve been sleeping. Also, you’ll be pretty amazed at how much bacteria gets on your face from your pillow, so this can really help you clean your skin and prevent acne and other skin problems.
Follow this up with your moisturizer to ensure your skin remains hydrated. Just because your skin is oily, this doesn’t mean it’s necessarily hydrated. Hydration is important for your skin to remain strong and protective. As long as you use a moisturizer for oily skin, you’ll be fine.
At the end of the day, perform the same routine again; cleanse, then moisturize. Also, between these two steps, add in your serum of choice. It should always be done before applying moisturizer as the moisturizer helps to lock the serum in and ensures it penetrates deep beneath the skin’s surface.
Moisturizing can also help you deal with a lot of really common skin concerns. Obviously, dry skin is a big problem, but you can also try to calm the symptoms of things like psoriasis. Now, there are many types of psoriasis, and the bad news is that the condition can’t be prevented as it’s an autoimmune disease. However, a good skincare routine that involves regular moisturizing can calm a lot of the symptoms – like dry, inflamed, and itchy skin.
Use SPF all the time – even when it’s not sunny
SPF is typically found in sunscreen products, but it is now more prevalent in moisturizers and other beauty products. You should ensure you have some level of SPF protection every single day. For most of you, this can be achieved by picking a moisturizer that includes it as an ingredient. If you can’t find one, for whatever reason, there are makeup products that contain it as well.
SPF is essential to protect your skin from the sun, preventing skin cancer. Remember way back in the introduction when we said some skin conditions are worse than others and lead to health problems? Well, this is pretty much the big Daddy of bad skin conditions.
Skin cancer is obviously extremely bad because it can destroy your life. Treating it is possible, especially when found early – which is why everyone should learn how to spot the early signs of skin cancer. But, like all diseases in life, preventing it is much easier than curing it. SPF is your best friend in this regard, offering extra defense for your skin against cancer. Don’t underrate this – wear SPF every single day to protect yourself against the UV rays, even if it’s cloudy. As a bonus, this can also prevent sun damage to your skin, which could delay the common signs of aging.
Eat healthily
It sounds cliche, but healthy eating will lead to healthier skin. There’s a two-pronged attack here, and the first aspect is that healthy foods contain key nutrients your skin needs to thrive. This includes lots of vitamins – like C, E, and A – which can be found in most fruits and vegetables. Having high levels of these key vitamins in your body will lead to healthier skin.
The second aspect is that unhealthy food is often really greasy. So, when you eat it, you get grease all over your skin that can cause irritation and breakouts. If you already have oily skin, then you’re basically just piling on the misery. Switching to a healthier diet with fewer greasy foods will make a massive difference.
Go easy on the makeup
Lastly, go easy on the makeup. Too much makeup is not good for your skin as it can clog the pores and cause breakouts. Furthermore, if you have dry skin, makeup can make the problem worse – and the same goes for oily skin.
A simple mantra to live by is “less is more”. You don’t need to cover your face in different makeup products – just apply thin layers and you won’t harm your skin.
Follow the tips in this guide and you are going to see improvements in skin health. Depending on how good your skin currently is, you may see changes in a few weeks at the earliest.
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