Did you know that your skin is considered the body’s largest organ? Not only does it cover roughly 20 square feet, it also makes up around 16 percent of your body’s weight. Skin is your body’s first line of defense against bacteria, viruses, pollutants and chemicals, and helps the body to regulate its temperature and maintain adequate fluid balances. Here are some quick and easy tips to boost the health of your skin to keep it looking and working at its optimal levels.

Tip 1: Use Sunscreen Daily and Year-round

One of the best things you can do to protect the health of your skin is to use sunscreen daily. As chronic sun damage destroys collagen and elastin in your skin, speeds up skin’s aging processes and increases one’s risks of skin cancer, sunscreen works to block out the sun’s damaging UV rays. When sunscreen is applied, the skin’s essential proteins like keratin are protected, keeping skin healthier in appearance and function. Having a sunscreen that is a broad-spectrum physical sunscreen will provide the best coverage, while keeping your skin healthy.

Tip 2: Keep Your Skin Moisturized

Keeping your skin moisturized, free from dryness and cracks, boosts skin’s protective barrier functions and keeps it from being irritated. Ways to keep your skin moisturized include things like avoiding harsh drying soaps, using a humidifier, limiting the length of your showers, using warm water not hot water to wash your face, applying water-based skin care products, and staying well hydrated.

Tip 3: Get Adequate Sleep

Sleep deprivation increases the aging of your skin and decreases its ability to repair itself. Sleep is needed for the body to produce collagen and remove the extra toxins and chemicals in the body. Lack of sleep is reflected on your skin with dark circles, increased puffiness and increased wrinkles. With lack of sleep your skin will have more inflammation, leading to increased acne breakouts and skin allergies. Consistent adequate sleep will allow your skin to renew and repair itself, delaying the effects of aging and increasing its protective functions.

Tip 4: Eat a Healthy and Nutritious Diet

What you eat plays a role in the health of your skin. When your diet is high in refined carbohydrates, processed foods and fried foods, your skin has a harder time being healthy, reflected with increased acne, eczema, psoriasis and rosacea. There is a gut-skin connection, where how you eat impacts the health of your skin. Eating foods that are rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin A and Zinc will boost the health of your skin. Include in your diet berries, fatty fish, avocadoes, walnuts, red peppers, broccoli, mangoes, tomatoes and green tea to boost your skin’s health and glow.

Tip 5: Stay Well Hydrated

Keeping well hydrated helps brighten up your skin’s appearance, decreases the size of your pores, and improves the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. Adequate water intake keeps the skin plumper, improves its elasticity and decreases its likelihood to crack and have blemishes. Eating a good variety of fruits and vegetables can also help to boost your skin’s overall hydration.

Tip 6: Don’t Smoke

One of the best things you can do for the health of your skin is to stop smoking. Smoking decreases the amount of blood flow going to the small vessels in your skin. This means that your skin is not receiving the correct amount of oxygen and nutrients, leaving your skin dull, less vibrant, and more prone to wrinkles. When smoking, your lips purse, which dramatically increases the wrinkles around your mouth. Smoking has also been shown to increase the aging process and depletes the skin of Vitamin C, impairing the healing process of the skin.

Tip 7: Wash Your Face Morning and Night

Washing your face in the morning and evening helps to remove unwanted dirt, oil and debris. Throughout the day your skin is bombarded with chemicals, bacteria, pollutants and toxins, so washing your face helps to remove all of these. Without cleansing your skin, the buildup of these items can lead to increased blemishes, clogged pores, or dry, irritated skin. Having a simple face washing routine will boost the health of your skin, keeping it looking fresh and younger.

Tip 8: Reduce Stress

When the body is under stress, it produces more of the hormone cortisol. Increased cortisol levels have been shown to increase the amount of oils in the skin, leading to increased acne and skin inflammation. Conditions like eczema, psoriasis and rosacea have been shown to worsen with stress. Putting into place stress reduction strategies like meditation, yoga, reading, or deep breathing exercises will help to improve the health and appearance of your skin.

Tip 9: Exercise and Sweat More

Have you noticed after a good sweaty work-out, or sitting in the sauna for 20 minutes, your skin feels more refreshed and renewed? Water from the sweat is hydrating to the skin, while the salt and minerals in the sweat act as natural exfoliants. Sweating helps the skin to get rid of trapped bacteria, dirt and oils, and helps to balance out the pH of the skin.

Tip 10: See a Skin Care Professional

With your skin being such an important organ of the body, it is important to take great care of it. At Besana Health and Wellness, we have trained experts who would love to provide you with a skin consultation, providing recommendations for how to optimize the health and beauty of your skin.

Call our office today at (303) 327-7300 to book your free skin consultation with one of our expert Aestheticians