Here are 11 tips and tricks for gorgeous skin, according to dermatologists and Sephora:
1. Eat healthy!
I am sure that many of you have heard the myth that eating greasy foods and sweets makes you breakout. This is NOT true. However, even though there is no direct link between eating greasy or sweet foods and breaking out, eating healthy food trumps in benefits. For example, high antioxidant foods the skin repair itself from acne and sun damage and also slow the skin’s aging process. They also reduce inflammation of the skin.
2. Always wash your face before going to bed.
Throughout the day, our skin absorbs things from the environment like dirt and dust, and makeup is the perfect magnet for these elements. When you wash your face at night, you get rid of everything that has built-up in your pores throughout the day, including sweat. This prevents your pores from getting clogged, preventing enlarged pores, breakouts and skin irritations. Not to mention, routinely sleeping in your makeup and not washing your face before bed can cause your skin to look dull, rough and uneven. Just by washing your face every night, you can make your skin look more radiant!
3. Wash your face in a circular motion.
Washing your face – or applying any product to your skin – in a circular motion increases your blood circulation in that area. In turn, this increases cell reproduction, helping with aging and acne-prone skin..
4. Know when to pop a pimple and when NOT to.
Never mess with a pimple that is under the skin; this will cause scarring. In order to reduce scarring from acne, always wait until a zit forms a white head. Pop it to drain out the infection, and then immediately apply a spot treatment that includes benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid which will cause the pimple to dry up.
5. Work out!
Doing physical exercise actually increases the level of oxygen and nutrients in the skin, keeping your skin healthy and vibrant. Also, exercise can reduce breakouts caused from stress, and strength training increases levels of collagen which keeps skin looking young and firm. Sweating also clears the body of toxins, removing dead skin cells and promoting new skin cell growth.
6. Moisturize!
Moisturizing can help a variety of skin problems, as it helps balance the levels of oils in your skin, whether your skin is too oily or too dry. Also, because your facial skin cells replace themselves more often than any other part of the body, your face needs to be moisturized more often to prevent dryness and other problems. But most importantly, moisturizing your skin actually keeps the skin plump and firm, which slows down aging and the production of wrinkles. This is why people with drier skin age faster.
***TIP: If you are always on the go and don’t have time to stay moisturized using creams and lotions, the latest trend is to use a mist. This makes you feel more refreshed and immediately adds water, oils and nutrients to your skin.
7. Drink water.
Water works wonders for the body, especially for the skin. If you want better, clearer, more radiant skin, drink 6-8 glasses every day.
8. Wear sunscreen every day.
Sunscreen shouldn’t only be worn during the summer on the beach.You don’t have to wear a super high SPF, but using makeup with a low SPF, a daily moisturizer with a low SPF, or simply a low SPF sunscreen, it will prevent sun damage. If you want to look young and wrinkle-free, try a daily SPF. Not to mention, the sun makes stretch marks and acne scars darker and more noticeable.
9. Exfoliate.
Exfoliating strips the skin of dead skin cells and other toxins that our skin accumulates over time. It then boosts new cell production, giving our skin a more healthy, clear, radiant look. However, do NOT exfoliate every day or you will begin to strip the skin of its good bacteria, oil and nutrients, causing your skin more harm than good. Only exfoliate 2-3 times per week.
10. Use oils.
People think that putting oil on their skin when they already have excessively oily skin is a definite no. However, this is exactly what you want to do. Putting oil on your skin tells your body that there is already enough oil, slowing down the oil produced by your oil glands. This will cause your skin to look and feel less oily throughout the day.
11. It is never too early to start using anti-aging products.
By using these products now, you can prevent wrinkles and skin damage from showing up later, once it’s too late. One of the best products for anti-aging (and other skin problems as well, such as acne) is a retinol cream.