Being a full time college student with a job is busy as it is, but neglecting to take care of your skin will catch up with you sooner or later. Skin routines do not need to take up hours or even 15 minutes of your day. Hopefully, these three simple tasks to maintain or work towards clearer skin will be beneficial to not only your appearance, but your health and confidence overall.
The first practice towards clear skin is applying lotion while your skin is still wet. It may sound weird, but trust me it truly works. When you step out of the shower, or when your skin is wet, your pores are open. So, the lotion is able to deeply sink into your skin, and last longer throughout your busy day. Do not wait until your skin feels dry or irritated to apply lotion. You must be proactive in applying lotion before this happens, and doing so to wet skin will help to prevent this from happening even more. Not only does applying lotion to skin when wet have lasting benefits, but the amount of lotion being applied has a big impact. A pea sized amount is not enough, you truly should be slathering on that lotion, having the goal of looking like casper the ghost when you’re done. You will be amazed at how much your skin acts like a sponge by soaking up the lotion applied. Not only does this process reduce the dryness, irritation, and redness of your skin, but the daily application of lotion maintains the firmness, and youthfulness of your skin.
The second practice for clear and youthful skin is drinking water. I know many of us have heard this over and over again recently, but that is because it is truly beneficial, and crucial for clearing up or maintaining one’s clear complexion. I always have people telling me how I am obsessed with drinking water. Friends will say to me “Do you really need to bring your huge water bottle everywhere?”, and my answer is always yes. Wherever I am I always have my water bottle on hand, because it is a constant reminder to drink water. If you are someone who struggles with drinking water, try downloading apps that record your water intake, have a timer set every hour or so to drink a glass or more of water, or even recruit a friend to be purposely annoying by blowing up your phone reminding you to drink some quality H20.
Lastly, promoting and maintaining clear skin should go hand in hand with your diet. Not only will your mind and body thank you, but your skin will as well. Cutting down on sugar, and any processed foods in general will have dramatic effects on your complexion. Having a high sugar intake, which is most likely found in processed foods, is just as bad for your skin as it is for your waistline. When you eat sugar, there is a spike in your insulin levels, causing inflammation throughout your body. This inflammation caused by sugar intake leads to the production of enzymes. The enzymes produced break down crucial components of your skin known as elastin and collagen. Sagging and the production of wrinkles is the final result of this process, which I am sure no one wants. Of course, totally eliminating sugar from your diet would not be ideal for some, but being aware of not only the amount of sugar, but the ingredients in what you are consuming is extremely important.
Maintaining and promoting clear and youthful skin does not have to be hard. Hours in the bathroom and hundreds of dollars spent on skincare products is not helping your skin, your productivity, or your bank account. By simply applying lotion to wet skin, drinking water, and being insightful about what you’re putting into your body, you will not only see, but also feel the lasting results.