A healthy, youthful, glow, and clear skin is all a woman really wants. That’s why we feed into everything that beauty magazines, blogs, celebrities, and skin experts tell us. You tell us we need a mini-fridge full of serums, creams, oils, and what have you to look forever young, and we’re draining our bank accounts.
There are millions of beauty tips out there. There are also thousands of products, cultural beauty traditions, and spa secrets to try out each month. The truth is, however, there are only a handful of beauty tips you need to look your best and keep your skin healthy.
Keep reading to learn more about the only health and beauty tips you need.
Essential Beauty Tips to Live By
We do a lot in life to undo our body’s natural ability to remain pure and youthful. We damage our hair with heat styling and dyes, and then look for the best solutions for achieving healthy hair. We sleep with our makeup on, tan our skin off, and we glue fake nails on top of our own and cry when our real nails crack.
Our hair, skin, and nails deserve better. Our skin especially deserves better, as it’s the body’s largest organ, and has the important job of keeping us safe. Here are the only beauty tips that matter if you truly want to keep your skin healthy, happy, and radiant:
1. Stay Hydrated
It’s plain and simple: dehydration will age you. It makes your wrinkles and pores more apparent, not to mention your complexion duller and skin less resilient. Your body needs proper hydration for its overall health, which includes circulation, digestion, absorption, and excretion of toxins.
Drinking at least eight ounces of water a day will improve your skin’s elasticity and plumpness. It also reduces dark circles, maintains moisture levels, and aids in the prevention of blemishes and wrinkles. So, if you want that glow, grab the H20!
Staying hydrated also means limiting your alcohol intake. Consistent binge drinking puts a strain on the liver, resulting in larger pores, broken capillaries, dryness, and an overgrowth of sweat and oil glands.
2. You Are What You Eat
What you eat eventually becomes a part of your skin cells. So, if you want healthy, radiant skin, you need to stick to a diet that’s high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. That means lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean protein.
Avoid foods that are high in sugar, carbohydrates, dairy, additives, and chemicals. A poor diet will contribute to inflammation, acne, and the break down of collagen which equates to aging.
3. Get Plenty of Exercise
Along with staying hydrated and maintaining a healthy diet, fitness completes the trifecta for total body health. You need to get your bodying moving at least three times per week to get your blood pumping. Your body—and skin—depend on good circulation to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your cells.
All it takes is a moderate amount of exercise to promote collagen production and the growth of new skin cells. Exercise also helps to reduce stress, which can also take its toll on your skin. So, get your blood flowing to get that skin glowing.
4. Wear Sunscreen Daily
UV rays do the most damage when you least expect it. Getting a little color on vacation isn’t the issue, although you should always slather on sunscreen at the beach and limit your sun time. (You should also avoid tanning beds like the plague!) We’re talking about while you’re driving, participating in outdoor activities, working by the window—essentially anytime the sun is out, you’re in its line of fire.
Wearing a daily sunscreen with an SPF 30 is non-negotiable. Over time, exposure to the sun’s UV rays causes hyperpigmentation, fine lines, wrinkles, and in some cases skin cancer. The more time you spend in the sun unprotected, the faster you’ll age prematurely—it’s science.
5. Exfoliate
Dead skin cells like to hang out on your skin, making it hard for your moisturizer and serums to work their magic. They also tend to clog up your pores, leaving your skin dull. Gently exfoliating your skin twice a week is essential to sloughing off those dead cells to uncover the fresh new ones below.
Not only does exfoliation allow for better penetration of your products, but it also aids in circulation.
6. Always Remove Your Makeup
Sleeping with your makeup on is one of the worst things you can do. Throughout the day, your makeup mixes with pollutants and other contaminants from the environment. When you sleep with your makeup on, the residue clogs your pores and its byproducts and the pollutants it collected breakdown in your skin.
Those pollutants are full of free radicals, which will cause premature aging if you sleep with your makeup on night after night.
7. Less Is More
You don’t need one of those mini-fridges jam-packed with beauty products. All you need are the basics: a cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and sunscreen.
Using too many skincare products can have adverse effects, especially if you’re using a combination of products that don’t agree with each other. For example, niacinamide and vitamin C don’t mix. They destabilize each other, causing irritation and breakouts.
This is true for a lot of the products you’re being told to use by beauty magazines and blogs. Adding an antioxidant serum or an AHA exfoliant to your routine is obviously beneficial, but you don’t need to go overboard and collect every product on the market.
There are plenty of moisturizers and sunscreens out there that are packed with antioxidants and other skin-boosting ingredients. If a serum is a must, opt for one that directly fullfills your skin’s needs, and leave it at that.
8. Get Your Beauty Sleep
It’s true, you need at least eight hours of sleep—consistently. While you sleep, your body releases the human growth hormone (HGH), which contributes to collagen production. Collagen doesn’t just give you shiny hair and nails, it also strengthens and rebuilds your skin.
Poor sleep habits raise your cortisol levels, which interferes with your collagen production. It also contributes to higher levels of stress, which can make any skin problems you’re facing much worse.
Take Care of Your Skin
Taking care of yourself properly is the ultimate beauty tip anyone can ever give you. Your skin is a reflection of your health and how well you take care of yourself. If you treat your body right and keep up with your skincare routine, it’ll show through your glow.
For more health and beauty tips and other interesting articles, check out the rest of our blog.
