6 Super Simple Tips for Better Skin Health
Healthy Skin Doesn’t Have To Be Complicated
If your skin is looking less than its best, sometimes there's something fundamental causing problems. More often than not, however, skin issues are the result of simple lifestyle choices. Maintaining healthy skin is often a matter of following a few simple steps, and more than anything, keeping up with it consistently.
#1 - Consistency In Your Skincare Routine
Like so many things, good habits will help you build consistency, which leads to long-term success. It’s no different with your skin.
Sometimes environmental aggressors affect our skin short-term. Maybe you traveled from Denver’s dry air and altitude to a more humid climate and noticed pimples you don’t normally get. Or if you’ve had a particularly stressful week, it can show up in a breakout or redness. We’re all wearing masks more often now, so “maskne” is a very real concern to deal with.
The point is: Skin issues outside of your control will creep up but maintaining a good, consistent skincare routine means that on the balance, you’ll enjoy and maintain healthier skin for years on end.
According to the Mayo Clinic, while it's important to keep your skin clean, even this most basic step can cause issues if it's not taken care of in the best way. That’s why we give every guest at Jalan Facial Spa a skincare guide with product recommendations starting with your cleanser, to mists, eye creams, serums, moisturizers and SPF protection tailored to your specific skin type: oily and acneic skin, pigmented or mature skin, combination skin, or dry skin.
Picking the right products makes all the difference. Daily cleansing is important, but it has to be the right product for your skin type to keep your skincare routine gentle.
#2 - Nail The Daily Basics
Baths and showers: Long exposure to hot water removes oils from your skin, leaving it dry and even damaged. When you can, keep hot-water exposure short and sweet. Now that it’s getting colder, hot showers and baths can be enticing, so try alternating warm and then hot for a few seconds to avoid damaging your skin with hot water for your entire bath or shower.
Use mild soaps: Along with hot water, harsh chemicals can also strip oils from your skin. Choose mild soaps that moisturize and check ingredient lists for harsh chemicals, artificial ingredients, preservatives like parabens, and the like.
Pat dry: Gentle patting with a soft cloth or towel is all that's necessary after a shower or bath. If you’re overly aggressive drying off, especially in colder months when the skin can be drier and even more so if you’re taking showers that are too hot for too long, you may cause peeling or redness.
Moisturize: Be sure to moisturize after bathing. Water can evaporate off your skin quickly after bathing, so moisturizing helps keep moisture in. Moisturized skin is happy skin!
#3 - Stay Hydrated
Try to drink eight glasses of water a day. For snacking, try to incorporate fruits and vegetables. These not only have natural nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to benefit your skin, but also a high water content to aid hydration. If you’re at even higher altitudes for skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, or hiking… you’ll want to drink even more water.
For a level up throughout the day, try a mist like Jurlique’s Rosewater Balancing Mist or Herbal Recovery Signature Mist to help hydrate on the go and reinvigorate dull skin.
Signs that you lack proper hydration can include:
dizziness
fatigue
dry mouth/bad breath
dark urine
eyes look shrunken
dry, flaky skin
itchy skin
Dehydration is a serious issue affecting far more than just skin health. Taking hydration seriously will help you both look and feel better with more energy to go about your day!
#4 - Balanced Nutrition
One of the best things you can do for your skin is to maintain a diet of healthy foods such as fresh fruits, veggies, protein, healthy fats from lean meats, fish, and legumes. Staying away from processed foods, added sugars, and simple carbohydrates and replacing them with more natural and healthful counterparts can help you maintain healthy skin with a glowing complexion.
#5 - Use SPF Every Day, Every Season
According to the American Association of Dermatologists, everyone can benefit from applying sunscreen. Protecting against UVA and UVB rays will go a long way toward delaying your skin's aging process and guarding against skin cancer. It’s important to apply SPF every day, year-round especially at high altitude here in Colorado. Applying SPF is one step you can't afford to skip!
#6 - Get Enough Sleep
When our sleep is inconsistent or insufficient, one of the first parts of our bodies to suffer the consequences is our skin. The skin under our eyes seems to sink and darken, our fine lines and wrinkles deepen, and we grow pale.
Most of us should be getting between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. If you struggle to get consistent sleep, take a look at your bedtime routine to see if you can find ways to relax, put your phone down, or try a sleep app to help monitor your sleep quality in case external factors like noise, temperature, or duration of your sleep are impacting the quality of your rest.
Here are some simple steps you can take to help you fall asleep and stay asleep:
Establish nighttime rituals to help your body ease into a sleep routine.
Wear loose-fitting, breathable clothes to bed.
Put the phone down! Blue light (even in nightshift mode) stimulates our brains and makes it more difficult to get to sleep.
When you’re in bed — sleep! Bed is for sleep and intimacy. Working, browsing the internet, eating… all these things interfere with signaling to the body it’s time for rest.
A well-rested body is better able to maintain healthy systems — including healthy skin!
Need More? We Can Help!
There are many natural, daily steps you can take to maintain great skin. For those days you need more thorough pampering, invest in yourself and book a treatment at Jalan Facial Spa today!