9 Self-Care Tips For Better Skin, Better Health & A Better You!
Ever since Eve took that first bite of the apple, the human race has been obsessed with beauty.
The truth is once you turn 25, your skin begins to transition. Cell renewal slows and unhealthy lifestyle habits can speed up the aging process.
Over time, a poor diet, bad sleeping patterns, stress, plus constant exposure to UV rays and pollution play a major role in premature skin aging.
Every day you are bombarded with commercial messages and beauty tips that attempt to lure you into believing that the most recent miracle in a jar is just what you need to fight off the ravages of Mother Nature.
But, while the right skincare routine is vital, alone it cannot preserve your youthful glow!
Instead, try these simple lifestyle changes and self-care practices along with your beauty regimen for faster, better results.
Here are 9 self-care tips for better skin and better health:
Table of Contents
1. SKINCARE ROUTINE
A skincare routine designed specifically for your skin type and concerns is by far the most important step in achieving better skin.
The right morning routine will prepare your skin for the day, ensuring it is nourished and protected. Whereas, an evening routine should involve a double cleanse to remove all of the day’s dirt, grime, and makeup from your pores. This creates a 'clean slate' for your anti-aging serums to penetrate the deeper layers of your skin.
This is where they do their best work!
The right skincare at bedtime helps to support the skin’s rejuvenation cycle that happens last thing at night and first thing in the morning. A night cream is important to 'lock' in all of the skincare goodies from serums and oils. It also creates a barrier that prevents your skin from losing too much moisture while you sleep —Trans Epidermal Water Loss (TEWL), which can result in dehydration.
2. FOOD + NUTRITION
A balanced diet is key to a healthy life. Knowing how and what to eat, can make a huge difference in how you feel. Improper eating habits can cause depression, weight gain, illness, and overall lethargy.
It also doesn’t help your skin. Weight gain causes your skin to stretch. As you get older, it loses its elasticity and you're left with sagging skin.
Beauty Nutrients
Skin Nutrition —or 'Beauty Nutrients' as I like to call them, covers a wide group of macro and micronutrients such as phytonutrients (plant chemicals), healthy fats (omegas), protein (amino acids/collagen), minerals, and vitamins. All backed by science to have nutritional value, including powerful antioxidant benefits for your body.
Antioxidants are powerful anti-agers because they help to slow down the aging process by protecting your cells from free radical damage.
Some beauty nutrients encourage and speed up skin cell renewal and repair, some protect the skin from outside elements like UV light and pollution, while others help to moisturize and strengthen the structure of your skin, hair, and nails.
Fruit, leafy greens, root veggies, nuts, seeds, protein-rich meat, and oily fish are just some of the foods you need to consume to get your daily dose of beauty nutrients. But, who eats like this every day?
Luckily for us, a ton of brands formulate nutrient-rich skin supplements in one handy little capsule, powdered spoonful, or drink.
I've spoken about my love for beauty supplements before in this post about nail growth. Because to be honest, there's no way my skin, hair, and nails would be in such great condition without supplements!
3. EXERCISE
Regular exercise has so many benefits for our health, mental state of mind, energy levels, and also our confidence.
Getting the heart pumping is also really good for your skin! Increased blood flow brings fresh oxygen and nutrients to the skin cells which has a rejuvenating effect on the skin.
Another bonus is that muscle contraction and movement stimulate the lymphatic drainage system, removing toxin buildup and excess fluids from the body.
This can help to decrease puffiness, dark circles, and improve the overall complexion by purifying the skin.
Working out also increases bone density and muscle, making our body look 10-15 years younger. An active life is a healthy life!
If you don’t like the gym, try adding a 30-minute walk to your daily routine.
4. DETOX
Detoxification practices help to minimize the burden of toxins on your organs. This can help to boost energy levels, improve dull, tired skin, reduce dark undereye circles, and enhance overall health.
The body’s metabolism is responsible for a big part of this process, but in everyday life, we are exposed to so many chemical hazards from air, food, medication, and the environment.
Fasting is a great way to detoxify the body. So is juicing. In fact, go check out this post "10 Amazing Juice Recipes To Improve Your Health & Your Skin" to get 4 juice recipes for detox and weight loss.
It goes without saying that a balanced diet consisting of whole foods like fruits and vegetables will help to slow the aging process. While regular consumption of fast food and processed ready meals will speed it up!
You can also detox your skin with an all-natural DIY clay face mask. To learn how I use clay in my weekly skincare routine to keep blackheads away check out my post on "The Amazing Benefits of Rhassoul Clay"
5. SLEEP
Ever wondered why your skin looks so radiant after a good night's sleep?
Because beauty sleep is actually a real thing!
It's true. According to Dr. Nerina Ramlakhan, a sleep expert and author of The Little Book Of Sleep, the hours of sleep we get before the clock strikes midnight is the most important phase of sleep we can get.
“Every cell in the body is linked to the movements of the earth and the moon. It’s a science – there’s a synchronicity to it,” Dr. Ramlakhan tells us.
“There’s an area in the brain called the circadian timer which helps to synchronize the movement and function of every cell in the body to the levels of light and darkness in the environment. So as the light level drops below a certain limit, it sends a message to the pineal gland through the eyes, and then every cell in the body starts adjusting its functions .”
“The 90-minute phase before midnight is one of the most powerful phases of sleep because it’s the period where the body is replenished,” she explains.
”It’s rejuvenated on every level – physically, mentally, emotionally and, I believe, spiritually as well. There’s a lot of healing that takes place in that first phase of sleep".
This is great news for your skin. Because it means that by adjusting your routine slightly and getting to bed maybe just an hour earlier you can take full advantage of this built-in, biological anti-aging system!
6. STRESS
Stress causes changes to proteins in the skin affecting its elasticity and collagen levels. Two highly abundant and important protein fibers that keep your skin strong, firm, supple, and looking youthful. This loss of elasticity can contribute to wrinkles and skin sagging.
Stress also causes the body to produce more of a hormone called cortisol. This can trigger certain skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis, eczema, and contact dermatitis.
As we age constant worrying creates muscle tension and begins to show up on the face as fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging. If you can manage your stress levels and feel more at peace, the face will naturally appear more firm, youthful, and attractive.
Tips to reduce stress and increase joy:
Make a list of 10 good qualities about yourself
Create a self-care routine
Laugh a lot. You’ll heal your body and your mind
Give yourself a new challenge each month
Try meditating for just five minutes each day
7. GOOD VIBES
Don't worry, be happy! In opposition to number 6, a positive and happy outlook on life is said to trigger the release of endorphins. Endorphins relax the cardiovascular system and cytokines that alert the immune system to detect abnormalities like cancer cells.
Listen carefully to yourself. If you have put yourself down since childhood, over the years negative subliminal messages can take their toll by dimming your sparkle and turning you into a pessimist.
Spend one week writing down the phrases you use in your “self-talk.” Chances are you will find that you repeat a dozen or so phrases over and over again that reinforce that negative image. If you know about them, you can change them. Outer beauty and inner joy go hand in hand.
Positive thinking and affirmations lead to self-love and a better quality of life. Negative thoughts tend to attract negative results into our lives —and make us look older!
Tips to Boost Endorphins:
Eat dark chocolate
Exercise/dance
Have a glass of wine with friends
Get acupuncture
Enjoy your favorite dish
Get a massage
Take a sauna
Eat something spicy
Try some aromatherapy
Meditate
Volunteer
8. DRINK MORE WATER
Do you have moments throughout the day when you just can’t think? Brain fog, fatigue, and low energy are often the result of dehydration.
Stay hydrated, drink more water!
Also, along with sleep water is one of the simplest ways to improve the health of your skin. It increases blood flow and detoxifies your skin by flushing out toxins and waste. When you’re dehydrated, it can cause a toxin buildup in the body, leading to inflammation, dull skin, and dark circles.
Start with drinking the right amount of water for your body. If you find it challenging to meet your daily hydration goals, don’t fret. You can rehydrate your body and enjoy the benefits of health-boosting vitamins with a Myers cocktail in Phoenix.
9. SPF IS YOUR BFF!
We all love the sun. We love being in it and we love having a beautiful tan. But, unfortunately too much sun exposure causes your skin to age faster than it should.
Sun Damage
I know I sound like a broken record to everyone who knows me, but please, no matter what age you are —wear your sunscreen! SPF needs to be a staple part of your skincare routine. Here’s why... As we age the sun begins to have a detrimental effect on our skin. UVA rays (A is for aging!) cause the most damage in terms of premature aging. UVA rays are longer than UVB rays and therefore penetrate deeper into the skin causing all kinds of unwanted damage. UVB rays wreak their own kind of havoc, like sunburn and skin cancer. But let's focus on UVA rays for now, because these guys have the ability to travel through all 3 layers of the skin:
The Epidermis - the outermost layer
The Dermis - the 'scaffolding' layer
The Hypodermis - the fatty layer
The dermis houses most of the collagen and elastin in your skin. These protein fibers are the structure (scaffolding) that holds the skin up giving it a firm, youthful and supple appearance. But, when the sun's UVA rays hit the dermis, collagen and elastin fibers become fragmented, hardened, and dysfunctional. Basically, they cause your skin's ‘scaffolding’ to collapse! Sun damage can't be seen immediately, but eventually, the skin will wrinkle and sag losing its firmness and elasticity over time. Sun exposure can also cause irregular pigmentation marks, sunspots, and freckles as we age. Find out why I only recommend Mineral Sunscreen here.
NEED SKINCARE HELP?
I make sense of skincare. Together we create better routines and lifestyle habits to empower you to feel more confident and in charge. I want everyone to be able to have a Skin Coach in their life, which is why I’ve designed 3 Skin Coaching Plans to fit any budget.
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