Get the facts to cleaner, smoother, age-less looking skin

Do you envy the pore-less, supple, smooth skin of people in the media? Don’t have the time or money for intensive skin care?

Pamper yourself with the basics.

Good skin care and healthy lifestyle choices can help delay the natural aging process and prevent many skin problems.

Get started with these simple tips.

The most important way to take care of your skin is to protect it from the sun. A lifetime of sun exposure can cause wrinkles, freckles, age spots and rough, dry skin.

Sun exposure can also cause more-serious problems, such as skin cancer. For the most complete sun protection, avoid the sun between 12 p.m. and 4p.m because this is when the Sun’s UVA and UVB rays are the strongest.

Dermatologists recommend a sun block with at least a 35 SPF. A common product people use in Asia is called “BB Cream.” Containing SPF, “BB cream” is a foundation and moisturizer that is enriched with minerals that can modify and supply your skin with vitamins.

Another way to protect your skin from the sun is to wear protective clothing. Cover your skin with tightly woven long-sleeved shirts, long pants and wide-brimmed hats.

Too scared of getting too hot with all those layers? Well, you can simply put sun block on your body or carry an umbrella around. You might also opt for special sun-protective clothing, which is specifically designed to block ultraviolet rays while keeping you cool and comfortable.

When applying sunscreen, use generous amounts of broad-spectrum sunscreen 30 minutes before going outdoors and reapply every two hours after heavy sweating or after being in water.

Here are a few additional simple tips on keeping you skin healthy, youthful, and acne free.

One, don’t smoke. Smoking makes your skin look older and contributes to wrinkles. Smoking narrows the tiny blood vessels in the outermost layers of skin, which decreases blood flow. This depletes the skin of oxygen and nutrients, such as vitamin A, that are important to skin health.

Smoking also damages collagen and elastin, fibers that give your skin its strength and elasticity.

In addition, the repetitive facial expressions you make when smoking, such as pursing your lips when inhaling and squinting your eyes to keep out smoke, may contribute to premature wrinkles. If you smoke, the best way to protect your skin is to quit.

Ask your doctor for tips or treatments to help you stop smoking.

Two, clean your face often. Another important factor of keeping your skin healthy is to remove all make up before you sleep. I know we all have those wild parties and comeback home at dawn, but you should take that extra step to wash, tone, and moisturize your face.

You should wash your face at least two times in order for the makeup to fully come off.

First, use an oil or milk cleanser. Gently rub your face with the product, wait a few minute, and rinse. Then with an exfoliating or cleansing face, wash. Repeat the above steps. Pat your face dry (don’t ever rub cause this can all contribute to premature wrinkles).

Using a cotton ball, apply some toner on it; then wipe your face in small gentle circular motions. Toners remove the extra dirt and oil that the soap didn’t pick up. It can also moisturize and make your skin tone look more even.

Lastly, you should always moisturize. This might seem a lot when written out like this, but this should take about, 7 minutes tops.

Three, Eat a healthy diet. A healthy diet can help you look and feel your best. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. The association between diet and acne isn’t clear, but research suggests that a diet rich in vitamin C and low in fats and carbohydrates may promote younger looking skin.

An amazing and delicious fruit that contain antioxidants is grapefruit. Don’t forget to drink a sufficent amount of water. Hydrated skin is happy skin.

Four, control your stress. Uncontrolled stress can make your skin more sensitive and trigger acne breakouts and other skin problems.

To encourage healthy skin and a healthy state of mind, take steps to manage your stress.

Set reasonable limits, scale back your to-do list and make time to do the things you enjoy. Buy a journal and ferociously rant your feelings in it everyday.

Another good way to control your stress is to exercise. Studies show that if one exercises more then he or she will feel much more confident about themselves. Feeling confident can reduce your stress and make you feel gorgeous.

Try these simple little tips; the results may be more dramatic than you expect.

About the author Jenny Chiu

Jenny Chiu will be a high school graduate in 2012 from James Hubert Blake High School. She was born in Hong Kong on August 12, 1994, and immigrated to Maryland in 1999. As past times, she enjoys baking, shopping, hanging with friends, browsing online, and taking pictures. She is a very open minded girl who tries her best to keep everyone happy and comfortable. In the future, she hopes to have a career in the fashion marketing industry.