Simple steps for healthy and glowing skin this new year

A healthy complexion can transform your appearance and your confidence. A great skin care regimen can help, but you need to do more to get truly glowing skin; it’s also about your lifestyle, so the New Year may be the perfect time to start.

There are some basics that everyone should be doing to give your new regimen a great foundation. The state of your skin reflects your health and lifestyle, so eating and sleeping well is crucial. Think about how dull and tired your skin can get if you’ve had a lot of nights out.

One of the most important skincare basics is eating a well-balanced diet and it is now well known that six to eight glasses of water a day is needed to help keep skin hydrated. There are six vitamins and food groups crucial for healthy skin: vitamins A, B, C, and E, essential fatty acids, and water-rich foods, so introduce a mix of dairy products, leafy greens like spinach and broccoli, whole wheat bread, citrus fruits, nuts like almonds and hazelnuts, and apples, cherries, lettuce, and celery to your diet to help boost your radiance levels. Supplement this healthy diet with a good night’s sleep of between six and nine hours and you’ll start to see bags and bags disappear before (and under) your very eyes.

Your skin is a very visual indicator of your emotional well-being, so there are other lifestyle factors that will affect your skin, primarily your stress levels. Take time to relax, have a massage – it will greatly improve the condition of your skin and make you feel calm and positive. Saying bad clothes can also vastly improve your skin, with smoking and drinking being the most obvious. Alcohol dehydrates you, which is bad news for your skin and can also cause spider veins, while smoking causes damage on a multitude of levels: it damages collagen and elastin, causing skin to sag, while also constricting blood vessels and hindering blood flow to the skin. Squinting at the smoke, meanwhile, creates wrinkles.

Once you’ve made these lifestyle changes, it’s time to consider a skin care regimen. It may seem obvious, but it is vital that you know your skin type, so that you can adopt the right regimen for your particular skin. If you’re not sure about this, visit a consultant at a beauty store and they should be able to help you. Once you know your skin type, adopt the simple 3-step routine of cleansing, toning and moisturizing, so you’re nourishing your skin both inside and out.

When you’re looking for a moisturizer, the ‘scientific’ information can be mind-boggling, but there are some key ingredients to keep in mind; antioxidants help fight free radicals that can prematurely age skin; Hyaluronic acid draws in moisture and can hold up to a thousand times its weight in water, making it ideal for mature or dry skin. Vitamin A derivatives or retinoids have anti-wrinkle benefits and may also help with acne. Peptides initiate collagen repair, helping to plump skin and smooth fine lines, and Glycolic, Lactic, and Salicylic Acids stimulate collagen production and help increase cell turnover, making skin look fresher.

However, it’s not just your face that you should think about; If you also think about your body, then you won’t need a last-minute run when summer vacation starts. Get rid of dull skin from the top layer by gently exfoliating once or twice a week. Exercise is also a great way to have glowing, healthy skin. [http://www.boots.com/changeonething] as it draws oxygen and nutrients to the skin cells, firming and nourishing the skin. Physical activity also helps your organs become more efficient at removing toxins from the body, as well as reducing stress and helping you sleep better at night, all of which will benefit your skin.

Your skin is the largest organ on your body and the one most exposed to the elements, and therefore the last step to great skin is to make sure you protect it properly. Check all moles monthly for changes: watch for asymmetry, an uneven border, uneven color, or a change in size. If you are in any doubt visit your GP, they would rather a false alarm than leave it until it is too late.

When you’re outdoors, use an SPF sunscreen every day during spring and summer, even if it’s not hot; less than one in three people use adequate sun protection and 70,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year according to the British Skin Foundation. So look for a cream with high UVA numbers and a minimum SPF of 15; If you want a tan, you can always cheat with the number of self-tanners on the market these days.

Getting great skin should be easy and manageable, as long as you take small steps and fit them into your daily routine.