Dos & Don’ts For Naturally Beautiful Skin
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels
We live in an age of Instagram filters, overly-photoshopped magazine covers, and millions of dollars being spent by celebrities on cosmetic surgery — all to get youthful, fresh, beautiful-looking skin.
But as is the case with most things in life, shortcuts don’t pay off in the long run. So a better plan of action for those looking for that fresh-faced look might be implementing practices to naturally, over time, achieve healthy skin.
These practices will serve our skin’s health no matter how old or young we are and will gently usher us into loving the skin we’re in much more. Below, find our dos and don’ts as you embark on your journey to healthier, more beautiful skin.
Don’t use tanning beds.
We’ve all faced the temptation of wanting that sun-kissed look every year right around swimsuit season. But loving the shade, as well as the color of your skin, isn’t just emotionally healthy, but healthy for your skin, too. Tanning beds damage our skin in the same way that too much sun can, but in even more concentrated ways and can even lead to skin cancer — so skip the tanning bed sessions, and begin to love the shade your skin is happiest at.
Do drink a lot of water.
We’ve all heard this a million times, but it’s for a good reason. Water is the source of life for our bodies, as up to 60% of our body is made up of it. So in feeding our skin what it truly wants and needs to be healthy, there’s no better place to start than upping our water consumption. It’s incredibly tempting to stick with soda, but skipping a can of chemicals every now and again will save your skin — studies show that drinking more water reduces wrinkles and enhances skin’s elasticity. To sip in style, may we suggest one of our favorite water bottles?
Don’t smoke.
When smoking became popular on a cultural level in the 19th and 20th century, we didn’t know its effects and dangers — it took decades. Thanks to modern science, we’re now fully aware that smoking is not just an addiction that can lead to lung cancer, but also prematurely ages our skin, breaking down collagen (which provides elasticity) while filling our body and lungs with terribly harmful chemicals.
Do wear sunscreen every day.
The sun is absolutely glorious — it lights up our days and illuminates the natural beauty of creation. But it also happens to emit damaging UV rays that age our skin. But we can’t just never set foot outside, so instead, it’s essential that we invest in a face and body lotion with SPF mixed in (at least 15 SPF) — making applying sunscreen no longer just slathering on a white-tinted sheet of grease every day, but instead something that actually seeps into our skin and does the work. This simple habit of dabbing on some SPF before heading out the door will dramatically slow our skin’s aging. There’s plenty of wonderful options out there, but here’s one of our favorites.
Don’t eat too much junk food.
We’re the first ones the admit that fast food and junky snacks are tasty. But the quality of what we put into our body will inevitably affect the quality of our body and its organs — the biggest of which just so happens to be our skin. Avoiding junk food, which is loaded with unhealthy carbohydrates, trans fats, and too much sodium will be a lifesaver for our skin.
Do get a retinol serum.
Preventing and reversing the skin’s aging is a difficult, complex issue — there’s a lot of disagreement over what actually makes a difference, especially when it comes to reversing anything. But the one thing that, over and over again, has been shown to be effective is retinol. Just a bit at night before bed has the power to make a world of difference. And while some retinol serums can get pricey, they don’t have to — there are plenty of affordable options, like the one we’ve linked below.