Blueprint for Healthy Skin: 5 Step Guide to Maintain Healthy Skin

There is no doubt about it, healthy skin is beautiful skin. But does having healthy glowing skin come down to genetics only? We explore a 5 step guide to maintaining healthy skin that anyone of any age can implement.

A regular skin care routine is essential to maintaining healthy skin, regardless of your genetics. Sure, genetics plays a large part in the kind of skin you have and the challenges that you have to deal with such as eczema, acne, excess oil or other blemishes. However, with regular care and the right kind of information you will be well on your way to having skin that glows with health.

So with all of the information that is out there, what is it important for you to know?

Here are 5 cardinal rules to maintaining healthy skin:

1. Always remove make-up before going to bed if you wear it.
   Make-up is a heavy mask for the face to carry for so many hours in the day. It contains lots of potent chemicals and oils that can clog pores and worse, attract bacteria. This can lead to layers of dead cells and other impurities building up in the pores and the development of blemishes. Removing make-up is such an essential and simple task. All you need is a container of cotton balls and a bottle of gentle make-up remover. Moisten the ball and apply to face until all traces of make-up are removed. Rinse with warm water and pat dry. The eye area is delicate so be sure to use a make-up remover that is designed to be used for the eye area.  When you select make up, mineral make-up is the least likely to clog the pores; even if you happen to fall asleep with it on it is highly unlikely to cause acne.  Also, most mineral make-up has built in properties to help protect you from the sun.
2. Moisturize both day and night
   After gently cleansing your face in the morning apply a light moisturizer. This moisturizer should ideally contain sun protection such as one with a broad spectrum SPF sunscreen added. This will be cleansed off in the evening when you remove your make-up. In the evening you should also use a night moisturizer that is especially designed to moisturize your skin while you sleep. When we sleep our body goes into repair mode with metabolic activity of skin cells kicking up a notch while we are resting. Give your body a helping hand with a good quality product for it to work with.

   Don’t neglect your body! While it’s important to moisturize your face also make sure you buy a good quality body moisturizer to keep your entire skin surface soft and supple.  For enhanced effect, night time products that contain vitamin A, vitamin C or plant peptides amongst others can give you the added benefit of anti-oxidant repair that can delay or correct some of the changes that develop with aging skin.

3. Get a regular professional facial or medical skin treatment
   While there are many fantastic products out there for you to purchase for use at home, it is recommended that you treat yourself to a professional facial or medical skin treatment once every 6-8 weeks. Ideally, a good facial treatment will involve a double steam cleanse to really flush your pores as well a good exfoliating scrub as well as a mask. The products used will be dictated by your skin type and the kind of problems your skin tends to suffer with. A well-trained skin specialist should be able to advise you on your own individual recommendations. With regular visits you should notice that your skin tends be radiant with a healthy glow.
4. Exfoliate
   Exfoliation of the face is an important part of the maintenance of healthy skin and ideally should be carried out once a week, no more and no less. If you exfoliate too often and too briskly you can over stimulate the oil production of the skin, leading to problems such as breakouts and blemishes as well as cause irritation, itching, or eczema. Exfoliation should be done with a gentle scrub containing a naturally gritty substance such as salt or almond shells for example.  There are many exfoliants to choose from depending upon your skin type and preferences.

   For your body, you might like to exfoliate twice a week using a dry body brush or an in-shower body brush. This is a quick and efficient way to slough off the layers of dead skin and reveal your fresh beautiful self. It also boosts circulation giving you a healthy glow.  Another option is to splurge and go to your favorite spa for a ritualistic body exfoliation treatment, but you might find it hard to stay awake.

5. Drink lots of water
   With an emphasis on putting products onto the skin, we often forget that it’s important to moisturize from the inside out. When we drink sufficient water we ensure that all the cells in our body are plump and moist. This provides an improved skin tone, brighter eyes and soft, luscious lips. If we allow ourselves to become dehydrated our overall appearance becomes dry and dull. The toxins can build up leading to poor health and a sluggish exterior. Ideally 8 glasses of water is more than sufficient to flush toxins from the body and keep you glowing with good health. For added pleasure, add slices of oranges, strawberries or lemon to the water if you want something a little different.

Follow these tips and you can keep your skin looking gorgeous and glowing with good health.