To have a beautiful, healthy and flawless skin is not just heredity, your skin care routine, diet, exercises and habits play a big role in maintaining your skin health.
In my practice I have come across many patients/clients whose skin became totally spoilt due to following reasons:
- Daily exposure to sunlight, dust, pollution
- Use of cosmetic products such as skin lightening creams, bleach, etc. (which they started using after seeing some T.V. commercials, friend’s advice or got it over the counter)
- Using topical steroids (which have lot of side effects)
Now you might be wondering “How to take care of our skin on daily basis?”
Here they are….
- Hydration– Water intake plays a very important role not in just maintaining the overall health of an individual but also SKIN. Water keep the skin hydrated and moist which in turn gives healthy and shiny skin. On an average per day 8-10 glasses of water is sufficient for an individual. That includes milk, fruit juices (watermelon, oranges, cucumber, strawberries etc.), soups etc.
- Fitness Workout– Sweat it out!!!!! Exercise gives your body necessary blood circulation and which accelerate the cleansing process. It increases the blood flow in your skin which keep skin healthy. You can go for brisk walks, jogging, running or Yoga. It helps in flushing out the toxins n gives your skin a healthy glow.
- Diet– Food plays a major role in maintaining your skin health. You might have heard of a saying,” You become what you eat.” When you eat healthy food your skins becomes healthy. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, eat protein rich food and Vitamin A/C/E rich food. Vitamin A&E rich food has anti-aging properties and reduces damage caused by free-radicals and sun. Preferably switch to organic diet and freshly cooked meals. Try to avoid very spicy, salty and fermented food.
- Sleep (Sleeping Beauty) – To prevent sags and bags of skin try to sleep at least 8 hours a day. Proper sleep helps in healing of the skin. Don’t forget the CTM (Cleansing Toning Moisturizing) routine before hitting the bed.
- Prevent Acne– Wash your face 3 to 4 times a day with AHA or BHA face wash. Don’t pop pimples as it can lead to swelling, redness and scarring.
- Pamper your skin– Oil massage for the skin. Depending on your skin type choose oil such as Coconut oil, Olive oil, Castor oil etc. Kumkumaditailam is excellent for skin care.
- Sunscreen-Never step out without sunscreen as it serves as protective layer on your skin which prevents your skin from harmful UV rays which may cause fine lines, wrinkles, hyper-pigmentation and certain types of skin cancers.
- Facial muscle exercise– There are 43 muscles in our face. Healthy muscles keep skin toned, hydrated, oxygen rich. Apart from smiling, other type of exercise is to fill air in your mouth to maximum capacity and hold it for a while, it gives nice blood circulation and tightness to face.
- Smiling and laughing – Smiling & laughing involves 10-15 facial muscles. Always wear a smile if you wish to stay younger for longer. Smile not just give you and people surrounding you happiness but it plays a key role in enhancing your personality.
- De-Stress yourself – Stress take a toll on not only your skin health but your overall health as well. Stress increases the cortisol levels which lead to hyperactive oil glands which results in excessive oily skin, as we can see a sudden outbreak of acne when you are under stress. Yoga, breathing exercises and meditation helps in relieving the stress.
These are some routines which when followed religiously result in healthy, glowing and flawless skin.
So it’s my humble request friends, please don’t start any skin treatment or use of any skin care product without consulting your dermatologist, Aesthetic Physician or skin care expert.