Maintain a Healthy Skin


How to Maintain a Healthy Skin Overview


Your skin is more important than your clothes, your jewelry, your car, your house, or any worldly possession. Your skin IS your health, and without health, the rest of the things in life are meaningless. Put importance on the things that are important. Beginning now, take better care of yourself and your skin.


Learn about your skin, its properties, how to nourish it, how to maintain its youthful appearance, and how to restore it to a healthy state. If your skin has not been treated too well, there are several articles in this website that will lead you to resources that can help you. After you have read this page, visit: Topical Treatments for Wrinkles and Cosmetic Procedures for Wrinkles.


Besides genetics, you can improve your skin's health and appearance by: 1) stop smoking NOW; 2) drink alcohol in moderation (1 glass of wine per day); 3) eat nutritious and fresh foods; 4) don't eat junk food; 5) take vitamins and supplements to improve your overall health, which will be reflected by your skin's appearance; 6) develop a skin care routine; 7) treat your skin like it is worth more than gold (because it is); and 8) use a premium all–natural body lotion everyday (read the labels and don't buy popular brands, they all contain industrial chemicals ––– go natural).



Facts About Your Skin

Your skin is your body's largest organ. It is composed of water, protein, minerals, chemicals, and lipids; it serves a variety of functions for the body. The average weight of skin is about six pounds (about the weight of a laptop computer).


Your skin helps to protect your body from germs and infections. Since your skin is constantly changing (regenerating itself about every 30 days when you are young, and about 60 days at age 60), it is important to maintain a consistent skin care regimen in order to ensure its continued health and vitality.


Skin is composed of many layers; each aids in an important function. Your epidermis is the outermost layer of your skin, and is the thinnest of the layers. The main job of the epidermis is to protect the body from foreign invaders, such as "bad" germs and bacteria. The dermis is the middle layer of your skin. This layer contains blood vessels, hair follicles, and oil glands; it also is the skin layer where wrinkles are formed.


The hypodermis is the fatty layer of skin underneath your dermis layer, containing sweat glands and fat, among other substances. These substances, including collagen, keratin, and elastin, also serve specific purposes. Collagen cells help conserve heat and protect your vital inner organs. Keratin cells are responsible for the rigidity of your skin, and also play a role in hair growth; elastin cells provide the elasticity of the skin.



Develop a Skin Care Routine

A thorough skin care routine is vitally important to keep skin healthy and performing at its best. Keep your skin clean, but not too clean (discussed below), apply premium body lotions that contain natural ingredients (TanSome Ingredients), and eat a well–balanced diet to maintain the health of your skin. Using a toner and moisturizing lotion, even with oily skin, is also recommended as part of a good skin care routine.


Use a premium moisturizing lotion, even with oily skin, (just use less of it). All of these things are recommended as part of a good skin care routine.


It is also important that you stay acutely aware of any changes on your skin: moles, patches, and freckles should be given the utmost attention. In the event of any change to these features, consult a dermatologist for an examination of your skin for diseases and/or cancers. Keeping a constant eye on your skin, as well as maintaining a consistent healthy skin care routine, can help preserve this vital organ.


Not only is your skin the largest organ of your body, but it also serves to protect your inner organs from outside pollutants and harmful rays from the sun. Many people think that they have to keep this part of their body "extra clean." Some people are "germophobic."



Take Vitamins and Supplements for Your Health

Take vitamins and supplements to improve your skin's health. The vitamins and supplements which will nourish your overall health and skin the most are: Vitamins B–1 through B–12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E (Gamma, not Alpha), CoQ–10 (Ubiquinol, not Ubiquinone), and Omega–3 (High EPA + DHA). There are additional supplements that will also help you reach your optimal health not listed herein. Read about these vitamins and supplements on the Internet, and get to know their value to your overall health, as well as your skin's health. Remember, supplements are essentially highly–concentrated foods, and will not only make you feel younger, but will lengthen your life span.



You Can Get Your Skin "Too Clean"

Many people are going to the extreme because they think it's better to be "extra clean." Your skin has natural oils that are essential to keeping it healthy. Man–made creams, lotions, and moisturizers help keep skin looking radiant and healthy, but none of these products compare with your skin's natural oils. Just as your hair produces oil to keep it looking shiny and to prevent it from drying out, so does your skin. And, when you clean your skin too much, you will notice that its appearance won't look too pretty: it starts flaking and drying out.


Whatever is good for your hair is good for your skin, but remember, both are equally sensitive areas. Many people are obsessed with keeping their hands "germ–free" and clean. Some of those people wash their hands after they touch a doorknob or a chair. But, little do they know they are doing more harm than good. They are actually exposing themselves more to "bad" germs because they are breaking down their body's natural defenses.


A small amount of "bad" germs is actually needed to keep the body's defenses aware that these germs are still present, and that the body still needs to protect itself from them. They keep your immune system "ready" at all times. When you keep washing your hands, you may think you are making yourself healthier and cleaner; however, you are doing the opposite.


For those who have body acne, cleaning your skin daily and often is probably required. You have to keep your pores clean. But, at the same time, lots of factors affect acne, both on your body and on your face. These include genetics, diet, and environment, among other things. Keeping your skin clean at all times doesn't necessarily mean that you won't get acne, but it will help.


Don't take baths / showers "too often." Some people take two showers a day because they "feel dirty." However, there's no excuse or reason to do so. In fact, most people would do fine taking a shower every other day. This allows their skin's natural oils to come to their skin's outermost surface. Most people who do not have labor–intensive jobs can take a shower every other day and they'll still be considered clean. Clean, healthy skin is one of the keys to looking good, but your skin can be too clean!



Your Skin is a Micro–Ecosystem in Itself

On your skin are millions of tiny bacteria, fungi, and other microscopic organisms (sorry, but there are!). These all perform functions, from protecting your skin's oily coating to keeping bad bacteria living on your skin from multiplying. They make up your skin's microfauna (microorganisms too small to be seen with the naked eye), and are an important part in maintaining healthy skin.


Before you reach for the strongest soap, let's talk about these microorganisms. Without them, your skin would be dry, wrinkled, and unable to perform its many functions, like protecting your body from infection, waterproofing, etc.


Microorganisms on your skin attack "bad" bacteria as they land on your skin's surface. They prevent infections since the "bad" bacteria might enter through any small wound or cut. Microorganisms also protect your skin from fungal growth. In the air are millions of fungi spores seeking a host, and your skin is ideal. When the spores land on your skin, other microorganisms keep the harmful ones at bay. Other microorganisms devour viral infectious agents, and keep the oily coating on your skin evenly spread to give even protection.


Soaps remove the greasy layer on your skin, along with any dirt, grime, and microorganisms. However, if you wash your hands too often, you remove too many of your skin's microorganisms. It takes time for these microorganisms to recover; you may not have sufficient time for them to replace themselves before you wash your hands again. Do this over your whole body and you can see how it could be bad for your skin to be "too clean."


Skin that is "too clean" will actually create an odor faster than skin which has a decent microorganism population. This is because excreted products on the skin's surface normally feed your microfauna. If these microorganisms are removed, the "bad" bacteria begin to multiply, creating an odor! You need to keep clean (wash regularly with gentle cleansing products), but don't try to be too clean; it is not good for your skin!


It is best to use natural based cleaning products since their chemicals are gentler on your skin's vital microorganisms, as well as your skin's surface itself. So how often should you bathe? The answer is to bathe only after a day of perspiration, or every other day if you do not perspire. This is enough to remove harmful and old bacteria, which create body odor; bathe more often only if absolutely necessary.


Wash hands as required, but use gentle products. Always dry gently; a scratched surface is an ideal breeding ground for "bad" bacteria. Skin should be kept clean, but not so clean that it cannot support your vital army of helpers: the microorganisms.


Remember, your worst enemy could be that high pH soap or that strong dish detergent where you continually dip your hands. Although man–made body lotions are not as good as your natural skin oils, you may not have a choice; you may have to use lotions because your skin cannot generate enough oils to keep up the rate at which your wash your hands. Be sure to use a body lotion that has natural ingredients, like those found in TanSome Premium Sunless Tanning Lotion (TanSome Ingredients).