Skin Care or Your Epidermis Is Showing!
Posted: Thursday, September 29, 2011
by Octavia Hansen
Octavia Hansen
Skin care doesn't just mean the face, it means all your skin. Your face is the most sensitive, well, there is other skin but that's very private, and everyone sees your face. I really hate skin care ads that show some teenager trying to sell me a younger look. The girl isn't old enough to have pores, much less wrinkles, and advertisers are trying to tell me I'll look like that? Even when I was her age I didn't look like that!
Sun block. The Ozone is slipping away and everything want your moisture. In the harsh environments of indoor heating and air, outside weather and family genes, your skin needs help. On sun block, the higher the number the better. It has been argued that there is not a standard and some product's 50 is another's 30. Everything helps, and a high number is better than a lower one. Even if you don't think you spend much time outside, use it anyway. Also, don't just use it on your face -- the back of your hands, lower arms, your neck under your ears and your upper chest see more light than you think. Have you thought how much you sit in the sun while driving? This is all year, not just Summer. And it's every day, not just weekends.
Sun glasses. Look in the mirror and squint. You'll see lines not just around your eyes but around your nose, your mouth and even down to your neck. Do this for long periods (at the pool, while driving, out in the yard) and you are making your own wrinkles. Moisturizer can only do so much. Sunglasses relax the face. Please only use them outdoors. Indoors, you'll squint again because you can't see anything. And it's rude.
NO tanning. This alone will keep you younger longer. Tanning outdoors is harmful, tanning beds are a crime! A tan used to mean you worked in the fields and/or doing hard labor, that's where "red neck" came from. Your skin going tan is trying to protect itself from further abuse. Kids are tan simply by being outdoors and they are young enough to recover from it. As an adult, any tan or burn will leave a lasting mark. The sun is harder today than it was twenty years ago, and you're twenty years older, your skin shows it. But you look good with a tan say? Compared to what? Hollywood rarely shows anyone with a tan, creamy skin is always more sensual and has a soft glow. Tan is for beach bums, wild teens and advertisers selling you summer products - even those tans have been painted on. Have you seen and older person with a tan? Leather is just a tanned hide, just like yours will be.
Wash your hands, then wash your face. Most people don't think about it, they lather their hands, then wash their face. STOP! Don't do this! Anything that was on your hands is now free floating and going for your pores. Wash your hands thoroughly, rinse, then wash your face. This cuts your dirt in half, gives you more clean time on your face. And use liquid soap. Bar soap, by the very nature of it being pressed and holding the shape of a bar, is harsh on facial skin. Rinse with cold water to close those pores and you will glow!
Gloves. Anytime you're into dirty work, use gloves. Yard gloves, industrial gloves, surgeon's gloves. Anytime you are into water, chemicals, cleaning, hard abrasive work - gloves save your hands and skin. You leave oil from your hands everywhere, that's why fingerprints are so popular. Everything dries out your skin. Anyone who works with paper or water can tell you they HAVE to moisturize. Unbroken skin is your first line of defense against germs and infection.
Drink water. Hydration means water. Dehydration is losing water and it doesn't matter how or from where. To protect your insides, your body will take water from your skin. Drinking lots of water flushes your entire system, washing away toxins and anything your body/skin can't use. Drinking water DOES NOT mean coffee, tea, soft drinks or alcohol. When your kidneys have to filter this stuff, it slows your whole system down. These four are also diuretics, you lose water fast, and that makes for wrinkles. Cigarettes do that, too. Smoking and drinking don't just make you look grown up, they age you faster.
Change your pillowcase every day. Every other day is just as good if you turn your pillow over. For all the natural oils in your skin and the dirt that clings to it, sleeping on the same pillow case is grinding it into your pores. Pillow cases are cheap. Change them often and wash in hot water.
Your skin is made to last a lifetime. Some people decorate theirs, tattoos are more popular and mainstream than ever before. Some people stretch earlobe skin -- is that Budda look really that attractive? Some skin that is damaged or burned can never be replaced. Scars can last a lifetime, this includes from medical procedures to acne. Since we are all living longer, you have to do more to protect your skin. Back in our grandfather's day, life expectancy was 45 to 55 years. Smoking, drinking, diabetes, even cancer wasn't much of a concern. Today, right now, everything has a chance to work it's evil spell on your outer shell. Water is your friend (inside and out), and cleanliness is the key to real beauty and good health.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Well done article.
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