How to Protect Your Skin

As virtually everyone knows, your skin is the largest organ of your body and as such, protecting it is imperative to your health. Whether it’s winter or the skin-scorching heat of summer, you need to ensure that you protect your skin as much as possible.

For many of you, this will require shedding bad habits and changing the way you think about the health of your skin. With that in mind, here are a few things that you should consider implementing in your life in order to protect your skin as best as possible.

Protect Yourself From the Unavoidable

There’s literally no way to avoid the sun, and as most everyone knows, it’s the biggest threat to the health of your skin. Overexposure can cause wrinkles, age spots, discoloration, freckles, benign growths, and even skin cancer.

With many of you starting to cautiously take the kids to the playground and return to pre-pandemic activities, you should ensure that the entire family practices these tips to help keep the sun from causing irreparable damage:

• Cover up! Protective clothing, such as sun hats for women, men, and children, long skirts, long-sleeved shirts, and pants, is recommended for sun protection.
• Use sunscreen every day, especially when outside for extended periods. Be sure to use sunscreen with a minimum of 30 SPF and reapply every two hours or more if you’re swimming or sweating. A lot of experts also recommend using natural sunscreen that’s made with mineral or physical ingredients.
• Try to stay inside between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. This is when the sun is at its most intense.
• Don’t depend on just one source of protection. Combining the above three, using a beach umbrella, and seeking shade whenever possible will significantly increase your protection against the sun. Also, if you have other skin medications such as cream for shingles, be sure to use that.

Hydration is Extremely Important

Of course, drinking enough water is essential for your general health, but it’s also important for your skin. In fact, dry skin can cause small gaps in the skin barrier that bacteria and fungus can attack. Furthermore, properly hydrated skin retains its flexibility, and there’s less of a chance for it to get scaly, chapped, or flaky.

Many of you probably know what to drink and eat before and after a workout in order to maintain healthy hydration, but all too few adults hydrate properly throughout the day. As such, keep these tips in mind:

• Avoid overly hot showers or baths and opt for warm ones instead. Additionally, limit them to five and 10 minutes because water exposure can dry out your skin.
• After your bath, apply moisturizing cream or lotion. When you haven’t bathed that day, use a moist rag to dampen your skin before application, as this helps keep the moisture in the skin.
• Consider investing in a sleek humidifier. If you tend to have drier skin, using a humidifier in your bedroom and near you during your workday will help keep the air hydrated and prevent it from drawing out the moisture from your skin.
• Drink plenty of fluids. For men, you need around 3.7 liters (15.5 cups), and proper hydration for women calls for at least 2.7 liters (11.5 cups).

Avoid Smoking

We all know that smoking is bad for your lungs and other internal organs, but you may not be aware that it’s also bad for your skin. Not only can it lead to wrinkles and make your skin look older, but it can also narrow the tiny blood vessels in the skin’s outermost layers. This issue can decrease blood flow and deplete all-important oxygen and nutrients from the skin.

Skin health is essential to your overall health. Staying conscious of this critical aspect of life and doing all you can to stay hydrated and protect your skin from damage can help reduce the chances of skin cancer and other unfortunate ailments.