Everyone wants flawless, glowing skin. But for most of us, it’s near challenging to get there, particularly when you have skin conditions like dryness, acne, oily skin, and more. All hope is not lost, though. Just about everyone can have glowing skin—but it will take commitment, adequate time, and maybe even a product splurge now and then.
We asked the experts—aestheticians, dermatologists, beauty experts —for their best-kept secrets to glowing skin [1].
First, it’s all about reassessing your regimen, tweaking it to suit for your skin issues and type, and setting up some healthy habits (like take a shower, putting moisturizer on right after you wash your face, and customizing the products you use based on day to day requirements).
And it’s not just about using the relevant ingredients and establishing a regimen— exercise, diet, and sleep help, too. A well balanced nutritious diet can make your skin clear, firm, and acne-free. Moreover, drinking water is always mandatory (which is no surprise, since we’ve heard that since childhood) [2].
It’s also about setting an exercise regimen to promote blood flow, which will give you a glowy flush, and getting adequate sleep so your skin can refresh. But all of the below tips would be useless if you can’t commit to becoming diligent about caring for your skin—a great complexion won’t happen instantly, but it can occur if you stick to it.
From simple lifestyle changes to using (sort of bizarre) tools, consider these winning strategies from the experts who know.
Getting to know and understanding our skin type is the most important thing we can do for our skin. If we’re misinformed or unaware, we could compromise our skin’s natural balance and trigger irritation, breakouts, inflammation, and even premature aging by using the wrong ingredients.
The most common skin types are acne-prone, oily, sensitive, dry, and mature skin; it’s also essential to note that we can be more than one type, and it can change through the seasons or over time, so always listen to your skin.
If you do not apply your skincare products in the proper order, you could prevent them from being completely-absorbed, which means they won’t be as effective. The thumb rule is to apply the most lightweight formulas initially so they can be comfortably absorbed without the barrier of thicker creams.
To avoid piling (those small little balls you get when you’ve used excess product), when you move onto heavier creams, give your skin time to absorb the product (at least some minutes).
When it comes to a skincare routine, ‘more is more’ isn’t a great rule. So if you apply excessive moisturizer, the product could potentially block your pores or will probably pill. Moreover, it’s a total waste of product and your money considering your skin won’t be able to absorb it all anyway!
The skin recuperates itself while you sleep, so the more sleep you get, the more time your complexion has to rejuvenate. And the benefits are not just long-lasting. In many instances, you can see the results the next morning.
The more sleep you get, the less makeup you need, because your skin looks naturally refreshed. And the opposite is also true. An increase in cortisol levels can cause Under-eye puffiness. Beauty sleep is not that easy—you genuinely need 7 to 8 hours.
When you don’t get adequate sleep, your cortisol levels increase, and when that happens, that boosts the rate of collagen breakdown, causing under-eye bags to appear. Squinting and yawning can break down elastin and collagen around the eyes, too.
[Read: Why Proper Sleep is Important?]
One of the most significant skincare blunders people make is waiting too long after washing to apply moisturizer. Whether it’s the body lotion or face, you have just a brief window after cleansing to put on a hydrating product before moisture begins to evaporate.
If you allow your skin dry entirely, the water on your skin plus any moisture in your skin will begin to get pulled into the air. It is recommended to accelerate in the shower, also. Long showers take away your natural oils. That’s the reason few people have a chronic itchy spot on their back.
One of our skin’s critical functions is to regulate heat, so when we’re working out, the blood vessels in our skin dilate to bring warm blood to the surface, allowing heat to be transported out of our body and into the air. This gives us a glowy flush.
Start each day with 45 minutes of cycling, running, or basketball. Boosting blood flow also ensures that our skin is getting the nutrients and oxygen required to be healthy. Skin is our body’s last priority.
Blood goes initially to our brain and core organs, so getting blood filled with nutrients pumping to our skin first thing in the morning means it begins the day on a healthy note.
[Also Read: Which is the Best Exercise for You]
No matter how many wonderful products you apply on your face, if your diet sucks, your skin just won’t be bringing its glow. To get that shine, you need to be supplying your body with beauty-boosting minerals and vitamins and the proper nutrients to boost your gut.
Furthermore, there are few foods that you need to skip if you’re eating with your skin in mind.
You also need to make sure you drink enough water throughout the day – it’s skincare no brainer. If you ask any model what their top skincare secret is, it’s to drink plenty of water and always stay hydrated.
If you’re not drinking adequate water, it can make your skin look dull and emphasize fine lines (you should aim for at least two liters per day).
There are no alternative routes when it comes to flawless skin. Diligence is key; even missing just one day of your skincare regimen—not cleaning off your makeup—causes inflammation, can make you break out, and set you back.
So, in addition to the strategies outlined in this article, sticking to a solid skincare routine is one of your best good-skin methods. Now go clean your face!