4 Ways to Keep Your Skin Clear and Healthy

Our lifestyle and daily habits play a big part in our skin health. In the battle against acne, it’s important to take preventative measures to ensure painful pimples don’t crop up. Here’s what we recommend keeping in mind to keep your skin smooth and clear 24/7.

Wash up. Sweating releases toxins and antibiotic agents that can help us heal faster. Sweating is the body’s way of keeping our temperature regulated and staying healthy. However, benefits aside, we shouldn’t let sweat stay on our faces. Sweat can clog our pores, and not rinsing it off can prevent us from releasing sweat. Taking a few moments to wash up can balance the skin’s oil production.

Diet. Caffeine, alcohol, sugar, and processed foods are not our skin’s friend. Aside from giving us oily skin, sugar increases insulin production, which results in protein-utilization problems. It can interfere with water binding, causing our skin to look less supple. Alcohol and caffeine dehydrate the skin, and inflame the tissue — giving us that overly-flushed look. Avoiding these foods is a surefire way to maintaining clear and healthy skin.

Sleep. Not getting enough sleep can have serious repercussions on your skin. A good night’s sleep means that your body is producing sufficient collagen, which keeps your skin firm and strong. While you’re sleeping, your skin is making room for new cells, giving you a fresher complexion.

Hygiene. Whether you live in a city or off in the countryside, our skin weathers nature’s elements on a daily basis. Daily cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing will keep your skin clear and younger-looking. Adam Hurly of GQ calls the face a “canvas” that requires a cleanser to “unclog the pores,” a gentle exfoliant “to scrub away the dead cells,” and a moisturizer that will “shield the skin from environmental grime and hydrate the skin for the day ahead.”