Protect yourself from the sun -- use
sunscreen and avoid direct sunlight between the hours of 10 and 2.
Don't smoke. Your skin is a large organ and
it needs a lot of circulation. Smoking impairs that dramatically. That's why
smokers' skin looks dull and gray. Instead of having oxy-generated blood
delivered to the surface of the skin, they're getting poisons and oxidants.
Get adequate rest and nutrition.
Protect yourself from stress -- both
emotional and environmental stress.
Wash your face twice a day and put on the
proper treatment product. A lot of icky stuff collects overnight -- dead
skin cells, dirt, and dust!
Don't neglect certain areas of the skin.
Elbows, heels, neck, and decolletage need moisturizing, and your scalp and
the tops of your feet need sun protection.
Touch your face less and wash your hands
more! Don't get too surgical on yourself. It's very tempting to pick, poke,
squeeze, and scratch in front of the mirror. But the more you traumatize the
skin, the greater your risk of scarring. Apply treatment products and let
them work.
Keep your makeup clean. Replace the sponges
in your compact on a regular basis. Now and then, toss the whole works and
start fresh -- the average shelf life for cosmetics is 6 to 12 months. Don't
buy products so expensive that you'll be heartbroken if you have to throw
them away.
Exercise moderation. More is not always
better. Moisturizer, for example, is the most overused product in America.
We've been bamboozled by cosmetic companies into thinking every square inch
of our body has to be slathered. And it's simply not true. Exfoliators are
another thing to be careful with. Used too often, they overacidify and
irritate your skin.
Beware of counter girls. If it were up to
them, you'd be in the bathroom for two and a half hours each morning --
putting 80 layers on your face. Keep your regimen simple. And when you do
add a new product, do it gradually so your skin has time to adjust. Each
skincare or makeup product has an average of 20 to 40 ingredients -- you're
introducing 20 to 40 potential allergens to your face every time you try
something new.