Basic Skin Care Tips for Healthy, Clear and Beautiful Skin

Skin is our body's first contact with the environment. Hence, our surroundings have profound effect on the skin and its appendages hair and nails. The texture, color and smoothness of the skin reflect a person's health and beauty. People notice a person first (the lasting impression!) from the appearance of the skin and contour of the face. Hence maintaining a healthy, clear and beautiful skin is not only important from aesthetic reasons, but also from point of view of maintaining high self esteem, positive mental attitude and self confidence.

Maintaining a healthy skin does not depend upon regular usage of costly OTC cosmetic preparations, as many advertisements would have you believe!

NO!

There is no need for strict, obsessive-compulsive skin care routines either. In fact, you may harm the skin due to over-enthusiastic cleansing and grooming.

Attaining a flawless healthy skin is a natural outcome of healthy living style!

Let us examine the factors that contribute to the health of the skin, hair and nails. These will provide us with a strong base while we consider the Skin Care in general later on.

6 Basic Internal Skin Care Tips

1. Balanced Nutrition : A balanced diet of cereals, pulses, vegetables, meat, chicken, eggs and fish laced with plenty of fresh salad and fruits will ensure healthy glowing skin. Most dermatology text books shy away from blaming food habits and fads viz a viz skin health and diseases. But from my experience of treating skin disease for the last 25 years, I can definitely say that food does affect the skin in more ways than we would care to admit! For example, it is well known that regular intake of oily, fried or spicy foods invariably results in flare up of pimples on acne prone skin. Some of these problem foods that may cause pimples or breakouts include chocolates ,cakes, fried food, fast foods and fizzy drinks.

2. Adequate Hydration: Drinking adequate amount of water and fresh fruit juices will ensure the suppleness and elasticity of the skin.

For normal, indoor persons, daily intake of 8-10 glasses of water or fruit juices will suffice. For those who go out, the intake should be double or triple depending upon the sun exposure and humidity.

3. Regular Exercise : Regular exercise - walking, running, bicycling, engaging in sports - will have a great impact on one's skin complexion. Increased blood flow will bring in that extra warmth and glow to otherwise dull skin complexion. Exercise will not only help you maintain optimum skin tone and texture, but it will also make you full of energy and freshness and a general feeling of well being. Exercise is also a great stress reliever.

4. Stress Management: Stress and prolonged, uncontrolled tension, anger, anxiety all are the nemesis of good health in general and healthy skin in particular. If you are stressed out, it will reflect on your skin first! Continuous perspiration will make the skin itchy and irritable; many stress induced diseases like psoriasis, pruritus, urticaria manifests themselves to damage the structure and integrity of the skin.

5. Adequate Sleep: 7-8 hours of restful sleep is essential for good healthy skin.

6. Avoidance of Alcohol and Drugs: Alcohol in excess may harm the skin by interfering with nutrient absorption from the gut as well as by interfering with normal sleep and rest.

5 Basic External Skin Care Tips

1. Regular Cleansing: Cleanse, exfoliate, tone and moisturize%u2026this daily routine should carry you on your way toward healthier skin. Select a gentle skin cleansing solution that works for your specific type of skin - dry, oily, normal. Using your selected product, cleanse face in a circular motion and rinse with lukewarm water, as hot water zaps skin's moisture.

Follow the cleansing stage with an exfoliant. A granular product is specially effective in smoothing rough areas and releasing dead skin cells, allowing the face to be better moisturized.

After the exfoliation process concludes, use a toner or an astringent to tighten skin and remove any makeup or cleanser residue. A nice alternative to a toner or astringent would be doing a facial masque at least once a week, which tackles clogged pores while also firming skin and leaving it soft and silky.

Warning!

For those with sensitive skin, toners are best avoided,as the skin can get irritated.

Finally, pat skin dry with a soft towel but do not dry up all the water. Apply a moisturizer (with or without sunscreen) to help protect skin from dryness. Those who have oily skin do not have to moisturize as often as those who have dry, normal or combination skin.

2. Use of moisturizers: Moisturizers can be both water based or oil based. People with oily skin should use water based moisturizers. Those with dry skin should use oil based moisturizers. These should be applied immediately after washing the skin to retain the moisture on the surface. In winter, the application of moisturizers should be done at least twice daily without failure.

3. Use of Sun Screens: By using a moderate strength sunscreen, you will be protecting your skin from sun damage, skin cancer, aging and premature wrinkles. Too much sun can blister one's lips, leaving them red, sore and charred. Sunburned skin will eventually peel most times, leaving skin areas blotchy and sensitive. The best approach to preventing sunburn and other sun-caused skin problems is to monitor how much time one spends in the sun and to avoid sun exposure by using sunscreen with SPF 15 or greater depending upon the skin type and the intensity of the solar radiation.

4. Treatment of Blemishes: Any skin blemishes should be treated immediately to avoid bigger, deeper scars later on!

Acanthosis nigricans is the cry of the skin, or rather the body, for attention! It is a skin disorder characterised by thickening, pigmentation and a fine or rough velvety appearance, particularly over body folds. It can be caused by a variety of causes.

People with acanthosis nigricans are known for their resistance to insulin in diabetics.

According to the causes, acanthosis nigricans is divided into  two major types: Mild Benign Type or Sevre Malignant Type, which may be the harbinger of serious internal malignancy or cancer.

Read my lens on acanthosis Nigricans and learn how to deal with it....

Acne is a disease of early to late puberty, majority of individuals stop getting acne lesions by the age of 25. Some, particularly women, tend to have occasional attacks well into middle age.

Most people tend to ignore acne as a nature phenomenon connected with pubertal hormonal activities. If the acne is severe, left untreated, it can cause severe scarring for life.

Read more on acne and how to deal with it....

Also See My Other Lenses on Acne:
Best Treatment for Acne
Learn to Beat Acne Stress
Top Acne Products Recommended by Dermatologist
and
Get Rid Acne Without Medicines.

Rosacea, previously called acne rosacea, is a chronic disorder of middle age affecting the flush area of the face manifesting with telangiectasia(dilated blood vessels), red coloration, and papular or pustular lesions.

The basic pathology in rosacea is dilatation of the dermal vasculature of the face associated with solar damage to the elastic tissue and the connective tissue of the dermis. A normal resident mite of the pilary canal seems to multiply faster and compound the problems in rosacea patients.

The onset of rosacea is usually in the middle age, with females being afflicted more than males. The severity of the disease is more in males, though. At first there is only mild flushing in the centre of face, nose or central forehead. Blood vessels dilate in the area later and with exacerbating factors, papules and pustules appear.

Read more on Rosacea and how to deal with it....

There are about 6 million chemical agents in our immediate environment. Out of these approximately 3000 act as allergens (agents causing allergy) to the skin.
Skin allergy occurs when these allergens bind to certain carrier proteins and present themself to the immune system of the skin and the body.

Read more about Skin Allergy at Skin Care Tips from Dermatologist

Alopecia or hair loss is a universal phenomenon. It depresses the sufferer and baffles the attending doctor! Baffling because of the multiple causes, many of which may not be discernible.

There are many approaches to the classification of alopecia, most common being,

Cicatricial or scarring alopecia: Not much hope for the patient unless treatment is instituted early so as to stop the scarring which will invariably close down the hair follicles and burn down the germinating ground.

Non cicatricial or non scarring alopecia: This is the commonest variety.

Alopecia can either be diffuse or localized also.

For more details read my Lens on Top Hair Loss Treatment

Patchy hair loss or alopecia areata is a localized, recurrent, patchy, non scarring type of hair loss, characterized by the presence of one or more round or oval hairless patches. The affected skin appears normal and smooth, unlike the fungal infections, where there is crusting of the skin and uneven breaking of hairs. On the periphery of the patches, a few short hairs, which taper and loss pigment as they approach the skin, may be seen. These are called "exclamation mark" hairs due to their resemblance to the mark.

Alopecia areata or patchy hair loss usually affects the scalp. Other hair bearing areas, especially the beard are also affected. Any age can be affected in alopecia areata; though the common age group is 15-30. The youngest alopecia areata patient I have seen was a 2 year old girl.

Learn how to deal with Alopecia Areata at my lens on Patchy Hair Loss Treatment Tips

Cold sores or fever blisters are caused by herpes simplex virus infection.

The first attack causes a severe infection in the oral cavity (known as primary herpetic gingivitis) during infancy, probably caught from mother or loving relatives passing on the virus while kissing the baby square on the mouth!

The initial attack occurs 5-21 days after exposure to an infected person. The infection can also pass through toothbrush, drinking glasses, cups, face towels, pillows etc.


Learn how to deal with Cold Sores...

Psoriasis is a non-contagious, genetic disease that results when faulty signals in the immune system prompt skin cells to regenerate too quickly, causing silvery white scales accumulate in red patches over the skin. It often affects the elbows, knees, nails, scalp and body folds but can appear anywhere on the body.

Though there is no cure yet for the disease, recent introduction of new biological therapies has provided a fresh ray of hope for psoriatic patients for a better quality of life ahead.

How common is psoriasis?

125 million people worldwide (up to 3% of the population) have psoriasis. Of these, about 10-30 % go on to develop psoriatic arthritis, a debilitating form of joint disease which causes pain, stiffness and swelling .. It is estimated that over seven million Americans (2.6%) have psoriasis, with more than 150,000 new cases reported each year.

Psoriasis occurs in both children and adults and may appear at any age, although it is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 12 and 35. Males and females are equally affected.

Read My Lens on
Ten Tips to Keep Psoriasis Under Control

Or
Learn more about Psoriasis here.

Chickenpox or Varicella is caused by varicella zoster virus. It is usually a disease of childhood, but those who have not contracted it in childhood, can suffer from it in adulthood as well. The severity of the infection will be higher when adults get chickenpox.

A very effective varicella vaccine is available for the immune compromised and the adults at risk. Whether all children should receive vaccine or not is a controversial issue.

The disease begins as a mild febrile disease resembling a common cold with fever and body pain. In 1-2 days, there is an erythematous eruption behind ears, neck and body. These within one day bloom into itchy vesicles. These eruptions occur successive eruptions over 3-7 days with the whole disease course consisting of 3 to 4 such waves of eruptions.


More on Chickenpox...

Herpes Zoster or "shingles" is the return of the varicella (chicken pox) virus. After an infection with Chickenpox, the virus migrates along the nerve, enter the neuronal sensory ganglion cells, penetrate the nucleus and remain as a part of the chromosome!

Due to some unknown stimulation or lowering of immunity , the virus comes back with vengeance along the nerve distribution on the skin.


More about Herpes Zoster...

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic,intensely pruritic(itchy) skin disease that affects genetically predisposed individuals with a family history of atopic diathesis.

Atopic diathesis include, in addition to atopic dermatitis, a group of allergic disorders like bronchial asthma,hay fever, allergic rhino-conjunctivitis and urticaria.

It has onset age of 3-6 months in infancy and has varied morphology as it passes through infantile, childhood and adult phases. It runs a chronic course of intermittent attacks of itching and excoriations and life time suffering for the individual and family.


Learn How to Manage Atopic Dermatitis..