Skin Care Is Important In More Ways than You Think

How our skin looks is important to many of us. At the same time, your skin performs special tasks that support life. Skin protects your internal organs from injury, bacteria, and viruses. It also helps in normalizing body temperature. You can take different steps to keep your skin healthy and replenished. As a reward, good skin care will help you to feel motivated.

Caring for your skin 

Follow these simple methods to keep your skin healthy and radiant:

• Take bathe in warm but not hot water using sensible cleansers that do not create rashes. Wash gently and don’t scrub.
• Keep skin from drying by consuming plenty of water and using moisturisers, lotions or creams.
• Practice sun safety to avoid skin cancer. Exposure to sun puts you at higher risk of skin cancer, regardless of your skin colour.
• Check your skin for sun burns. Contact your skin specialist and tell him/her regarding any unusual developments like a soar that does not heal or a change in an old growth. Ask him whether you require a clinical examination.
• Ask your skin specialist if medicines you are taking can affect your skin. For example, some antibiotics and vitamins contribute towards sun burns.   

Prevailing skin problems

• Sensitive Skin: Women with sensitive skin may have itching, burning sensation, or tightness after using soaps or make-up. Women of colour are vulnerable to sensitive skin. Search for products that are specifically made for sensitive skin. Talk with your skin specialist if these products don’t help.
• Pimples: Pimples form when hair follicles under your skin jumble up. They are recurrent in the teen years but many women get pimples in the latter stages of their lives. Acne also is rampant during pregnancy and menopause, when hormones undergo changes. Medicines, such as birth control pills, can also lead to breakouts. However, the cause of acne is still unknown. Stress, certain foods, chocolate can make symptoms worse. It can be associated with genes. To care for acne, use mild soaps, evade touching your skin, and go for oil-free make-up.
• Dry Skin: Skin can dry out and become rough and itchy for obvious reasons. Dry skin is usually a result because of dry air, overuse of soaps & perfumes, not drinking enough water, stress, smoking and the sun.
• Cellulite: Cellulite is fat that collects just below the surface of your skin. Woman of all sizes can get it. Once formed, it is very difficult to get rid of cellulite. Weight loss, exercise or massages are of no help either. Liposuction makes it look even worse. To prevent cellulite, try adopting healthy diet, stay active, and do not smoke.
• Stretch Marks: Rapid growth and weight gain such as with puberty and pregnancy; can stretch your skin, leaving pinkish or reddish streaks on your breasts, stomach, hips, buttocks and thighs. Medicines like cortisones and diseases such as diabetes can cause stretch marks. Cosmetic creams are of little or no help. Yet stretch marks often fade over time.