What Not to Do to Keep Your Skin Healthy

In the world of skin care, there are many blog posts and resources which detail exactly what you need to do in order to keep your skin healthy. You already no doubt have a good idea of the things that you should be doing to take care of your skin.

However, most people are unaware that there are many things that you should not do if you want to keep your skin healthy. This article will help you to expand your knowledge about skin care by going over a few things that you should not do in order to keep your skin looking good.

Don’t Skip Skincare Routines

The very first thing that you should not do if you are trying to keep your skin healthy would be skipping skincare routines. Having a skincare routine is one of the fundamental aspects of maintaining the health of your skin. The great news is that skincare routines don’t need to be overly complicated, and they don’t need to contain the most expensive products.

A simple skincare routine will do just fine, and you can create one using 3 simple steps. The first step of any skincare routine starts with cleansing, or in other words, washing your face. Once that is done, you can use a toner to balance your skin, and end the routine off with using a good quality moisturizer. This will help you seal the skin, locking in moisture and necessary nutrients.

Don’t Eat Unhealthy Foods

The next thing that you should avoid doing at all costs is eating unhealthy foods. If you want to maintain your healthy looking skin, don’t eat foods that are bad for you. There are plenty of reasons to avoid these foods, other than the effects they have on your skin. However, here are a few foods to avoid and why.

• Processed meats: processed meats are particularly bad for your skin because of the high levels of sodium and nitrates they contain. Collagen strands can be destroyed by a sodium imbalance (salt), and wrinkles and inflammation can be caused by nitrates.
• Eating high GI foods will result in a great chance of developing acne, so these should be avoided. They can also cause premature aging, due to the process of glycation.
• Finally, some people may experience a rise in sebum production due to drinking full cream milk. This is because this type of milk increases your cortisol levels that bind to sebaceous glands, which is caused by elevated insulin levels.

There are other foods to avoid, but these are the top three that you can begin limiting from your diet immediately. If you eat bread, you can find a low GI variant, and there are many different types of milk. Avoid soy milk as a substitute though, since this can cause inflammation.

Don’t Touch Face With Unwashed Hands

A very simple, yet effective, thing that you can not do to improve your skin is not touch your face with unwashed hands. Throughout the day, you will touch many surfaces and in the process of doing so, gather dust, dirt and other pollutants on your hands. When you touch your face with unwashed hands, you will transfer all of these pollutants, dirt and dust to your face.

This, of course, can lead to breakouts, since it is the dirt, dust and pollutants that will cause your pores to get blocked. By the same token, you should also consider wiping the screen of your phone throughout the day, since you will transfer the dirt, dust and pollutants from your hands to your phone, and then to your face if you answer any calls.

Don’t Over-Exfoliate

Finally, the last thing on this list that you should not do if you want to keep your skin healthy is over-exfoliate. A big mistake that many people make who are new to skincare routines is exfoliating more than twice a week. Don’t be mistaken; exfoliating is a necessary part of a skincare routine, but you should limit it to no more than twice a week.

This is because when you exfoliate too often, you run the risk of damaging the skin’s protective layer of fats and oils. This layer helps to seal moisture into the skin, which in turn, prevents irritants from entering. Without this protective layer, you are more likely to allow pollutants to block your pores, which will result in breakouts.