Tricks for Naturally Glowing Skin

Beauty is only skin-deep, but the importance of healthy skin goes a lot deeper. Here are easy ways to let your skin shine (in a good way).Take 160 milligrams of soy isoflavones per day or pour soy milk over your cereal. Soy consumption may keep glowing skin healthy by supplying high-quality protein needed for building and maintaining collagen, the material essential to connective tissues, says Aaron Tabor, MD, CEO and medical research director at Revival Soy in Kernersville, North Carolina. Soy isoflavones may also act as antioxidants to protect collagen from damage caused by free radicals, highly reactive molecules that can weaken or destroy cell membranes. Free radicals can also damage DNA, create age spots and wrinkles, and depress the immune system, increasing the risk of skin cancer.

Grill salmon brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with toasted, crushed walnuts :

There, you’ve just gotten a skin-healthy dose of poly- and monounsaturated fats, particularly omega-3 fatty acids, which studies suggest may affect the amount of sun and aging damage your skin experiences. Without them, you’ll also show the signs you aren’t eating enough healthy fats, such as dry skin. By extension, make sure olive oil is the primary source of fat in your cooking each and every day, and try to have salmon twice a week or more to support glowing skin.

Cook with garlic every day :

A 1996 Danish study found that skin cells grown in a culture dish and treated with garlic had seven times the life span of cells grown in a standard culture. They also tended to look healthier and more youthful than untreated cells. Plus, garlic extract dramatically inhibited the growth of cancerous skin cells. Learn the best diet to eat to help fight skin cancer.

Give cheers for glowing skin :

Brew a pot of tea, chill, then store in the fridge and drink throughout the day. Tea, as you probably know, is a great source of antioxidants, molecules that fight the free-radical damage caused by sun exposure and cigarette smoking, which ruins glowing skin. One Arizona study, for instance, found that the more tea people drank (particularly tea with lemon) the less likely they were to develop squamous cell skin cancer.

Stop with one glass of wine or one alcoholic drink :

Overdoing it enlarges the blood vessels near the surface of your facial skin. Learn the worst skin care advice dermatologists have ever heard.

Take rose hips every morning to help build collagen :

Rich in vitamin C, rose hips (available at drugstores) can help keep smooth, youthful, and glowing skin. Follow label directions. Here are some detoxifying ingredients you need to add to your skin care routine.

Prepare for the outdoors :

If you’re gearing up for a day in the sun, steer clear of scented lotions and perfumes. Scented products can lead to blotchy skin when exposed to the sun, says Galvez.

Go for a run, ride your bike, or work out in the garden on a hot day :

Anything that gets you sweating is good news for your skin. Sweating is nature’s way of eliminating toxic chemicals that can build up under skin. Plus, regular exercise maintains healthy circulation and blood flow throughout your body, including your skin. If you’re exercising outdoors, though, remember to wear a sunscreen on your face that protects against UVA and UVB rays, or a moisturizer with sunscreen protection. Make sure you know about these sneaky places you can get skin cancer that aren’t your skin.

Apply a cream containing vitamin C to your face over your sunblock :

This will provide double protection. The cream helps prevent facial skin damage, dehydration, and wrinkles, says Galvez. Also try creams containing vitamin E or beta-carotene. Learn more ways dermatologists change up their beauty routines in the summer.

Moisturize correctly :

Switch moisturizers every time the seasons change. Your skin needs more moisture in the winter than in the summer. So the same day you bring those sweaters down from the attic for the winter, buy a heavier moisturizer. When you trade in the sweaters for shorts, switch to a lighter one.

Select a moisturizer that contains skin-repairing humectants :

Is that a new word for you? Humectants attract water when applied to your skin and improve its hydration. Good ones include glycerin, propylene glycol, and urea. Also look for skin products that contain alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), compounds that help reduce wrinkles and improve dry skin, acne, and age spots. AHAs, which naturally occur in grapes, apples, citrus, and sour milk (think buttermilk or yogurt), work by speeding up the turnover of old skin cells, making skin look younger. Check out these tips for looking younger, straight from dermatologists.

Men, recognize that skin-preserving products aren’t just for women :

Men need skin care just as much as their wives and sisters, so they should be using cleansers and moisturizers too. To prevent wrinkles and skin cancer, use a moisturizer containing a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 daily. Also, use a gentle exfoliant weekly and a nighttime moisturizer that contains alpha-hydroxy acids to encourage skin regeneration. Learn more about what moisturizer ingredients really do.

Buy the right products :

Use a single family of skin-care products. If you buy and use lots of different skin-care products, there’s a good chance some contain the same ingredients, thus making them redundant, says Cara DeCenso, an aesthetician at Ajune in Manhattan. And some brands just aren’t very compatible with others, though you’d have no way of knowing that until you already paid for and opened them. You’re more likely to achieve glowing skin if you use products that are designed and formulated to work together, such as Clinique, Mary Kay, Albolene, or Neutrogena. You may have to shell out a little more cash, but experts agree you’ll get better results.

Keep your beauty products clean and simple… :

…particularly if you have sensitive skin. Stay away from products with color, fragrance, or those that produce bubbles or have “antibacterial” on the label, says Dr. Cambio. These can all irritate skin. Steal more of dermatologists’ best skin-care tips.

Use toner tricks :

Add a teaspoon of grapeseed oil to your toner. The oil acts as an anti-aging serum by helping your skin cells repair and rejuvenate themselves, suggests Gina Michele Bisignano, a model and beauty expert in Los Angeles.

Tone your skin with a sage, peppermint, and witch hazel combination :

Sage helps to control oil, peppermint creates a cool tingle, and witch hazel helps restore the skin’s protective layer. Combine 4 ounces of witch hazel with 1 teaspoon each of sage and peppermint leaves and steep for one to three days before applying to your skin. Add it to this morning routine that leave your skin glowing.

Shower the healthy way :

Skip the long, steamy showers and opt for shorter, cooler sprays. Long, hot showers strip skin of its moisture and wash away protective oils, says Andrea Lynn Cambio, MD, a New York City dermatologist. So limit showers to ten minutes and keep the water cool.

Switch from a deodorant soap to one with added fat :

Some good choices are Dove, Oilatum, or Neutrogena. Deodorant soaps can be drying, whereas added-fat soaps leave an oily, yet beneficial, film on your skin. Learn some more unusual things that can give you healthy, glowing skin.

Use a loofah daily to keep ingrown hairs and scaly skin under control :

While in the shower, gently scrub bumpy or scaly skin with a circular motion to remove dead cells. For extra-smooth skin, sprinkle a few drops of an alpha-hydroxy product on the loofah before scrubbing.

Upgrade your bath :

Half a pound of sea salt and one pound baking soda. Soak until the water is cool to detoxify your skin and soothe the itch.Two cups Epsom salt. In addition to soaking in it, while your skin is still wet, rub handfuls of Epsom salt on the rough areas to exfoliate skin. A few bags of your favorite tea. The tea provides antioxidants as well as a delicious scent.