Unhealthy skin proceeds from natural causes. Inadequate cleansing, a poor diet, a lack of healthy blood, and a variety of other factors can all conspire to create undesirable effects on your face. So it makes sense that solutions to these problems shouldn’t lie in dangerous chemical peels or plastic surgery, but from natural ingredients and remedies.
From improving your diet to using a dry brush to exfoliate the skin, your solution to healthy, vibrant skin could be as simple as making a few natural changes.
To get started, take a look at these five all-natural skin care tips for enhancing the health of your body’s largest organ.
1. Use All-Natural Skin Care Product
Probably the most obvious way of incorporating natural solutions in your skin care regimen is through the use of all-natural products.
But the skin care industry is currently estimated to be worth about $43 billion per year, and is expected to grow 6.8 percent in 2012—that’s a lot of products to choose from. To make sure you’re getting the best product possible; familiarize yourself with some of the most effective and most natural ingredients to treat your skin.
Sugar contains glycolic acid that brings out a healthy glow in the skin, and its rough texture makes it perfect for exfoliation. Sugar leaves the skin smooth and lustrous when combined with the right ingredients.
Honey is a natural humectant, which means it locks in moisture. Honey is best as a skin lotion, but its effects are powerful—using honey around your eyes can hydrate this thin skin and prevent wrinkles and dark circles under the eyes.
B Vitamins are important for skin health and skin beauty. B1 improves blood circulation, B2 decreases liver and age spots that appear on the skin, and B6 prevents dermatitis and eczema.
2. Use a Dry Brush for Exfoliation
Bridget Jones famously used a dry brush in an attempt to banish cellulite, but dry brushes actually work best at exfoliating the skin. By brushing your skin with a rough brush you can eliminate dead skin cells and allow the skin to detox. This form of exfoliation also improves blood circulation and decreases the puffiness that can occur around the eyes.
It’s an easy enough process—just grab a natural bristle brush and exfoliate before you step into the shower in the mornings.
3. Spend More Time Soaking Up the Sun
For years, the sun has been blamed as the cause of skin problems, wrinkles, and skin cancer. But now, some people are starting to suggest that the sun might actually be a source of all-natural skin care.
A recent study at Stanford University showed that some unprotected exposure to the sun may actually be good for your skin. It could prevent skin problems and may even reduce the spread and reproduction of cancer cells.
Some experts are even saying that sun exposure can even prevent disorders like diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, and multiple sclerosis.
Sunlight works by stimulating the production of vitamin D in your skin. This vitamin is essential to the health of your body and especially your skin. Deficiency of the vitamin leads to a variety of health problems, including those mentioned above. By contrast, spending time in the sun causes immune cells to travel to the outer layers of the skin and protect against toxins and free radicals.
4. Eat Good Fats and Avoid Excess Sugar
Your diet plays a huge role in the health of your skin. Essential fatty acids, for example, are vital for creating cell membranes, hormones, and other body chemicals that combat inflammatory conditions like eczema and acne.
The best forms of fatty acids for the skin come in cold water fish like sardines or salmon, flaxseed and walnut oil, and fish oil supplements.
And while you’re monitoring your diet, you may want to consider cutting out sugar. The more sugar that enters into your bloodstream, the more you’re putting yourself at risk for glycation—a process in which sugar damages protein particles. This can cause a loss of elasticity, which leads to the formation of wrinkles.
5. Improve Your Digestive Health
People who suffer from skin conditions frequently have problematic digestive issues as well. Constipation, leaky gut, and too much bad bacteria can lead to poor skin quality.
Try a full-body cleanse or at least a colon cleanse to flush the body of unwanted waste and toxins. This will help your digestive system run smoothly, improve the quality of your skin, and—as a bonus—may lead to weight loss of about five to ten pounds.
