Looking after your skin

Avoiding the skin wreckers

Taking care of your skin also means avoiding the things that can easily ruin its appearance.

1. Too much sun. The sun is to blame for up to 90 per cent of wrinkles, not to mention that leathery look. Ultraviolet rays break down the underlying structure of your skin and cause damage to the cell membranes and to DNA. They also boost the production of enzymes that break down collagen. Though wearing sunscreen won’t reverse existing damage, it can help prevent further wrinkling and also protect against skin cancer. 
How sunburn works

2. Smoking. If you needed another reason to quit, smoking is a curse to your skin. It constricts blood vessels, decreasing blood flow and depriving skin of the oxygen it needs. It also introduces toxins and steps up free-radical damage to a super-charged pace.
Quit smoking in six weeks

3. Too much alcohol. Because alcoholic beverages dehydrate the body, overindulgence can leave your skin looking drier and older. For better overall health, limit your intake to no more than one drink a day if you’re a woman, two if you’re a man, and offset the dehydration by drinking plenty of water throughout the day.

4. Too little sleep. They don’t call it beauty sleep for nothing: during sleep, the body regenerates collagen and keratin (a protein in the skin’s top layer). Lack of sleep can dull the complexion and cause dark circles under your eyes to be even darker. Raise the head of your bed by putting blocks under the legs to help reduce under-eye puffiness by allowing fluid that collects there to drain away.
Daily plan for better sleep

5. Too much stress. Skin breakouts are common when you’re under stress, and even without them, your skin can look pale or ruddy and drawn. Relaxation techniques — and holidays, of course — can do your skin a world of good. Treat yourself to a face or body massage. It will not only help you relax more, but will also improve blood and lymph circulation, speed the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your skin and accelerate the elimination of toxins from your body. 
Six handy stress busters