The Long Term Benefits of On-going Skin Care – By Dr. Kelly Burkenstock
The Long Term Benefits of On-going Skin Care
Skin care is among the most important yet often overlooked aspects of personal hygiene. Along with acting as the protective layer for the rest of the body, your skin also dictates your appearance. When your skin is healthy and resilient, you will have a more youthful appearance. The best way to keep the skin clean and healthy is by utilizing a care routine for your skin, which can provide you with an array of long-term benefits.
Take Charge of Your Skin
The skin you have now is the only skin you’ll ever get. Keeping it at its best starts with how you treat it every day. However, it is possible for your skin to look much better and healthier than it currently does. If you stick with your skincare routine day after day, your long-term results will be fantastic. In fact, the anti-aging effects of using a daily routine are only noticeable after maintaining this routine for many months.
Healthy Skin Keep You Healthy
While many of the long-term benefits for ongoing care for your skin are centered around the appearance of your skin, you’ll also become healthier in a variety of ways. The skin is the largest organ within the body, which is why it’s essential to keep it healthy. When your skin is as healthy as it can be, it will protect you from heat, cold, toxic substances, germs, and many other things that are harmful to your health.
Slows Down Your Aging
If you want the ongoing care of your skin to be as effective as possible, it’s highly recommended that you begin this routine in your 20’s or 30’s. Doing so will provide you with the best anti-aging effects as you become older and reach your 50’s and 60’s. If you’re older, you can still nourish, pamper, and protect your skin. With wise care, your skin can stay looking good as you age. The reason that forming these habits as soon as possible is vital is because the skin invariably loses its elasticity and strength as a person grows older.
A simple, ongoing regimen will slow down your aging by reducing wrinkles and providing your face with a more youthful appearance. All regimens should include standard cleansing, moisturizing, and exfoliating.
Start simple. You can spend all the money you want on a complicated skin care routine, but what matters more is that you have good skin care habits. For instance, do you properly cleanse your skin? If you wear makeup, do you remove it all at the end of the day? Do you wear sunscreen, even when it’s not sunny outside? Even though you won’t see immediate results, these little steps will make a big difference over time.
Cleanse- Cleanse your face every morning and evening. Avoid soaps and cleansers with alcohol or strong chemicals. After you cleanse your skin, follow with a toner.
Tone- Toners help remove fine traces of oil, dirt, and makeup you may have missed when cleansing. After your toner, follow with a moisturizer.
Moisturize- Look for a moisturizer geared toward your skin type — dry, normal, or oily. Yes, even oily skin can benefit from a moisturizer. I recommend moisturizers that are clear or see through. Clear serum moisturizers typically contain very little chemicals and preservatives.
Exfoliate- Exfoliate with glycolic acid, lactic acid and salicylic acid exfoliators.
Block the sun. Over time, exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun causes many changes in your skin: Age spots, Benign (noncancerous) growths like seborrheic keratosis, Color changes and Freckles, Precancerous or cancerous growths like basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, and wrinkles.
Most skin cancers come from sun exposure. Limit your time outside, especially between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Always wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen with the physical blocker zinc oxide or titanium dioxide and a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or greater. Wear protective clothing, like a long-sleeved shirt, pants, and a wide-brimmed hat. Don’t use tanning beds, they accelerate aging and cause cancer.
Boost Your Confidence
If you only care for your skin once a week or less, you likely won’t obtain any notable benefits from it. However, a consistent skin care routine that cleanses and hydrates your skin every day will eventually provide you with all of the aforementioned benefits. When your skin looks healthy and clean, your confidence will almost certainly be higher than it was before you took care of your skin. You will love what you see in the mirror, the best You!
Kelly Gilthorpe Burkenstock, M.D.