Our Top 5 Tips for Healthy Skin Care

With all this talk about 50 being the new 40, 40 being the new 30, and so on, it seems like there’s more pressure to do as much as we can to keep up our appearance as we age. To some, this might mean taking extreme measures, but there are some simple things you can do to keep that youthful glow.

Here are our top 5 tips for healthy skin care:

1. Protect yourself from the sun. One of the most important ways to take care of your skin is to protect it from the sun. A lifetime of sun exposure can cause wrinkles, age spots and other skin problems, as well as increase the risk of skin cancer.

• Use sunscreen. We use and recommend Elta MD products which also contain a PHYSICAL sun block! • Seek shade. Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest. • Wear protective clothing. Cover your skin with tightly woven long-sleeved shirts, long pants and wide-brimmed hats. If you are struggling with the impact of too much sun exposure, consider HALO or BBL skin rejuvenation treatments to restore your skin to a healthy condition.

2. Be kind to your skin. • Limit bath time. Hot water and long showers or baths remove oils from your skin. Limit your bathing time, and use warm — rather than hot — water. • Avoid strong soaps. Strong soaps and detergents can strip oil from your skin. Instead, choose mild cleansers. Not sure where to start? Hotze Pharmacy carries Andalou products, which are free of chemicals. • Shave carefully. To protect and lubricate your skin, apply shaving cream, lotion or gel before shaving. For the closest shave, use a clean, sharp razor. Shave in the direction the hair grows, not against it. • Pat dry. After washing or bathing, gently pat or blot your skin dry with a towel so that some moisture remains on your skin. • Moisturize dry skin. If your skin is dry, use a moisturizer that fits your skin type. Our Physicians and Aestheticians use and recommend Hotze Pharmacy for all of their skincare needs. If you haven’t tried the Skin Renewal Cream, this is a MUST (it contains estriol and progesterone as well as numerous antioxidants)!

3. Don’t smoke. Smoking narrows the tiny blood vessels in the outermost layers of skin, which decreases blood flow. This depletes the skin of oxygen and nutrients that are important to skin health. Smoking makes your skin look older and contributes to wrinkles.

Smoking also damages collagen and elastin, the fibers that give your skin strength and elasticity. In addition, the repetitive facial expressions you make when smoking — such as pursing your lips when inhaling and squinting your eyes to keep out smoke — can contribute to wrinkles.

If you smoke, the best way to protect your skin is to quit. Ask your doctor for tips or treatments to help you stop smoking.

4. Eat a healthy diet and take your supplements and hormones. A healthy diet, combined with your supplements and hormones can help you look and feel your best. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins. A diet rich in vitamin C and low in unhealthy fats and processed or refined carbohydrates might promote younger looking skin. If you are not taking bioidentical hormones, then please discuss this with your physician.

5. Manage stress and get enough sleep Uncontrolled stress can make your skin more sensitive and trigger acne breakouts and other skin problems. To encourage healthy skin — and a healthy state of mind — take steps to manage your stress. Set reasonable limits, scale back your to-do list and make time to do the things you enjoy. Make sure that you aren’t skimping on sleep to get more done. This will impact your skin health. Take a deep breath, go for a walk and learn to say “no.” The results might be more dramatic than you expect (and carry over to more than your skin).

Ready for younger, firmer skin? Schedule your complimentary skin analysis with one of our aestheticians or cosmetologists today. Call 281–698–8770.

Originally published at www.hotzehwc.com on August 11, 2015.