Lifestyle Choices that Affect Your Skin

Ok, I’m going to be forthright now! And I know that some things are just hard to give up as you’ll have to change your lifestyle. But the truth is that everything that we do affects us in one way or the other.  What am I on about? Well, today, I want to talk about our skin, the largest organ of the body. The skin is the first thing that others see when they meet you. This means that we need to look after it well and avoid making some poor lifestyle choices that leave us worse off. Recently my friend Opal and I were having a casual conversation where she shared that she had stopped putting dyes in her hair as she feels that those chemicals must seep into your skin somehow, and who knows what damage they are doing. It’s then that I thought about my lifestyle and how it may be affecting my skin. I’m not much of a make-up girl (shocker, I know) but I know that there are many other poor lifestyle choices that affect the skin. Below I will share a few of them with you. If you can think of others, why not share them with us and our readers.

Smoking ( I don’t mean to judge your lifestyle)

It’s a known fact that smoking does more harm than good. The pores of the skin have a way of absorbing all the toxins from cigarettes which leaves you with a dull look, pimples, and that smell that no one likes. No matter how much skin cream and body lotion you use, it cannot mask the odour you don’t want to share. I am no medical professional, and neither are most of our readers, but I’m sure we know that smoking has no positive benefits for the skin whatsoever. I’m not a fan of smoking. At. All. My friend Diona at Mommywaystowin.com had great success at stopping the nasty habit and looking after her skin. Read her story  here: http://www.mommywaystowin.com/stop-smoking-cold-turkey/ Hopefully someone will be helped by reading that article.

Drinking (the bad lifestyle one)

In addition to re-hydrating the body, water has a lot of benefits. That’s not the liquid being mentioned here though. We all know that excessive alcohol impairs our judgement! Right? Right! Well when one drinks too much alcohol, it actually dries out the skin while perhaps giving the person drinking the impression that they have had a lot of water. Nothing could be further from the truth! And that type of damage is hard to repair. I can recognise a heavy drinker when I see one, just by looking at the state of the skin on their face! Wise up, and do what’s best for you and your skin!

Too Much Sun Exposure (okay the tanning lifestyle … dunno)

It has been scientifically proven that over exposure to the sun’s UV rays is directly linked to skin cancer in addition to other risky skin conditions. Whilst we are on the topic of over exposure of the skin, it is important here to mention over exposure can also come from those sun lounges. Watch it! Don’t say you weren’t told! Think about it. does the look warrant getting skin cancer?

Inadequate Water (don’t you feel thirsty?)

Want to have healthy beautiful skin? Start by ensuring that you drink plenty of water. Let it be your drink of choice. Top up at every opportunity. This is something I’m trying to improve on in my own life. I dont think I drink enough water each day at all. I actually have to force myself to drink it, just because I know of the benefits to my health and well being. Lack of water leaves you dehydrated, makes your skin lack lustre and suppleness. Drink more for your skin’s sake. As I say, I need to take my own advice here! But as the heat is on, I’ll begin to drink more. And when I’m thirsty, I know what liquid I should be reaching out for. By the way, water is found naturally in most fruits and vegetables. Can you think of some of these? I’ve tried this trend of putting some fruits or pieces of fruit in a bottle, then topping up with ice and then water. When it’s refrigerated overnight, it makes an amazingly refreshing drink! Lemon and cucumber water is my favourite.

Greasy Food ( Tasty lifestyle for some but …)

The less grease in your food, the better your skin looks. This is another proven lifestyle choice fact! Eliminate more of the fat and you will see improvement in your skin’s appearance. Of-course a little fat in the diet is necessary. But don’t over do it now! What I do to remind myself to lay off the fat is to imagine each teaspoon of fat of any kind as a tablespoon of yellow ugly fat around my heart! Yuk! I know. That strategy works sometimes to help me to avoid greasy food.

I need to remember these tips too. So to summarise, eat healthier and avoid alcohol and also avoid overexposure to the sun. You should be so proud of your flawless skin when you see improvements after making these lifestyle changes.

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