The 6 S’s Damaging Your Skin

Want to have beautiful skin long into old age? Here are six things that could be damaging your skin without you realizing – and they all begin with ‘s’.

Sun exposure

Our skin needs vitamin D from the sun, but too much exposure can cause sunburn, which can lead to premature wrinkling, dry skin and in some cases serious conditions such as skin cancer. You should make sure that you’re always wearing some form of protection on a sunny day, whether you’re covering yourself up with clothing or wearing sun cream. An effective sun lotion should be over factor 20 – online products like SunSense have some great products to choose from.

Squinting

Squinting causes crow’s feet – the wrinkles around the corners of the eyes. Too much squinting could be caused by not wearing prescription glasses, reading in the dark or not wearing sunglasses in bright weather. Keep your face young by preventing squinting.

Sugar

Consuming too much sugar causes insulin spikes, which can then cause inflammation around the body. This could include inflammation of the skin such as spots or acne. If you currently suffer from acne and consume a lot of sugar, try cutting down and see if this has an impact. On top of sugary snacks, consider sugary drinks – this could be anything from soda to wine. You could consider drinking non-sugar substitutes or you could drink more water and milk throughout the day to cut down on your intake.

Smoking

Smoking has all kinds of negative effects on the skin. It can restrict oxygen flow to the skin and prevent nutrients getting to the surface, resulting in pale and fragile skin. Heat and smoke from a cigarette can also cause wrinkles on the face. Quitting smoking could be very healthy for your skin. You could consider switching to e-cigarette such as the Dabado Bolt Pro – vaping can still give people the action of smoking and can make it easier to give up cigarettes. Alternatively, you may be able to switch to nicotine gum or find another means of quitting such as hypnosis. Just make sure you don’t replace smoking with habit that’s equally bad for you skin.

Stress

When stressed, our bodies release a hormone called cortisol, which makes our skin more reactive. This can make rashes and spots easier to develop. If you can’t remove stress triggers from your life, make sure that you’re finding time each day to destress so that you don’t constantly have cortisol coursing through your body. Popular stress relievers include taking a hot bath, meditation, exercise, reading a book or listening to music.

Sleep deprivation

A lack of sleep can also cause wrinkles, particularly bags under the eyes. Getting more sleep – or indeed better quality sleep – each night could help to protect your skin and keep it youthful. Find what it is that’s causing sleep deprivation and try solve it whether it reorganising your time, reducing stress in your life or getting a more comfortable mattress.