Turning twenty is a golden milestone in your life. You finally begin to grow out of the acne and the awkwardness of puberty. The hormones finally settle down to give you glowing, supple, and healthy skin. You feel like a supermodel!
But it is important to know that the things you do in your twenties impact how you age in your fifties. The age-old advice of hydration and nutrition still stands true for your skin. There are a few things you can do to keep your skin supple and healthy from the inside.
Tips For Better Skin In Your Twenties
1. Cleanse The Skin
When we think skin, we often think of the face and neck area. However, remember that the skin covering the rest of the body also needs the same kind of care to stay healthy longer. Surely, you don’t want the face of a twenty-year-old only to have wrinkles on the arms and legs?
For the face and neck area, use a cleanser every day. A non-alcoholic, water-based cleanser usually suits a lot of skin types. For the rest of the body, apply olive oil once a week and use an Ayurvedic scrub (ubtan) to wash it off. This removes dead skin cells, moisturizes the skin, and the herbs in the scrub help remove tan, slow down pigmentation, and skin aging.1
2. Use Sunscreen
How many times have we heard (and ignored) the advice to slather on sunscreen before stepping out? Sunscreen is vital in protecting your skin from harmful UV rays. Depending on the SPF, a good sunscreen can keep your skin safe for anywhere between 1 and 3 hours.
Higher SPFs aren’t always as effective as they claim to be. So, go for what best suits your skin type. Try carrot oil, which is considered a good sunscreen. You can also find creams in the market that use carrot oil as the active ingredient.2
3. Eat Vitamin C And Omega 3 Fats
Both nutrients are essential for maintaining skin health. Vitamin C is a natural antioxidant found in abundance in citrus fruits. It helps scavenge free radicals in the body, preventing oxidative damage to all organs, skin included.3 Omega 3 fats are considered essential fatty acids that are used to rejuvenate the body. These fatty acids can be found in foods such as fish liver oil and plant sources such as flax seeds.
4. Go For Night Treatments
It is indeed true that the skin repairs itself most effectively at night, while you sleep. This is why most beauticians recommend cosmetic creams to be applied at night.
Clean your skin thoroughly and apply a night treatment of your choice before going to bed. You can try natural options like rose water or Ayurvedic creams made from sandalwood, vetiver, and aloe.4
5. Avoid Soaps
Soaps are, in their purest forms, mild detergents. It is advisable to avoid using them as much as possible. Alcohol-based soaps and cleansers are also a strict no-no as they cause the skin to dry out and become more sensitive.5 As far as possible, use water and oil-based products for your skin.
6. Reduce Alcohol Consumption
This is a harsh truth that needs to be accepted and worked around. Alcohol consumption damages the skin over time and raises the blood pressure, causing the tiny blood vessels called capillaries to rupture and burst. The skin in the vicinity is thus affected by lower blood supply. Over time, this results in chronic redness of the skin, dryness, and wrinkles.6
7. Quit Smoking
Both active and passive smoking is dangerous to your overall well-being. But did you know that it also significantly affects your skin? Smoking slows the pace at which your skin recovers, causes crow’s feet, and inevitable turns the skin around your lips dark and wrinkly. We can go so far as to say that smoking is the single greatest deterrent to good skin.7 So, avoid starting the habit or quit as soon as possible.
Good skin for life is an achievable target if you choose to form certain healthy habits. These 7 measures will take care of your skin to a great extent.
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