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Good Skin Care Takes a Little Effort But is Possible

by Dr. Donna Schwontkowski (ret.)

Copyright 2007 Schwontkowski. Call for reprint rights.

If you want clear, clean skin, or better yet, a flawless complexion, this article may give you some important tips on skin care routines and skin care cleansers.

As a child, you probably never gave good skin care a second thought. The idea was totally irrelevant to you until you got into your teens and started to experience pimples. With pimples came embarrassment and the desire to find a solution for them fast. Do you remember what it was like?

Good skin should never be taken for granted. Many people are shocked at just how easy it is to develop skin problems later in life. They may even have grown up without a pimple, and then in their thirties, pimples start showing up at an alarming frequency. Thousands of people over the age of 25 have acne rosacea and are searching for a good skin care solution. Others have dermatitis and eczema, two conditions that don't usually get better with time.

We're born with beautiful skin. Did you ever see a newborn with a pimple? The big question is how to keep your skin beautiful into the teen years and into old age.

How to Have a Flawless Complexion

A flawless complexion starts with diet. The most beautiful flawless skin I have ever seen was in one of my students taking my anatomy class at a junior college. Her name was Karen and her secret for a flawless complexion was her consumption of fresh vegetable juices, 2 quarts a day, that she made each morning. Looking at her skin, you would see no imperfections, a rosiness, a vitality, and a translucency that was stunning. She made carrot juice, tomato juice, carrot celery juice recipes, and many other combinations that she religiously drank. Whenever you saw Karen, you also saw her half gallon tupperware container of freshly made vegetable juice.

There's no question that fruits and vegetables provide important nutrients for your health. Nutritionists and researchers have counted over 100,000 different nutrients that we need for optimal health, and a significant percentage of them are found in fruits and vegetables.

How Skin Care Routines Fit Into the Picture

Regardless of your skin type, fruits and vegetable juices will help you improve your complexion. They're a good first step for good skin care. What I have found is that your diet is even more important than the skin care cleansers you use. Still, it is important to have a skin care routine that involves washing your face at least once daily, preferably at night. You can use the natural skin care cleansers on the market; sometimes they are less harsh than the regular skin care cleansers that contain alpha-hydroxy acids or salicylic acid which can cause a reaction. The natural skin care cleansers have a minimal amount, if any, of chemicals that are not found in nature. So if you cannot read the name of the ingredient, it most likely is a chemical and not a natural ingredient.

Good Skin Care and Good Diet Mean Anti Aging Benefits

When I conducted anti aging research back in the 1990s, I discovered that taking collagen supplements orally actually decreased the depth and length of wrinkles on the face of the women who took it. This was amazing to me since I never thought it would work. However, I used an instrument to actually measure the depth and length of the wrinkles and found it was true!

Another supplement that helps reduce wrinkles and helps develop a flawless complexion is fish oil. The oils in fish oil support the cell walls, which give it structure. By strengthening the cell walls, the skin cells are resistant to bacteria that can penetrate small cracks or tears in the cells and cause pimples.

Adequate protein in the diet is also a major contributory factor for flawless skin. Have you ever seen the skin of many elderly people in nursing homes? It is fragile and paper thin. Sometimes even pressing their skin hard against an object will cause the skin to bruise easily and tear. This is the result of a protein deficiency. Replenishing their diet with plenty of protein results in better skin texture.

Look for ways you can incorporate at least some of these above-mentioned ideas into your regular diet. Can you take two fish oil capsules with one of your meals daily? Can you take a liquid collagen supplement at breakfast along with your regular vegetable cheese egg omelette? Can you juice three vegetables three times a week? All these actions are easily accomplished and the payoff is beautiful skin and a flawless complexion.

What Not To Do for Healthy Radiant Skin

There are several foods to avoid if you're interested in establishing good skin care routines. Americans are notorious for indulging heavily in sugary snacks and high sodium foods. These can truly throw your skin off balance. In fact, those random breakouts you receive are likely to be linked to your dietary habits. As much as many of us enjoy junk food, it's important to set a limit.

The skin care products you use naturally play a role in contributing to flawless skin. Good skin care doesn't always mean doing more. As opposed to scrubbing your face with expensive cleaners three times a day, try washing twice a day max. Your skin contains natural oils that keep it radiant and moisturized. When you cleanse it too often, you wash these oils away, making it dry and irritated. Irritated skin can definitely lead to more breakouts.

Finally, a few last good skin care tips are to avoid excessive sun exposure, moisturize when needed, and be gentle when applying cleansers, scrubs and treatments. Think twice about rushing out to get a chemical peel. Your face requires a soft touch. I like the natural skin care cleansers the best. One of my favorite is a special cleanser based on herbs from the Amazon rainforest. I noticed more radiant skin within a week with the rainforest natural skin care cleanser. You can find more info about it at http://drdonna.amazonherb.net

Resources on Skin Care

1. Fish oil benefits your skin because of the omega-3 oils in it. Find out more here.Fish oil.
2. You will find a review of skin cleansers here.Skin care cleansers.