This post is all about Why Skin Health Matters More Than You Think! With your skin being the largest organ in your body, it has a huge impact on your overall health and wellbeing. Poor skin health doesn’t just affect your appearance – it can influence everything from your immune system to your internal organs, making it important to give your skin the care that it needs.
What Does the Skin Actually Do?
Your skin performs a variety of different roles, but it can only do this if it’s healthy. Your skin acts as a physical barrier for starters, protecting your body from bacteria, viruses, UV rays, and toxins. It contains elements of your body’s natural immune system, meaning that compromised skin isn’t able to filter away these impurities, resulting in infections and illnesses.
Vitamin D production is another important role that your skin plays. When your skin is exposed to sunlight, it produces this all-important vitamin that helps to keep your bones, muscles, and teeth in good shape. However, unhealthy skin will struggle to produce enough vitamin D, which can lead to bone and mobility issues.
Finally, let’s talk moisture. Not only do your skin cells require moisture to function properly, but so do all of the other cells in your body. Without your skin to keep that moisture trapped in, water would simply evaporate out into the environment around you, leaving your body severely dehydrated.
What Damages the Health of Your Skin?
There is so much out there that can damage your skin, preventing it from functioning in the way it should. Some of the biggest skin problems come from:
- Over-exposure to UV rays
- Pollutants in the air
- A diet that contains lots of sugar and processed foods
- An inadequate skincare routine
- Cigarettes and alcohol
- Chronic stress
- High temperatures, such as hot showers
- Dry air from indoor heating and air-conditioning systems
- The aging process
Why Skin Health Matters More Than You Think
As you can see, there’s really no getting away from the many different factors that can cause skin damage. While your skin can fend for itself to an extent while it’s young, aging puts a huge strain on things.
How to Heal and Strengthen Damaged Skin
Chances are that your skin is already pretty damaged. Even if you take the best possible care of it, there’s really no getting away from the environmental harm that your skin has to deal with each day.
The best way to repair and strengthen your skin is with a good skincare routine. However, this is where many people end up lost – there are so many skincare products out there, so how do you know which ones your skin actually needs?
Don’t worry, you won’t need to start spending a significant chunk of each day on a 15-step beauty routine. While giving your skin a few extras can help, a simple skincare routine only needs to consist of the following:
- A cleanser
- A serum that targets the skin concerns you’re currently dealing with (eg. dryness, acne, wrinkles, etc.)
- A moisturizer that has been designed for your skin type
- A sunscreen (more on this later)
You may also want to choose skincare brands that align with your values. For example, some may only want to use natural products, while others may prefer vegan skincare lines (check out this BOA skincare review if cruelty-free products are what you’re after).
Reading reviews is a great way to learn more about a product. Granted, this does take some time and research, but it’s the best way to determine whether or not a certain formula would actually benefit your skin.
How to Protect the Health of Your Skin
It goes without saying that all of the damaging factors listed earlier should be avoided as much as possible if you want to keep your skin in good condition. UV rays tend to be the most harmful of all – in addition to destroying the proteins in your cells, altering skin cell DNA, and accelerating the aging process, sun exposure can also cause skin cancers.
This means that the best thing that you could do for your skin would be to protect it from the sun. Keeping your skin covered with an SPF 30 sunscreen will go a long way, but shading bare skin with clothing or accessories provides a physical barrier that helps even more.
A healthy lifestyle is also vital for skin health. This means eating a balanced diet, doing plenty of exercises, and keeping your stress levels as low as possible.
Skin Health is Everything
Many don’t think of their skin as being a vital organ, but it really is just as important as all of those internal organs that you can’t see. Keeping it in good shape will not only reward you with an improved appearance but will also keep other health issues at bay.