Keeping your skin healthy and youthful is not as hard as you may think. Yes, you can buy tons of expensive serums and creams or pay for medical procedures to keep a youthful appearance, but if you follow a few simple and basic rules you can save time and money.

The first thing to do is to protect yourself from the sun. If you do have to be outside, do your best to avoid sunlight from 10 am to 4 pm.  If you do have to be outside, especially in the critical hours, wear protective clothing like long sleeve shirts and pants that are tightly woven as to not let sunlight through the weaving.  Wear a wide brimmed hat as well.

You may be thinking that there is no way you are going to wear pants and long sleeves when it is hot. Make sure to cover all skin, especially anything exposed to the sun, with sunblock.  Apply a generous amount of a high UV blocking sunblock at least 30 minutes before going outside and reapply every 2 hours, after sweating, or swimming.

Do not smoke. Smoking not only will make your skin look older than it really is, but contributes to wrinkles as well. The outermost layer of skin is full of tiny little blood vessels. Smoking causes these already small vessels to narrow which in turn prevents blood from flowing properly. The lack of blood flow decreases oxygen and nutrients, especially Vitamin A. Smoking also reduces collagen and skin elasticity. If your skin is not elastic then it will be droopy and look much older than it is.


Shaving and daily washing of skin can make it more fragile. You need to treat your skin with the highest standards. Following  a few basic rules will help keep your skin young and youthful .

• Limit your bath and shower times. Hot water and lengthy shower / bath times deplete your skin of necessary oils. Just by shortening your time in the bath or shower and using warm, not hot water, will help a lot.
• Another easy fix is to use a mild soap or clenser, do not use harsh soaps which also will deplete oils from the skin.
• When you finish showering or bathing, do not rub your skin dry with a towel. Instead, pat your skin to remove excess water. This will allow some moisture to stay on your skin and not dry it out.

• Moisturize your skin. Not all skin types are the same so you will have to find the right lotion / cream for your skin type. No matter your skin type, there is a moisturizer out there for you, you just need to research and find what  you need.

It is important to eat a healthy and balanced diet. This will benefit you inside and out.  Eat a diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, and lean proteins.  There is still much research being done on the correlation with diet and health, but a diet that is low in carbohydrates and fat but high in vitamins will make your skin appear young and fresh looking.

Stress is a large contributer to your skin’s appearance. Stress often leads to acne and other skin problems. Try to manage your stress levels. Take a break from your stressful tasks for a few minutes and walk away from it. Take a short walk , call a friend, watch some TV or read a book. Doing this for even a few minutes will reduce stress levels.