How to keep your skin beautiful

Your skin protects your body, but that’s not all. It’s the face you present to the world. When healthy, it’s a source of beauty. The choices you make every day – what you eat, where you go, how you feel – affect how your skin looks. Use this visual guide to help keep your skin young-looking, healthy and wrinkle-free.

Skin and diet

Want good skin? Watch your diet. Higher intakes of vitamin C and a lower intake of fats and carbohydrates may help the appearance of your skin as it ages. Changing your diet may help your looks. Eat more fish, fruit and vegetables to help protect against wrinkles and dryness.

Eat your vitamins

Your anti-ageing cream may contain vitamin C or E. Put these antioxidants to work from the inside, too. Eating foods rich in these vitamins, plus the mineral selenium, can help protect your skin against sun damage. They may even help reverse signs of ageing, like wrinkles and skin discolouration. 

Run away from ageing skin

Exercise benefits every part of your body – including your largest organ, the skin. Working out improves circulation, flushing toxins from your skin. Better blood flow also brings more oxygen and nutrients and may help your skin produce collagen, which staves off wrinkles. Don’t fret about sweat – exercise may actually help unclog pores. Wash your face straight after a workout and avoid tight headbands, which can trap sweat and irritate skin.

Get your beauty rest

Burn the candle at both ends for a few nights and you may see it reflected in your face: dark circles under the eyes, pale skin and puffy eyes. Getting seven to eight hours a night will keep your body and skin in top shape. It matters how you sleep, too – rest your face on the pillow in the same position for years, and you’ll get wrinkles where the skin is pressed against the pillow. The solution? Sleep on your back.

How pregnancy changes your skin

Stretch marks – 90% of pregnant women get them. They should fade in time after delivery. Moisturisers can improve the appearance of stretch marks. After pregnancy prescription retinoid creams or laser therapy can help, too; however, these treatments are not available on the NHS. Acne is another common skin problem, caused by the extra hormones in your body. Your best bet for avoiding breakouts is to wash your face twice a day and use an oil-free moisturiser. Ask your doctor before using any acne products during pregnancy.

Avoiding the mask of pregnancy

Some women develop dark patches – melasma, or the 'mask of pregnancy' – on their faces when they're pregnant. An increase in melanin, the substance that gives skin its colour, is responsible for these dark patches. Use make up or concealer to help cover the dark spots. Melasma often fades after delivery. Reduce pigment changes by wearing sunscreen at all times and avoiding the sun.

Keep harmful rays off skin

Whether you were a sun worshipper in your teens or now catch some rays inadvertently while gardening, walking or even driving, the chances are your skin has sun damage. Some 90% of all skin damage is due to the sun. As your time in the sun goes up, so does your risk of skin cancer. Protect skin by always wearing sunscreen – even in winter. Hats and long sleeves help too. Avoid the sun between 11 am and 3 pm, when rays are strongest.

How to care for ageing skin

As you age, your skin changes. Your body doesn’t produce as much collagen and the elastin that allows skin to spring back into place gets weaker. You don’t get rid of dead skin cells or produce new ones as fast. To boost ageing skin, exfoliate to remove dead skin, use a non drying soap, and moisturise often. Most of all, stay out of the sun.

Should you drink coffee or wear it?

Caffeine in coffee and tea can be dehydrating, so it may cause your skin to dry out. However, a study found that when applied topically to skin, caffeine may help reverse sun damage and lower risk of some skin cancers – in mice, at least. Researchers are now trying to see if topical caffeine protects human skin, too.

Cut yourself off

Too much alcohol is bad for your skin as well as your body. Alcohol is a diuretic. It causes the body to lose water. That can contribute to dry skin. It also dilates blood vessels. That’s why drinkers often have red, flushed faces. Alcohol can trigger flare-ups of the skin condition called rosacea. Over time, these blood vessels can become permanently damaged, so that skin stays red.

Quit now!

Simply put, smoking is bad for your skin. It’s second only to the sun in causing wrinkles and dry skin. In fact, under a microscope you can see wrinkles in smokers as young as 20. Smoking reduces blood flow to the skin and contributes to the breakdown of collagen. Less collagen means more wrinkling. And yes, pursing your lips repeatedly encourages wrinkles, too. You can’t reverse the damage, but you can stop it by stopping smoking.

Wash the day away

Every day, your skin comes in contact with pollution – cigarette smoke, car exhaust fumes or smoggy air. Keep skin healthy by keeping it clean. Each night, exfoliate with gentle scrubs and toners to remove dead skin cells, cleanse with a gentle soap or wash, then apply a moisturiser. Oily skin still needs moisturiser. Look for oil-free products.

Inside and out in winter

Cold weather and wind bring on dry, flaky skin and can make eczema and rosacea worse. It's not just the weather outside – dry heat indoors is harsh on skin too. Fight back by using a humidifier at home, drinking lots of water and applying moisturiser throughout the day. Remember the sunscreen when you go out.  

Skin care in summer

Want a tan? Get a safe one: use a bronzer or self-tanner. However, most don't contain sunscreen, so they don't offer any protection from the sun. Remember to reapply sunscreen every two hours. Unless you have persistently dry skin, change to an oil-free moisturiser to avoid breakouts in humid weather. It's a good idea to rinse off after being in the pool to get rid of any chlorine on your skin.

Tips for skin care in the air

It doesn't take long on a plane for skin to start feeling dry and tight, thanks to low humidity in the recirculated air. Use a travel plan for your skin that includes drinking water – not coffee or alcohol – and moisturising before, during and after your flight. Don't wear makeup on the flight if you can help it. Keep a travel-size lotion to put in the clear plastic bag with your other carry-on items.

Get ready for your close-up

Hollywood lives by it: changing the lighting can change the way you look. Fluorescent lighting can make skin tone appear more red or yellow, while incandescent lighting softens colours and imperfections. Use mirrors with varied lighting to view your skin and makeup under different conditions. That way you won’t look overdone or sallow as lighting changes. Go more dramatic at night when lighting is lower.

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