Skin Care - Things You Must Know

The Skin Care Info Everyone Should Know

The first thing that people notice when they see you is your skin.  It is a person’s “natural clothing”.  When your skin looks bad, you feel bad.  It is not just the skin on your face that is important.  The skin on a person’s arms is exposed when they are wearing short sleeves.  The skin of a person’s legs is exposed when they are wearing shorts.  At the beach all you see is skin.  Taking care of this skin is important.  The more healthy and beautiful your skin looks, the more healthy and beautiful you will feel. 
  
Aging Skin

As a person gets older, so does their skin.  This does leave an effect on the skin.  The early signs of aging skin are slight wrinkles around the eyes called crows feet.  Wrinkles also appear around the mouth, “laugh lines”, as well as on the forehead.  As the years go on wrinkles will become noticeable on the hands and neck.  As the years go on, the skin will continue to lose its elasticity.  Loss of elasticity is when skin loses its ability to snap back after being pinched.  This happens with age.  With age, the skin will also change color.  As the years go by the healthy glow of one’s skin will diminish.
Although there may be no magical cure for aging, we do not have to take it lying down.  There are measures that can be taken to not stop the aging effect, but slow it down a little. 

Skin Creams: There are many creams, masks, toners, and lotions on the market today that can help to slow the aging process a bit.  There are many products on the market which promise to not only prevent wrinkles but there are also products on the market which claim to make existing wrinkles disappear.  Do these products work?  It all depends on the product in question.  Many of these products who make these claims have clinically proven that these products work.  With regular daily use, many of these products are capable of preventing wrinkles and in some cases making wrinkles disappear.  Unfortunately, the skin does one day have to lose its beauty.  These products just keep it beautiful longer

Plastic Surgery: For those who want to slow the aging process even more, there is plastic surgery.  There are a few procedures which can take years off the appearance of your skin.  Some of these procedures are routine and can be done in a short visit right in the doctors’s office.  Other procedures are more invasive and require local anesthesia. 
One very common procedure that has become increasingly popular over the past few years is call Botox.  Botox is actually an injection that can reduce the appearance of wrinkles.  Botox is a non surgical, aesthetic treatment for the treatment of moderate to severe frown lines.  This procedure is very simple and has no recovery time.  It can be done on a lunch break.

Lifts are more invasive procedures to make the skin look younger.  You can get a brow lift, chin life, or even a face lift.  All of these surgeries are not usually done on an outpatient basis and all require a general aesthetic.

The Sun and Your Skin

The sun is not your skin’s friend.  Everyone loves a nice tan, however, over time the sun can do severe damage to your skin.  The sun can age the skin much faster than it would if it were not exposed to too much sun.  The sun can not only cause the skin to age, it can also cause damage to the skin that could be fatal.  Skin cancer is one of the leading forms of cancer today.  The skin is actually considered an organ.  It is the human bodies biggest organ.  The sun’s UV rays can get to the skin causing cancer.  Skin cancer can appear anywhere on the body. 

Anyone can get skin cancer for many different reasons, however, people who have allowed themselves to be exposed to the sunlight for long periods of time are more at risk of developing skin cancer.  It is not only natural sunlight which can cause skin cancer.  Tanning lamps can also cause skin cancer.  When going outside, even in the winter, it is necessary to have some sort of sun screen.  There are different strengths of sun screen available.  The higher the strength, the safer your skin will be.

If you are one of those people who insist on having a tan, there are alternate methods of tanning.  One is a gradual tanning lotion.  These are available in most drug stores.  These lotions are skin moisturizers which will also gradually give your skin a sun kissed tone.  There are several different brands.  Trying different ones and finding the one that is for you is the best idea. 

Self tanners are another idea.  These are applied wherever you wish to have a tan and the results are immediate.  Unless you use a good brand, you skin can tend to look orange rather than tan.  Another irritating issue with the self-tanning lotions is the streaking.  Unless you apply the lotion perfectly even, you could get streaks that are darker than the rest of the skin.  It is necessary to wash hand immediately after applying a self-tanner.  This is because the tanner can cause your hands to become orange.  Some self-tanners will cause some oranging of the hands whether you wash immediately or not.

Something that is rather new is a spray tan.  These are available both in salons or you can purchase the equipment to do them at home.  These spray tans use a solution similar to that used in a self-tanning lotion except it is “airbrushed” on the body.  This prevents streaking and oranging of the hands.  Although it can cause an orangish tint in the skin, it is not as common as when using a self-tanner.

Even though these alternate forms of tanning may not give you the effect that a natural tan will, it is safer than a natural tan and can end up saving your life.

There are many different ways to protect your skin and keep it looking beautiful, longer.  Knowing as much as you can about products and treatment available is the best idea for having a beautiful, glowing complexion for years to come.