5 Tips For Beautiful Skin

Beautiful skin really does comes from within. I see so many women who spend endless amounts of money on beauty products, botox and fillers. Reality is if you are not taking care of your internal organs it will show on your face. Your face is a reflection of your diet and lifestyle. If you abuse your body with a poor diet, alcohol and partying it will eventually catch up with you and show on your face. Here below are a few tips.

Diet

We really are what we eat. A healthy diet is the key to beautiful skin. Try to avoid all fizzy drinks, coffee, alcohol, fried foods, refined sugar, white pasta, rice, sweets, biscuits, pies etc. All ready made meals should be avoided. Cook everything fresh from scratch. Limit sodium based salts and go for nori flakes or himalayan crystal salt.

Foods that are very good for the skin are all orange foods that contain beta carotene (vitamin A) which are: sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots and squash. 50% of your diet should mainly be vegetables, eaten steamed, raw or in soups especially in the colder months. Dark green leafy vegetables like broccoli, kale, spinach, watercress are the best. Include a vegetable smoothie a day into your diet and use superfood powders like wheatgrass which is amazing and is anti-ageing. Use rosemary, basil, parsley and thyme in your cooking.

Essential fatty acids  which are your omega 3 and 6 and vitamin E are essential for healthy beautiful skin. Good sources include: wild salmon, sardines, mackerel, nuts like almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, and pumpkin, sunflower, sesame and chia seeds, avocados, wheatgerm.

Vitamin C is a great antioxidant and is essential in producing collagen so include more kiwi fruit, sweet potatoes, berries, oranges, papaya, broccoli, kale, tomatoes  in your diet and take a vitamin C supplement daily.

Look after your liver. A healthy liver will give you glowing skin. Have a look at my earlier post about which foods are good for the liver.

Alcohol

Too much alcohol will make you age at a frightening speed. It dehydrates you and is the liver’s no.1 enemy. If you look after your liver you will have beautiful glowing skin. Drown it in alcohol and you will end up with skin conditions like acne, psoriasis and eczema not to mention dehydrated, dull, tired looking skin with lines.

Smoking

We all know how damaging smoking is to the lungs not to mention yellowing of the teeth and the awful smell it leaves on your clothes and hair. What people do not realise is just how detrimental it is to the skin. Heavy smokers over a period of time will develop bags under their eyes, lines around the mouth and dull, grey skin. With every puff you take your are ruining your skin.

Sun

Although a little sun exposure is good for vitamin D, over exposure especially in the wrong hours of the day will damage your skin resulting in dryness, wrinkles, age spots, and loss of elasticity. What happens to an elastic band if you keep pulling it? The sun pretty much has the same affect on your skin. So be sensible. Avoid sunbathing from 12-3pm and always wear sunblock on your face and wear a hat.

Hydrate and moisturise

So important to always drink lots of good quality filtered water. Water keeps the skin plump and supple. If you fail to drink enough water you will have dull, tired looking skin and you will start to get fine lines. Try to drink 1 1/2 – 2 litres daily. Include green tea into your diet. During the winter harsh weather and central heating can take its toll on your skin making it dry so make sure to moisturise. Hydrating facials are also good for the skin.