7 Proven Ways on How to Protect Your Skin

7 min readDec 30, 2020

Your skin is not just an external covering; it’s a large organ that plays a vital role in protecting your body, so it’s important to take steps to promote skin health. Caring for your skin doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming, and can quickly become second nature, like brushing your teeth.

You can keep your skin looking and feeling great by guarding against a slew of skin woes, from chapped skin to premature aging to skin cancer.

That’s why it is important to develop healthy skin habits -and it’s never too late to start. Here, we are telling you the 7 proven ways on how to protect your skin to incorporate into your routine right away.

1. Limit Your Exposure to the Sun

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Sun exposure is healthy in moderation, but too much increases the risk of damaging your skin. Ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun cause many types of skin damage, including:

Using skin care products that offer ultraviolet protection is one of the best ways to help keep your skin looking fresh and youthful. Try these tips to help protect your skin from the sun:

Use sunscreen every day and reapply regularly whenever you’re outdoors for extended periods. Use broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30. Apply sunscreen generously, and reapply every two hours — or more often if you’re swimming or perspiring.
If possible, wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. Dark clothing with tightly woven fabric blocks more sun than white or loosely woven fabrics.
Accessorize with a hat that shades your face, neck, and ears and a pair of sunglasses. Sunglasses with lenses that have 99% to 100% UV absorption provide optimal protection for the eyes and the surrounding skin.
Limit the amount of time you’re in the sun between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. This is when the sun is at its most intense.

A study published in January 2017 in JAMA Dermatology found that beach goers using an umbrella alone for sun protection were more likely to get sunburn than those using sunscreen alone — but neither strategy completely prevented sunburn. The researchers concluded that combining multiple strategies offers the most protection from the sun’s harmful rays.

2. Stay Well-Hydrated

Keeping well-hydrated is also important for protecting skin and making it look healthy. Hydrated skin can better protect you from sunburn and help regulate body temperature more efficiently. Dry skin can have small gaps in the skin barrier that allow entry of bacteria and fungus.

At least eight 8-ounce glasses (2 litres) of water is recommended daily, although you might need more if you exercise, spend time outside when it’s hot and humid, you are sick, pregnant or breast-feeding.

Skin that is properly hydrated retains pliability and is less likely to become chapped, scaly, or flaky. Try these tips to keep your skin hydrated:

Use the right moisturizing cream or lotion for your skin. Look for moisturizers with hyaluronic acid, ceramides, or coconut oil. Always apply on damp skin. This keeps the moisture in the skin.
Take warm (not hot) showers or baths and limit them to between five and 10 minutes. It seems counterintuitive, but exposure to water actually dries out your skins. If dry skin persists, consider cutting back on the number of baths you take.
Invest in a humidifier. If your skin tends to be on the dry side, using a humidifier in your bedroom at night and in your work space during the day can help keep the air hydrated, which can prevent the air from zapping moisture from your skin.

3. Quit Smoking

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Smoking has a long list of health hazards, including lung cancer and stroke, but it also negatively impacts your skin — particularly facial skin. Yellow colouration, wrinkles and other signs of premature aging are common with cigarette smokers because they don’t get enough oxygen from their lungs, and they are putting more toxins into their bodies. Thus, quit smoking as soon as you can to protect your skin and other organs.

Chewing tobacco is also very damaging to your body including your skin. Chew contributes to signs of premature aging by depriving the skin of oxygen due to its negative effect on the cardiovascular system, and it is loaded with free radicals which damage cells. Pipe and cigar smoking offer the same — if not greater — risks as smoking cigarettes.

What to know more about the effects of smoking on our body? Check out 26 Health Effects of Smoking on Your Body.

4. Reduce Alcohol Consumption

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There is a long list of health problems associated with alcohol abuse, particularly liver and pancreas cancers. In addition, our skin is susceptible to alcohol poisoning, as patchy, puffy skin with many burst blood vessels just below the skin’s surface are common signs of alcohol abuse. Therefore, either stop drinking alcoholic beverages or limit your consumption to no more than one per 24-hour period.

Ethanol, the type of alcohol in beer, wine and spirits, is classified as a human carcinogen (cancer causing compound). Red wine is often touted as the most beneficial alcoholic beverage because it contains antioxidants (resveratrol), which can prevent cancer, but overdoing it is not good for your health.

For more information about alcohol abuse and its effects, check out Effects of Alcohol Addiction and Abuse.

5. Take Health Precautions for Your Skin

Germ infection can cause various skin problems. For example, cold sores are caused by a viral infection of the skin bordering the lips, while bacteria can contribute to acne and other skin conditions. Paying close attention to what touches your skin can help lower your chances of exposure to germs.

Start with these tips:

Don’t share any personal items, such as lip balms or toothbrushes, with others.
Don’t share drinks with other people.
Avoid touching your face with your fingers, and avoid facial contact with objects that have been used by other people, such as telephone receivers.
Don’t pick at cysts or splinters. Instead, ask your doctor to help you with these skin conditions, says Grossman.

Being prompt with first aid is also important. If you get a bug bite or a scratch, get on it right away by cleaning the site, applying antibiotic ointment if there is a break in the skin, using a clean bandage, and cleaning the site twice daily as it heals.

6. Use Gentle Skin Care Products

Washing your face is important to remove dirt, oils, germs, and dead cells from your skin. However, scrubbing your face can cause irritation and lead to chapped skin that can become vulnerable. Therefore, avoid abrasive exfoliation skin care products, especially if you have sensitive skin.

For a gentle skin care routine, it’s recommended to:

Wash your face twice daily with warm water and a mild cleanser.
Gently massage your face with your fingers, using a circular motion.
Rinse thoroughly after washing to remove all soap and debris.
Pat — not rub — your skin dry, then applying moisturizer.

7. Check Your Skin Regularly

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Check your skin regularly for changing moles and other signs of possible skin cancer. Talk to your dermatologist about what kinds of changes should concern you.

Certain skin conditions merit a visit to the dermatologist, including frequent acne, inflamed or irritated dry skin, and skin rashes and irritations that don’t go away, as these could be signs of one of the many types of dermatitis, or skin inflammation.

However, should you ever notice any other skin problems, it’s important to get medical attention to resolve them quickly and avoid putting your skin at risk.

Conclusion

Skin plays a key role in protecting our body. Therefore, learning how to protect your skin is vital to a healthy life.

Sources:

5 Ways to Protect Your Skin — Everyday Health
How to Protect Your Skin — wikiHow
10 Tips for Protecting Your Skin from the Sun — Cancer.Net

Originally published at https://www.thelavier.com on December 30, 2020.