Who doesn’t want better and younger-looking skin?

Here at Swiss Botany, we’re all about helping people look their best and healthiest. And in this post, we’ll take a look at 10 simple but effective lifestyle tips that are sure to leave your skin healthier, more radiant, and younger-looking.

1. Get A Lot Of Sleep

Having only 6 hours of shut-eye or less can worsen your appearance: twice as many fine lines, lifeless and dull skin, puffy eyes, and the list goes on. If you don’t want to look tired and worn down, then sleep early and sleep more.

 

Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep and your skin gets enough time to produce collagen, repair itself, and slow down aging. Moreover, sleeping also boosts blood flow to the skin, giving you a healthy glow when you wake up.

 

Oh! And one more reminder before we move to the next lifestyle tip: drop the cotton and polyester pillowcases. They can tug the facial skin and give you creased cheeks in the morning. Instead, sleep with gentler silk and satin pillowcases.

2. Increase Your Vitamin C Intake

Vitamin C can help keep cough, colds, and other illnesses at bay. That’s common knowledge. But do you know that vitamin C also plays a vital role in keeping your skin healthy and firm?

 

First off, vitamin C is an antioxidant and one of its duties, if you will, is to slow down and reduce the damage caused by free radicals, unstable molecules that causes fine lines, wrinkles, dryness, and even skin cancer. Not only that, research also shows that vitamin C can also reverse DNA damage.

 

Another big benefit afforded by vitamin C is increased production of collagen, a protein that helps the body produce cells in the blood vessels and keeps the skin firm and strong.

3. Stop Smoking

We all know the life-threatening diseases caused by smoking: emphysema, stroke, asthma, heart disease, and lung cancer, the deadliest type of cancer. But while these diseases take time to develop, smoking also has an immediate harmful effect: it ruins your looks!

 

For starters, people who smoke are likely to feel unrested even after a night’s sleep, spending less time in deep sleep and more time in light sleep than non-smokers. Nightly nicotine withdrawal is likely to blame. And as we’ve learned earlier, not sleeping well equals not feeling and looking good.

 

Premature wrinkles is another reason to quit smoking. Smoking can speed up the skin’s aging process, causing premature wrinkles to appear not just on your face but on other parts of the body, too.

4. Use A Hydrating Mask After Cleansing

Using a hydrating mask after washing is beneficial regardless of your skin type, but even more so if you have dry and dull skin. As its name suggests, a hydrating mask hydrates and softens the skin to bring out its glow. It often contains key ingredients like:

 

• Glycerin: Draws water to the outer layer of the skin
• Olive oil: Contains anti-aging antioxidants and squalene
• Sunflower seed oil: Contains linoleic acid, strengthens the skin barrier and prevents dryness

 

And more.

 

To use a hydrating mask, grab a piece of cloth and immerse it in warm water. Place the warm cloth over your face to open the pores, and apply the hydrating mask. Leave the mask on for up to 30 minutes and rinse - and repeat the entire process at least twice a week.

5. Have More Sex

Want to have sexier skin? Then have more sex!

 

Spending more time in the bedroom with your special someone brings numerous skin benefits. Having sex improves blood flow and circulation (which explains the blushing), which brings oxygen to the skin and helps eliminate toxins.

 

Sex also keeps hormones - like estrogen and testosterone - in balance,  reducing the risk of developing acne while giving you a clearer-looking skin and healthier hair!

6. Massage In Your Moisturizer

Moisturizers come in different varieties: some moisturizers have anti-aging ingredients like retinol, others are specially made for dry skin, and there are moisturizers made for oily skin. They keep the outer layers of the skin hydrated and softer. And if you’re using one, you’re on the right track!

 

However, there’s a right way to use a moisturizer. Instead of dabbing or rubbing it on your facial and neck area, massage it into your skin instead. Using gentle pressure and circular strokes, massaging will increase blood flow to the area - not to mention it feels more better than rubbing.

 

 

 

7. Eat Chocolate

Doesn’t chocolate cause acne? Experts say we’re probably barking on the wrong tree: chocolate alone will not cause an acne breakout.

 

And here’s an even better news for chocolate lovers: it can be good for the skin. Dark chocolate, in particular, is rich in flavonoids which absorbs UV light, sparing the skin from sun-induced damage. In addition, chocolate’s high antioxidant activity (even greater than blueberries and other fruits) can improve blood flow to the skin while increasing its density and hydration.

8. Wear Sunscreen

You’ve probably heard from some of your friends how it’s ok to go out under the sun and skip sunscreen. It’s not! According to dermatopathologist Dr. Wendy Roberts, there are five main reasons why you should wear sunscreen regularly:

 

• Your skin needs protection from harmful rays
• Wearing sunscreen has been proven to decrease skin cancer risk
• It prevents the appearance of brown spots and skin discoloration
• Reduces the appearance of facial red veins
• And slows down wrinkling and aging

 

Now, you’re probably wondering what the SPF rating for sunscreen stands for. SPF, or sun protection factor, indicates how well a sunscreen can protect you from harmful UV rays. To ensure your skin is protected from the sun, use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or more and reapply every two hours.

9. Exercise

We often focus on the cardiovascular benefits of exercise - how it strengthens the heart and promotes healthy blood circulation. But take note: anything that improves blood flow is good for the skin.

 

Yes, exercise benefits the skin and can even keep skin problems like acne and psoriasis at bay. Regular exercise nourishes the skin cells with oxygen while carrying away waste products and free radicals. Regular physical activity also reduces stress and, as a result, improve conditions like acne and eczema.

10. Drink A Lot Of Water

This lifestyle tip shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, we’ve emphasized the importance of hydration in maintaining a healthy skin. Not to mention up to 60% of the human body is water.

Drinking water has benefits the skin both in the long- and short-term:

 

One study found that drinking 9.5 cups of water everyday for four weeks improved skin density and thickness, making the skin more resilient and less prone to wrinkling.

 

And as for immediate results, a study by the University of Missouri-Columbia showed that drinking 2 cups (or 500ml) increased blood flow to the skin, and as we’ve learned throughout this post, it can only be good for the skin.

And there you have it!

Now you’ve got ten lifestyle tips you can start applying today. Not only will these tips give you a better-looking skin, they’ll also improve your overall health in more ways than one.

 

Of course, this list is by no means exhaustive.

 

So here’s a question to our readers: what are your closely guarded natural skin-care tips? We’d love to hear from you!