Don’t let your skin develop wrinkles, scars, and lines because you never developed a skin care routine. You don’t want to look like the wicked witch in a horror movie. Skin care should be an important part of your daily routine.  Protecting yourself from too much sun, a healthy diet, exercise, a cleaning routine, not smoking, and drinking in moderation are habits to develop. These habits help you keep your skin looking youthful and fresh before you turn 50.

Below are five ways on how to protect your skin.

Protect Your Skin From the Sun

You love the outdoors sitting on the beach or outdoor activities. Wear sunscreen every day to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays.  Try to use a sunscreen with SP30 and a moisturizer when you are in the sun more than 15 minutes. The strongest rays of the sun are between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wear a hat on your head, sunglasses, sit in the shade, or under a beach umbrella.  

Protect your eyes from the sun. This is often the first place wrinkles show up. Wear sunglasses and use anti-aging cream made for the skin around the eyes. Sometimes, sleepless night cause problems with skin around the eyes. Anti-aging cream helps with this problem too.   

Eat A Healthy Diet and Drink Water

Healthy skin needs plenty of vitamins and nutrients. You will get this from eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. Green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, citrus fruits, berries, carrots, help keep your skin healthy. Eating seafood, lamb, tuna, salmon provide selenium a mineral that protect the skin. Vegetable oils, seed and nuts will provide your skin with Vitamin E. Other foods to include in your diet are low-fat dairy products, lean meats, healthy oils, and whole grain breads and pasta.

Drink plenty of water as it is good for the skin. It flushes out the system and hydrates or provides moisture to keep skin from getting dry. Water keep skin cells working properly and moves nutrients in and toxins out.

Cleaning Routine and Daily Moisturizer

Wash your face daily with a mild soap and warm water. Dry with a soft towel. Remove dead skin weekly before showering using a dry brush and body scrub.  On the face use an appropriate skin scrub weekly.  Apply an anti-aging serum or moisturizer designed to keep your skin hydrated and moist.  Using a cleanser that hydrates and cleans is a plus.  A cream that builds up collagen and has peptides in it is recommended as we age. Some moisturizers are applied at night because the sun makes them lose their protective quality. These are often retinoid based products.

Exercise

Exercise increases blood flow to the skin and keeps blood flowing to the cells.  It helps flush toxins out of the skin. It reduces stress and helps with skin conditions like eczema and acne. This applies to aging skin too. Try to exercise early in the morning or later in the afternoon when the sun is less intense. Wear loose fitting clothes try walking, running, biking, or swimming.  These are all exercises that help with maintaining good skin condition.

Stop Smoking and Moderation in Drinking

Smoking causes wrinkles due to toxic chemicals found in cigarettes. There is decreased circulation to the skin and often smokers squint to keep the smoke from going into their eyes. Frequent squinting and frowning causes  wrinkles. If you cannot quit smoking cutting down is a step in the right direction. Drinking too much causes problem with the skin. Alcohol causes dehydration and the skin needs moisture to look healthy.  One drink for women daily and two for men is what you should aim for. Often when you drink too much you neglect your diet and the skin does not get the nutrients it needs.

There are many different things you can do to keep skin healthy under 50. There are many amazing products and procedures available for anti-aging like Botox, fillers, chemical peels, and laser therapy. When you suffer from wrinkles, lines, scars and sagging skin contact a dermatologist to learn more about the treatments available that can help you.