Wrinkle-Free Skin? Coming Right Up!

We believe that skin care and self-care should be key in your approach to healthy skin – but not the only tools in your beauty arsenal.

Buying thoughtfully-formulated products that feature natural ingredients rather than harmful chemicals is a great first step toward taking conscious care of your skin. However, other lifestyle factors such as diet, sleep cycle, and exercise can have an enormous impact on the health of your skin tissue.

It’s precisely why these factors should all be implemented into your life to keep anti-aging woes at bay. Let’s check out what you might need to tweak for youthful, wrinkle-free skin!

Whether you won the genetic lottery in trouble-free skin or you experience breakouts on the regular, the quest for how to get better skin begins with food. Like the trite (but truthful) proverbial saying goes, ‘you are what you eat’!

In order to maintain healthy skin, it’s crucial to eat right and stay hydrated. Healthy foods provide your body with the building blocks it needs to heal wounds, maintain elasticity and vibrance, and balance the bacteria in your skin, while water is the substance of life – and glowing skin!

Fruits and vegetables
Ready to eat your way to beautiful skin? Dermatologists recommend you eat plenty of leafy green vegetables, and consume a variety of fruits and vegetables each day. You should also make sure to pack in the healthy fatty acids from a variety of sources like nuts and avocados, which can help prevent inflammation within the body.

Inflammatory foods
The way we eat comes out in our skin, the same way that what we’re thinking or how we’re feeling shows plainly on our faces. Inflammation is thought to be a key culprit behind skin aging, and can also worsen the symptoms of acne and other skin conditions. Think: sugar, refined carbohydrates, trans fats, and processed meats to name a few. Talk to a nutritionist about switching to an anti-inflammatory diet.

Food allergies
It’s also important to note that food allergies and sensitivities can manifest themselves on your skin. If you’re experiencing unusual breakouts that you think might be caused by something you’re eating, consider keeping a food diary. Analyze what you eat, and when your breakouts occur. This can help you quickly figure out what’s causing the problem, and how to cut back.

Some acne-causing foods are: white sugar, fast or fried food, dairy, and milk chocolate. We also recommend speaking to a professional dermatologist or nutritionist to get to the bottom of your breakout, and help you find the best diet for your system.

Most of your vitamins for skin should come from your diet, as your body can process vitamins from food more efficiently than vitamins from supplements. Here are some of the most important minerals and vitamins for healthy skin, and some foods in which they can be found:

Magnesium: Leafy greens, bananas, tofu, certain nuts and seeds
Selenium: Brazil nuts (about one per day), fish, red meat
Vitamin B: Avocado, broccoli, lentils, eggs
Biotin: Nutritional yeast, almonds, cauliflower, sweet potato, spinach, liver, salmon, dairy, eggs
Copper: Dark chocolate, leafy greens, some nuts, shellfish

As for supplements, vitamin C can go a long way toward skin health, and is generally considered safe for most consumers. If you have a vitamin B, A, or E deficiency, you may want to consult your doctor about supplementation.

Other supplements, like magnesium and phosphate, can make a big difference for skin health in individuals who are prone to deficiencies. Remember: always consult your doctor before beginning any course of supplement use – especially if pregnant or breastfeeding.

Exercise has a tremendous amount of anti-aging (and health benefits)! Exercise can reduce inflammation throughout your body, improve circulation, and potentially help to maintain the health of your telomeres, literally keeping your body more youthful at the cellular level. Moving your body boosts the delivery of nutrients to your skin, addresses anti-aging concerns, and the drainage of impure, lymphatic fluid from your tissue.

Getting enough exercise also helps to keep your circulatory system healthy, and maintains healthy cortisol levels, both of which promote skin clarity and balance. Exercise can also help to keep your hormones balanced, reducing the severity of some forms of acne.

PRO TIP: You should aim to get at least 15 minutes of intense physical activity per day, or 30 minutes of moderate physical activity. Be sure to speak to your doctor about an appropriate exercise routine.

There is truth to the proverbial saying, ‘get your beauty sleep’! That means 7 to 8 hours of quality shut-eye on your back – yes, one of the toughest sleep positions!

Healthy sleep not only does the body good, it may also be the closest thing there is to a fountain of youth. Skin supports collagen formation when you sleep as part of its repair process. If your body doesn’t get enough of this time, you could be dealing with anti-aging woes like a loss of suppleness and more fine lines and wrinkles.

When you don’t get enough Zzz’s, your body could get less blood flow to the skin. Decreased blood flow means no waking up to glowing like a goddess but rather being faced with a drab or dull complexion, and you're prone to the dreaded panda eyes and under eye bags. Your favorite products also don’t have a chance to shine if you don’t get restful sleep.

We’ve all heard this before, but it’s important to protect your skin with sunscreen every single day. Over time, your body produces free radicals in response to UV exposure. These rogue electrons can cause irreversible damage throughout your skin tissue, leading to wrinkles and fine lines, dark spots, and the loss of suppleness and elasticity.

Whether it’s rain or shine, summer or winter, or being indoors, a crucial step in your daily beauty routine is applying SPF to guard your skin against sun damage. If you’re already made up and don’t want the hassle of messing up your glam with a heavy sunscreen, our Tomato Lycopene SPF 20 Moisturizer is a mineral sunscreen that offers sun protection immediately, without that dreaded Casper white cast.

Safe for you and the environment, this silky, facial moisturizer contains olive squalane, coconut, and sunflower oils for extra skin protection. This silky blend also includes moisturizing coconut oil and cocoa butter for a light, absorbable, non-greasy texture. Thanks to lycopene - a protective antioxidant found in tomatoes, our lightweight Tomato Lycopene Moisturizer provides you with skin-loving nutrients, hydration, and protection all day long.

PRO TIP: In addition to a protective, natural sunscreen, wear a wide-brimmed hat while you’re outdoors, and reapply your sunscreen every 90 minutes, even if you aren’t swimming or sweating.

When it comes to how to get better skin, it all comes down to a well-rounded approach: use a natural skin care regimen that works for you, exercise, and eat a balanced diet. By blending a healthy lifestyle with little lifestyle tweaks, and a big dollop of consistent shut-eye, you’re able to send anti-aging concerns packing with those under-eye bags and welcome youthful, wrinkle-free skin!