The Origins of Unhealthy Skin
Before you can understand how your new skin care routine will improve the health of your skin, you'll need to understand how your skin became unhealthy in the first place. You wouldn't be pursuing a new skin care process unless you were worried about your skin's health, and whether you've noticed symptoms of unhealthy skin yet or not, it's never too early to start staving off the skin issues that inevitably start to occur as you age.
Aging is definitely one of the major causes of unhealthy skin. Every aspect of your body starts to lose its vigor as you age, and your skin certainly isn't exempt from this situation. As you age, your skin cells slow down their rate of replication, your face starts to sag, and you may start dealing with overly dry skin when you had always enjoyed normal oil levels before. Starting a new skin care routine to combat the effects of aging is only natural, and if you persist, you can expect great results with the right products and techniques.
Even if you're relatively young, your skin can degrade for other reasons. One of the major causes behind skin conditions is the presence of free radicals. These substances are damaged atoms that have lost one or more of their electrons, and they proceed to steal electrons from other atoms, which weakens the integrity of your cells. Aging is only one reason why your free radical count can increase, and various environmental and dietary factors may also release these dangerous substances throughout your body. The only way to fight back against free radicals is with antioxidants, and there are plenty of topical antioxidant treatments that you can use to get your skin health back on track.
When free radicals are running rampant throughout your system, your skin becomes a hotbed for inflammation. Some medical scientists are starting to believe that inflammation may be the root cause of all disease, so if you're suffering from skin diseases like acne or rosacea, bringing your inflammation levels down to the bare minimum may be the best way to fight back against these redness-inducing conditions.
Plenty of skin care treatments only address the symptoms of a condition. This is a phenomenon that is widespread throughout Western medical science, but it isn't a very effective approach in the long term. Unless you use products that address the underlying causes of your skin conditions, the same problems that you currently face will continue to crop up again and again. Once you understand that free radicals and inflammation are the base causes of most kinds of skin diseases, you'll be able to make informed product decisions that protect your skin's long-term health.
Tackling Particular Skin Problems
Even though the root causes of most skin conditions are similar, there are quite a few different reasons why you might be looking for help in the process of making your skin glow and shine like it used to. In this section, we'll tackle three of the issues that most commonly have customers banging down our doors looking for solutions:1. Aging
Even if your skin has been healthy for your entire life up until this point, after you reach a certain age, skin conditions become more and more common. Simply put, your body stops producing vital nutrients and other components in the levels that it needs as it gets older, which can leave your skin in the lurch. In particular, your skin will contain lower and lower levels of collagen as you age, which even in decreased quantities is the most abundant protein in the human body. Collagen is the substance behind your skin's plumpness, and elastin makes your skin tight and stretchy. Elastin levels also decrease as you age, which can make your skin sag.
When combined, normal levels of collagen and elastin provide your skin with a youthful appearance, and when these substances aren't present in their usual quantities, your skin will look saggy and thin. Hyaluronic acid is another compound that your skin needs to stay healthy, and this substance contributes to normal moisture levels in your skin. Concentrations of this substance also decrease as you age, so you may want to use a hyaluronic acid topical serum to restore normative levels in your skin.
2. Acne
Acne is another issue that people often want a solution for immediately. From the moment that a red pimple or a blackhead appears on your face, it's normal to want to find a way to push it back in and make it disappear. Curing your acne isn't as easy as you might like it to be, but if you pick a good routine and stick with it, your acne problems will soon be a thing of the past.More and more, it seems that acne might be caused by inflammation. While previous models of the pathophysiology of acne supported the claim that this condition is caused directly by bacteria, this position has come under reasonable assault in recent years. Whatever the case may be, one of the best ways to treat acne once it has appeared is by reducing skin inflammation. Any substance that reduces the numbers of free radicals in your skin will also reduce inflammation, and you may also want to try safe and natural treatments like CBD that treat inflammation directly.
Whatever you do as you fight your acne, don't resort to over-the-counter or prescription acne medications. While manufacturers of these treatments tout them as safe and effective cures for acne, they may contain toxic ingredients that increase skin inflammation, and some oral acne treatments may cause Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or liver issues. These treatments will make it take even longer for you to get over your acne, and they may also have lasting side effects.
3. Hyperpigmentation
Hyperpigmentation can strike for a number of different reasons. While it is more common among older people, this condition can also occur as the result of injuries or acne. If it is left untreated, hyperpigmentation can take years to heal, and in some cases, it may not heal at all. However, if you take the right steps, you can solve this problem almost immediately.It's important to remember that the underlying cause of hyperpigmentation is inflammation. When certain areas of your skin have more pigmentation than others, it is because they have inflammation that won't go away and allow your skin to go back to its normal state. If you remove the root cause of inflammation in your skin, your hyperpigmentation will start healing immediately. In older people, it can take longer for hyperpigmentation to heal, but using natural topical ingredients that reduce inflammation will get the healing process started.
In addition, eating foods that are high in antioxidants can help you heal your hyperpigmentation. For instance, eating lots of citrus fruits can provide you with the vitamin C it needs to fight back against overly pigmented skin. These fruits also contain plenty of other vitamins and minerals that your body needs to stay healthy.
How Long Will It Take to See Results?
Depending on the condition that you're trying to treat, you may see results immediately, or it may take a number of weeks or months to derive the results you're looking for. In general, you shouldn't expect results immediately; underlying conditions take a long time to heal, and even if you experience immediate relief from using a cosmetic product, that relief doesn't necessarily translate into deep healing.
For instance, if your skin is dry and you apply moisturizer, it's likely that you'll feel relief as moisture pours into your skin. However, does adding a little bit of moisture to your skin solve the reason why your skin was dry in the first place? Of course not, so be wary of products that promise immediate results. In most cases, the results that you experience immediately upon switching to a new skin care routine are more akin to a band-aid than surgery; you may need to wait up to eight weeks for your routine to have a truly profound effect.
As you integrate your new skin care habits into your routine, keep a close watch for any changes in your skin. If you notice any negative changes, you should stop trying anything new immediately and take a close look at the potential causes. However, you should note any positive changes with equal detail; the moment that you notice your wrinkles decreasing, your acne clearing, or your dry skin becoming more moisture-laden, you should mark your discovery with a mental note or a quick picture. If you're feeling especially gung-ho about the process of healing your skin, you can take weekly pictures of your face and compare them after a one-month or two-month period.
In general, the adage of watching the pot and waiting for it to boil applies in this situation. The more that you anxiously expect your skin care routine to produce immediate results, the more that you might get in the way of the healing process and do more harm than good. It's best to step back and let things take their natural course as you continue to follow a simple and regular daily routine. Within a matter of days or weeks, you should notice changes for the better sweeping across your skin.
Ways to Boost Your Skin Care Routine
One of the best ways that you can help your skin recover faster is by observing a good diet. Gut health has everything to do with skin health, and if your body is getting the nutrients it needs, it will be much more capable of protecting itself from damage and healing itself. You should also remember to get plenty of sleep, and it's important to enjoy some light exercise every day. No matter what, remember to give yourself time to de-stress and relax. Excessive stress is one of the biggest impediments to your health in general, and if you lead a more relaxed life, your skin will thank you.What to Do if Your Routine Is Not Working
If a number of weeks have passed and your new skin care routine isn't working, you shouldn't panic. Remember that there is a specific approach that will make your skin better and that nothing is beyond your power if you take the right approach. If you aren't meeting with success in your skin care efforts, you simply need to change something about the routines you're following or the products you're using.For instance, if you're using any products with artificial ingredients, you should swap them out for natural options. Take a look at some studies online to determine if research confirms the efficacy of the ingredients you're using. If all else fails, reach out for help; you might want to talk to a dermatologist or a naturopath, and your friends and family might also have advice for you on how to achieve the healthy skin of your dreams.