Healthy Skin

Skin is the largest human organ, covering up your entire body and holding around 20% of your body’s water. It contains lipids and proteins to keep your skin healthy and moisturized.

While we often take it for granted, our skin has four health protection functions: it protects us from bacterial and viral infections and helps us to regulate our temperature, all of which help us to stay fit and healthy.

It’s important to look after your skin properly. A good skin care routine and healthy lifestyle choices can help delay the natural aging process, resulting in youthful-looking skin and helping you avoid infectious diseases and skin infections.

Want to find out how to have healthy skin? Continue reading to discover our top tips.

What is healthy skin?

Healthy skin helps support the immune system as a protective barrier against harmful bacteria and infections, regulating body temperature, enhancing self-confidence, promoting a positive self-image, increasing happiness and overall well-being.

But what exactly does healthy skin look like? Well, below are some signs reflecting healthy skin.

• Consistent skin tone: An even skin tone and color almost all over the body. It has no dark spots or patches.
• Hydrated: If your skin has natural moisture, it is sufficiently hydrated. Hydrated skin has a natural shine.
• No extra tightness and dryness: No sensation of dryness and tightness around your skin is good. If you feel uneasy and tight after washing your face, your skin may be unhealthy. 
• No acne or other skin problems: Healthy skin is free from acne and pimples. You experience acne when your skin pores are clogged with oil, dead skin cells, and dirt. 
• Normal sensation: Healthy skin feels normal. Any redness, burning sensation, or itching is a sign of unhealthy skin.

How to have healthy skin

Step 1: Protect your skin

Your skin acts as the first line of defense in the form of a protective layer from the outside world. It is an effective ‘natural filter’ against unwanted germs, bacteria, and infections.

A lifetime of sun exposure can cause wrinkles, age spots, and other skin problems, including the risk of skin cancer.

For complete sun protection:

• Apply and reapply sunscreen every two hours or more if you are swimming or sweating.
• Seek shade, especially when the sun’s rays are the strongest.
• Cover your skin with long-sleeved shirts, pants, and wide-brimmed hats.

Step 2: Regulate your skin temperature

Your skin is vital in keeping the body at its optimum temperature of 37°C and protecting it from the extremes of heat and cold. Blood vessels dilate below the skin when you are hot, and the body perspires to lower your temperature.

Conversely, when cold, blood vessels under the skin constrict to reduce blood flow to maintain your core temperature by reducing heat loss.

Following are some methods to regulate your skin temperature at home.

• Sweating: Natural cooling mechanism that evaporates moisture from the skin, cooling it down. 
• Hydration: Drinking adequate water helps maintain the body's internal balance and supports optimal skin function.
• Fan or air-conditioning: They help circulate air and create a cooling effect, regulating skin temperature. These techniques facilitate the evaporation of sweat and promote a more comfortable environment, especially during hot weather.

Step 3: Don’t smoke

Smoking narrows the tiny blood vessels in the outermost layers of the skin, decreasing blood flow and making skin paler.

The repetitive facial expressions you make when smoking — such as pursing your lips when inhaling and squinting your eyes to keep out smoke — can contribute to wrinkles.

In addition, smoking increases your risk of squamous cell skin cancer. If you smoke, quitting is the best way to protect your skin.

Step 4: Shower and moisturize skin properly

Regular showering or bathing can take a toll on your skin. Keep it gently by following the instructions below: 

• Limiting bath time: Hot water and long showers strip away your skin's essential oils. So limit your bath or showering time and use warm water. Experts say showers must be kept short, ideally 5-10 minutes, as prolonged hot water exposure can strip skin oils and dehydrate pores.
• Avoid strong soaps: Use dermatologically tested, pH-balanced, 100% germs-protected,  antibacterial soap and liquid body wash for cleaning your skin. Dettol soap contains nourishing vitamins and offers trusted germ protection to make your skin healthier, supple, and smoother. 
• Pat dry: After washing or bathing, gently pat or blot your skin dry with a towel so that some moisture remains on your skin.
• Moisturize dry skin: If your skin is dry, use a moisturizer that fits your skin type. In addition, wet skin absorbs a moisturizer more easily than dry skin, so the prime time to moisturize is right after a shower.

Step 5: Maintain a healthy diet

A healthy diet based on basic food safety and hygiene rules can help you look and feel your best. For example, eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and fresh and clean water helps reduce unhealthy fats and carbohydrates to promote younger-looking skin.  

By adopting a healthy diet and adhering to food hygiene guidelines, you’d be doing a favor to your skin and protecting yourself from water and foodborne illnesses such as food poisoning.

Step 6: Manage stress

Uncontrolled stress can trigger acne breakouts and other skin problems. To encourage healthy skin and state of mind - manage your stress by getting enough sleep, setting reasonable limits, and making time to do what you enjoy.

Here are some common activities that people can do to destress:

• Practice deep breathing exercises
• Engage in regular physical exercise
• Take a walk in nature
• Listen to calming music or sounds
• Write in a journal or practice journaling
• Read a book or listen to an audiobook
• Watch a funny movie or spend time with funny friends

Step 7: Get a good night’s sleep

Getting a good night's sleep is essential for maintaining healthy skin. During sleep, the body goes into repair and rejuvenation mode, which prevents and repairs skin cell damage, significantly improving your skin's appearance and strength and ability to protect against harmful external elements. 

Adequate sleep promotes new collagen production, which keeps the skin firm and reduces the appearance of wrinkles. It also allows for proper blood flow, delivering essential nutrients and oxygen to the skin.

Step 8: Drink plenty of water

Drinking plenty of water is crucial for healthy skin. Here are the notable benefits for your skin from staying hydrated. 

• Improve skin tone: Increases blood flow to the skin, giving it a smooth tone.
• Prevents premature aging: Increases elasticity in the skin, delaying sagging and the premature appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
• Prevents acne: Balances the water and oil content on your skin, preventing the buildup of excess oil and sebum and resulting in fewer clogged pores and breakouts.
• Reduces itchy skin: Prevents dry flakes and cracks responsible for drying skin that tends to itch. 
• Prevent heat-related skin eruptions: Help ensure you don’t develop heat boils and rashes when the weather heats up or you are physically active.