You can undergo cosmetic surgery to enhance the appearance of your skin. But it doesn’t mean that after achieving great results from your surgery, you can then lose yourself to junk food and an unhealthy life. Even after you take the surgery, you still need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Whether you've undergone surgery or not, living healthy is still the best investment you can ever make for your skin.
Here are the top 4 ways to achieve healthy skin without undergoing invasive procedures:
1. Load up on antioxidants.
Antioxidants help to fight dangerous substances in your body called free radicals. Free radicals occur when your body is exposed to daily pollution such as cigarette smoke, street pollution and sun exposure. Free radicals break down collagen proteins. Collagen is important for your skin as it works to keep its strength and vitality.
Free radicals including UV damage, smoking and pollution can accelerate the ageing effect as the collagen production is decreasing faster than it should be. This is where you need antioxidants to fight free radical damages, by freezing the free radical damage and help your skin producing collagen.
You can put antioxidant into your body by adding certain foods to your diet. Eating foods that are rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids can help you fight free radicals in your body.
2. Drink up.
When you are dehydrated, it causes your skin to dry and look dull. Therefore, you should drink eight glasses of water or equal to 2 litres a day. This may include soft drinks, but it’s recommended to choose water instead as it doesn't contain any extra chemicals. If you need other options, you can opt for herbal and caffeine-free drinks as a variation.
3. Control your carbohydrates consumption.
You don’t have to avoid anything, unless specified by your doctor. But it’s recommended to eat certain foods in small amounts only. Pizza on a Friday night is not harmful, but it may be bad for your skin when you have it every night. Also, try to avoid food high in carbohydrates, such as sweet treats and sugary drinks. These products produce insulin that could damage the collagen in your skin and cause wrinkles to appear earlier. Another thing to consider is your weight. Having your weight scale up and down drastically may damage skin and cause stretch marks and wrinkles.
4. Avoid smoking and alcohol.
Last but not least, you should also avoid excessive smoking and drinking. There are enough free radicals around us already, you don’t need to damage your body through smoking. Smoking can destroy your skin cells and so can excessive drinking. If drinking is inevitable for you, try to minimise your intake and make it less frequent.
Try to follow the basic guidelines mentioned above and you will improve your skin’s health naturally. You won’t get results in an instant, but you'll see a major improvement within a month. If you need more skin care tips and advice, visit a dermatologist near you.