Six Enemies For All Skin Types.
Smoking. It's killing you. It's making you look old. Just Quit. Enough said...
Pollution. Avoid it whenever and wherever you can. Get an air filter, get a water filter. A guest speaker back in beauty school once said something I'll never forget: "If you don't get a filter, you'll BE the filter." This goes for toxic beauty products as well, don't intensionally use products laden with toxic chemicals. Read labels and educate yourself on healthier alternatives.
Abusive exfoliation/ overzealous cleansing. This only irritates the skin and makes it thinner and weaker. Use a gental touch and limit or avoid deep exfoliating agents. Regardless of what some in the beauty-biz will try to tell you, you do not need a medium depth, medical grade peel every month! Focus on building up the health of your skin, not peeling it off layer, by layer, by layer...
Alcolhol. Damn! No matter how good that wine is, practice moderation. Alcohol consumption dehydrates you from the inside out, taxes your liver and diminishes your supply of B vitamins. (Honestly not sure how I'm going to swing this one.)
Constipation. What goes in must come out. There I said it. Gross, I know. If your colon isn't eliminating waste and toxins efficiently they will find another way out: through your skin. Drink lots of water and eat a healthy diet with lots of fiber.
Sunlight. While you need 10-15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure daily for vitamin D absorbtion, don't let that be your excuse to "lay out" with baby oil and iodine. Wear a decent SPF when you're going to be spending more than 15 minutes out in the sun. You won't regret it.
