Are you in the process of ruining or damaging your skin? If you want to continue doing this, you can ruin your skin in no time if you do the following:

Smoke Cigarettes. Start smoking again. Doing this will make your skin dry and age faster. In fact, smoking is the no. 1 cause of premature aging in the skin. Smoking also affects the elasticity of the skin and deprives the skin from necessary nutrients.

Overdo Sunning. Love the beach? Why don’t you go out in the sun right in the middle of the day and damage your skin altogether? This is something that many of us forget –the sun has harmful rays, and getting a tan should be taken into consideration. If you are bent in damaging your skin cells, this is one way to do it.

Drink Alcohol –Lots Of It. Wine is good for you, but spirits will only dehydrate you and your skin. This will cause blotchy, reddish skin –not a pretty sight at all.

Party Hard. Late nights will take its toll on your body and your skin in the long run. If you want to keep your skin looking healthy and beautiful, you’d better get some sleep. Partying hard is only advisable for those who want to ruin their skin.

If you do all these while you are still young, it will result to premature skin aging, i.e. wrinkles, and lots of them too.

A lot of people do not realize that they should take good care of their skin while they're still young. Starting early is something that we should all do with all good things. It is like an investment. Investing in your skin while you are still young is a good call, because you will look younger even when your not.

 Photo Via becomegorgeous.com

Your skin represents how healthy you are. When you eat healthy and take good care of your skin, it is a representation of beauty but if not well taken cared of, it turns into an ugly mess. No matter how superficial that may be, it is always important to note that wanting beautiful skin should not always be skin deep. You should want healthy-looking skin because it means you are healthy overall.

If you want good skin, you should watch your diet. After all, you are what you eat. Take more vitamin C and don’t eat too much fatty food. It would be best to eat your vitamins too instead of just taking supplements. Put vitamins C and E to work from the inside and you will have younger-looking and healthier-looking skin in no time. What’s great about these vitamins is that they can stop the signs of aging or delay it for that matter.

A little bit of running will also improve your skin because sweating it all out will remove toxins on your body. It will also improve your blood circulation that will result to better looking skin.

Sleeping enough is a good thing too because your skin needs some beauty rest. If you get 8 hours of shut eye every night, you can be sure that after a week your skin will reflect all that sleep you got. In fact, it will not only help make your skin look clearer but will also remove those dark circles under the eyes and get rid of puffy eyes. Sleep is good for your body and your of course your skin –full stop.

Protect your skin from the sun. Whether you live in the tropics or live in the western part of the world, you would still need sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful UV rays.

Photo Via ayushveda.com

I’m a big fan of chemical peels, because in my younger days I tanned every day it was warm even though I am light skinned and tend to freckle, and peels have drastically reduced that damage. However, regular peels can be expensive, so I have found a combination of products that work like a peel. I found a retinoid based cream or serum combined with a skin lightening treatment works exactly like regular peels, and essentially does the same thing, just in a more gradual process. It also lightens sun spots and freckles better than a peel.

Any retinoid based treatment will work, but I use Skinceuticals Retinol because it’s pure Retinol. After that dries I apply Priori Brightening Facial cream because it’s hydroquinone free and a gentle, lightweight cream that is designed specifically for reducing the appearance of uneven skin tones.

I have normal skin so I can tolerate pure retinol, but if you have sensitive skin, I suggest mixing the retinol with moisturizer cream and that will help. Make sure the moisturizer is just that and not another treatment.

Within a few weeks you will notice more even skin tone, smaller pores, diminished lines and faded sun spots and freckles.

You can find the Skincueticals Retinol and Priori Brightening cream, as well as other skin care brands AVAILABLE HERE

I recently heard some rumors that a new skincare company, Cosmetic Skin Solutions, has replicated Skinceuticals formulas for their top selling skin treatments and are selling the same formulas at a much lower price. I immediately thought ‘no way’, but since I write this blog I thought I would try it and see, since it’s pretty inexpensive. I tried it and the hype is true! My face had the same tightened feeling it gets when I use C+E Ferulic from Skinceuticals and within a few days of use my skin had the healthy glow, evened complexion, and diminished lines, as well. As a true skincare junkie and Skinceuticals diehard, I’m switching to the less expensive version from Cosmetic Skin Solutions. It saves me over a hundred bucks per bottle! Amazon has the most competitive prices from several retailers ( click image above), but the average cost is about forty bucks for the 1 oz bottle of C+E Feurelic. Cosmetic Skin Solutions also replicated the formulas for Phloretin C+F Serum, C+AHA Serum, Vitamin C 20 AOX+, Phyto + Gel, and Hydrating B5 Gel.

There are a few skincare lines that I swear by, meaning they deliver the results they promise, and one of those lines is Obaji. When I was younger I laid in the sun every day for hours and developed severe sun damage as a result. Large freckles and sun spots on my face, chest, back and arms. I was very self-conscience about them and went to a dermatologist who recommended I go on the Obaji treatment for pigment skin problems. It wasn’t cheap, about $500 for the 6 bottle treatment ( sometimes you need to purchase it twice depending how dark the pigment problems are). But 3 months later, I swear it looked like someone had come and erased every spot off my body. My skin was not only spotless, it had a youthful glow. It has been about 5 years now and with SPF, my skin still looks flawless.

I know that today Obaji’s technology is even better and their products can be combined into one formula that delivered my same results six years ago with several bottles. So when I read the reviews about the Obaji Professional C Serum clearing peoples skin pigmentation problems and radically diminishing wrinkles, I totally believe them.

Here’s what Obaji says about this product:

Obagi Professional C-Serum Offers:

• Superior delivery system, resulting in greater penetration to all layers of the skin
• Maximum daily antioxidant protection
• Greater stability than competitive C products
• Low side effect profile

Benefits:

• Helps maintain normal cellular turnover
• Builds collagen
• L-Ascorbic acid is essential for cross-linking collagen molecules
• Lightens and brightens skin
• Reduces inflammation
• Decreases transepidermal water loss

Obaji Professional C Serum 20% is $92 Available here.

I am a huge fan of chemical peels and I get one to two Glycolic chemical peels with 50% strength every month (50% is pretty strong, they start at 10%). They keep my skin looking dewy and keep fine lines at bay. It also fades pigmentation issues. If you can afford it, it’s the best maintenance treatment for youthful skin. However, there are some possible side effects.

First and foremost, if you have darker skin, olive tones or darker, skip the peel! It can permanently lighten your skin. If you have lighter skin tones here is what you can expect: The solution will be applied to your face via a wet cotton ball, and you will feel a slight burning sensation. The burning sensation will get stronger as the chemicals stay on the face. After about thirty seconds to one minute your face will be sprayed with a dissolution liquid. This will stop the burning and deactivate the chemicals. Once the solution is off your face will feel a little tight and slightly sensitive like you got a mild sunburn. Within the next few days your skin may flake off, or little scabs will form, this is the damaged skin peeling off to reveal the undamaged skin below. However sometimes there is no peeling or flaking at all, especially with milder peels (I have only had two tiny scabs after an extra long peel [ 3 minutes ]).

As a rule, the deeper the peel or stronger the solution, the side effects will be more prominent and last longer. I suggest you start off with a mild peel and work your way up to a stronger solution. With regular applications the results are comparable to a laser treatment.

You can get a chemical peel through a med spa or a dermatologists office. You’ll be safer with a dermatologist, but you’ll also pay considerably more. Applying a chemical peel is pretty simple, so as long as someone is a certified aesthetician you’re pretty safe, and you will pay about $60 to $100 per peel. Prices go up as the peels’ strength goes up. I go through a med spa, but I did ask many questions regarding her knowledge prior to the treatment.