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YOUR SKIN IS not some delicate covering on the surface of your body which needs constant pampering. It is a dynamically functioning organ - the largest in your body: How good it looks depends on two things: first, and most important, on the biochemical state of your whole body; second, on how you look after it and protect it from the kind of environmental 'assaults' it is subjected to day after day. Skin accurately reflects your overall state of health. It is also very much affected by how well you deal with stress and all of the other factors important in determining your level of wellness. To have healthy skin which looks great and doesn't age rapidly, you need to get the fundamentals right first. For instance, it is almost impossible to maintain glowing, healthy, attractive skin if you don't exercise regularly. According to a Finnish study published in the British Journal of Dermatology, athletes and people who do work out daily tend to have thicker, stronger and more flexible skin. The situation with diet is similar. Living the ultrahealth way is the best possible thing you can do for your skin. That coupled with simple but consistent daily care, plus whatever vitamin or mineral supplements you may need for individual 'problems', will keep it glowing year after year.
Combating Skin Stressors
Your skin is under constant stress. From outside, dry air depletes it of moisture, sunlight ages it, extremes of temperature put strain on its regulatory mechanisms, and air pollutants challenge its integrity. Meanwhile household chemicals - such as ingredients in soaps and bath products, or cosmetics - disrupt its naturally acid pH and weaken its defences. From the inside it can face equally disruptive influences. For skin is mostly dependent for its health and good looks on the quality of the nutrients supplied to it through the bloodstream and on the proper functioning of enzymes, which in turn are related to your general state of body health and emotions. If your circulatory system is not supplying your skin with the oxygen it needs for efficient cell metabolism, or if certain vitamins or minerals needed for enzyme formation and collagen synthesis are scarce, then your skin suffers. The effects of this kind of deprivation from inside, like those of excessive stress from without, can be measured in real terms - signs of premature ageing, eruptions, excessive dryness or oiliness, and lacklustre skin which no amount of cosmetic treatment can cover up. Looking after your skin so that it can deal with internal and external stressors is a serious but simple business. It demands an awareness of the role nutrients play in skin health and healing, a knowledge of how to clean, protect and treat skin from outside, and a certain amount of respect for what your skin really is - a living, breathing part of your body.
Daily Skin Sense
The skin of men and women differs little, except that men have a beard. Both need the same kind of simple care. In fact, when it comes to keeping skin young-looking, men have the advantage over women for one reason: they shave. At least once a day they gently peel away the outer layers of dried dead cells from their faces while removing the day's growth of beard. Unknowingly they are performing one of the most useful of all techniques for making skin look and feel younger. The simple abrasion of the epidermis can benefit most types of skin, from youthful acne-covered faces to mature lined ones. It is called exfoliation and it makes your skin look clearer and more translucent, which in turn improves the way it refracts light, and softens lines. It can be done with a soap-like cleanser or with a product such as a cream which contains abrasive particles made from sand, polyethylene, silica, bentonite or pumice. But it should be gent/e. Exfoliation that is too harsh can only damage skin. There are also polyester webs or brushes sold for exfoliating more gently. This can be done using an AHA or fruit acid product As well as sloughing off dead cells from the skin's surface, exfoliation encourages more rapid cell reproduction beneath, so that your skin looks clearer and fresher and it brings excellent stimulation to the skin - just the kind needed to boost circulation and improve cellular exchange.
The Wash Down
Both men and women can exfoliate while washing or cleansing their face. And cleansing it well is an important part of maintaining fit, healthy skin. This can be done with a mild soap or a detergent cleanser. For a woman who wears makeup, a two-step cleansing process is best, since soap tends not to fully remove the oil-based colours used on her face. Use an oil or cream cleanser first to get rid of every trace of makeup before washing and exfoliating. Men need only the one step: soap. A word about soaps: there are castile soaps, glycerine soaps, cocoa-butter soaps, deodorant soaps, detergent bars - the list seems endless. The best kind of soap to use is one which doesn't dry your skin. And this has nothing to do with the price you pay for it. Some of the best soaps (or detergent bars, which are just as good) are cheap, and pH-balanced so that they don't disturb your skin's acid mantle. Get the cheapest you can find and stick to it. The best possible way to finish off the cleansing process is with cold water splashed over the surface of the skin. I know men of sixty who have been doing this for 30 years and have skin that looks far younger and firmer than it should at their age. Wearing a mask and snorkel, one well-known actor even plunges his head in a bucket of ice water for five minutes every day. He has superb skin. He is also one of the most fit and firm men you will ever meet.
Keep It Moist
Any kind of wash-off soap or detergent-based cleanser rinses away your skin's natural oils so, unless your skin tends to be excessively oily, you need to use a lubricant afterwards to prevent excessive drying by inhibiting evaporation from the skin's surface and forming a barrier between you and the environment. For men there are a number of good after-shave moisturizers on the market which contain natural moisturizing factors - a chemical cocktail of hydroscopic (moisture-attracting) and hydrating ingredients such as free amino acids, lactates, sugars and electrolytes. These are substances which occur in the skin itself to help it hold water. Similar products are available for women. There is no difference between them except that the male versions are packaged in more 'macho' containers. If your skin tends to be very dry you need more than the standard moisturizing lotion. You should look either for a water-in-oil emulsion which is richer in lipids and longer-lasting in its protective effect than the usual moisturizing lotions, or a triple emulsion moisturizer containing a good supply of essential fatty acids (watch for 'vitamin F' or 'linoleic acid' amongst the ingredients on the label).