Avoiding The 5 S’s of Skin Damage

Want to keep your skin looking and feeling healthy? Here are five of the biggest offenders that will damage your skin (and they all begin with S).

Sun exposure

Sun exposure can be healthy for our skin, providing a rich source of vitamin D to help prevent aging. However, too much sun exposure can have the opposite effect – too much UV light can cause sunburn, which can dry out the skin and promote wrinkles. Worse still, sunburn is a leading cause of skin cancer. For this reason, it’s important to always be careful in the sun. Wearing sunscreen can help to reduce the risk of sun damage. Alternatively, you can keep to the shade or cover up.

Smoking

Smoking damages the skin in a number of ways. Chemicals in cigarettes cause collagen and elastin damage, leading to wrinkles, while nicotine restricts blood flow to the skin, cause paleness. Meanwhile, tar from cigarettes can cause yellowish stains on the hands. Giving up smoking and taking up vaping can reduce the damage – the likes of BuyV2Cigs supply a great range of starter kits and e-liquids to help you make the switch. There are also other methods of giving up smoking that some may prefer such as hypnotherapy, nicotine gum and nicotine patches.

Sugar

Excess sugar consumption can also damage the skin. Foods with a high glycaemic index can often trigger inflammation around the body, which can cause many skin issues such as acne and eczema to flare up. On top of this, consuming too much sugar can cause collagen and elastin damage, leading to premature aging. The biggest culprit is processed sugar, which can be found predominantly in soft drinks, cakes and sweets. Try to reduce foods and drinks that contain this sugar to help protect your skin.

Stress

When we are stressed, a hormone called cortisol is released. Cortisol is known to trigger inflammation, which can lead to rashes and outbreaks of spots. In fact, periods of chronic stress are thought to be a leading cause in the development of skin conditions such as vitiligo, acne and psoriasis. There are lots of ways to destress which you can read in this guide at Virtua. By reducing stress, you can prevent damage to your skin.

Sleep deprivation

It’s during our sleep cycle that our skin heals. Without completing a full sleep cycle, the body cannot heal properly. When we’re asleep, the body also hydrates the skin and flushes out toxins. This helps to keep the skin rosy and moisturised, preventing permanent discoloration and wrinkles. All in all, it’s important to get our beauty sleep. To make sure that you’re getting enough sleep, make sure that you’re getting at least seven hours of sleep per night. This is how long it generally takes for our body to complete its sleep cycle, after which the whole body has been cleansed and hydrated.