Skin is often overlooked by many people, but it is absolutely critical to your health and amazing. Why? If your body is a castle, your skin is the wall protecting it. Things can leave the body, but nothing can get in unless you want it to.
Skin goes through an aging process much like the body and person as a whole. To verify this, you need just look at the skin of a baby versus a grandfather. The ravages of time, pollution, food intake and the sun can be seen in the stark contrast.
As your body ages, you treat it differently. You get more sleep and eat better or at least you should. You should take the same approach with your skin. In fact, skin care should be changed throughout the stages of a person's life.
Let's start at the very beginning. A baby is new to the world and so is its skin. Undamaged, soft, flexible, it is a virgin surface that hasn't been impacted by the wind, pollution and sun exposure. Clean with mild soap and stay out of the sun.
If you don't believe your skin is tough, consider our next phase of life. Being a kid is all about investigating your environment and lots of boo boos! Skin should be washed every day and sunscreen should be used before going outside.
Being a teen can be really tough and your skin doesn't exactly help. Your body starts taking leaps in maturity and your skin can be a nightmare with pimples and such. Washing twice a day helps. Moisturizers are a bad idea, but Retin-A is not.
The wild hormonal swings of your teens slow down a bit as you age into your twenties. Your skin also starts to calm down. You should still wash your face twice a day, but it may be time to start using moisturizers if your skin is drying out.
As you roll into your 30s, the concept of wrinkles springs up. Moisturizer should be used daily to fight them off. You are in a stage now where your skin is going to slowly degrade over time, so paying attention to it is critical.
During your 40s, the skin will really start showing its age. It will become duller, less flexible and start to sage. Yikes! Moisturizers should be a critical part of your skin care ammunition. Anti-aging products may also be something you want to look into.
After the age of 50, your skin becomes something you must care for with serious effort or you could have major health problems. Your skin will heal very slowly, so make sure to eat well, clean cuts and care for it to the maximum extent possible.
The good news is we are living much longer on average. The amazing structure of our skin is such that it can take the extra beating. To get the most out of it, however, you must take care of it early on in life. So, do it!
