Skin And HealthCare – A Forgotten Gift

INTRODUCTION:

The human interest for beauty and appearance has been studied for thousands of years. The roots of skin care can be traced back to 3000BC when Egyptians turned to nature for remedies to beautify their appearance. The Egyptians constitute the first civilizations to develop advanced skin care remedies. Queen who is known for her eternal beauty belongs to the Egyptians. Egyptians created natural skin care products using olive oil, ostrich eggs, milk and essential oils from plants and herbs. Along with skincare, makeup was also an important part of Egyptian culture. The skin care in China began from around 1760BC the under-Shang Dynasty. People during this time valued healthy and natural forms of skincare. They use cleansers made from seaweed and jellyfish and facial massages to improve blood circulation to achieve youthful skin. Skincare in China is more about nutrition, health and circulation. They focused on healthy living to maintain a beautiful complexion and used many natural herbs to stay healthy and beautiful. Greeks borrowed a lot from Egyptian skincare secrets by adding some twist to it. Greeks used white lead or chalk for lighter appearance and fresh berries for skin treatments. Romans associated skincare with cleanliness and hygiene, making bathing a culture. They used olive oils in their routine. Now in 1990 many cosmetic companies such companies such as Lake, Maybelline, Sephora etc started to improve the look and feel of skin. Skincare helps in skin integrity and maintaining good and healthy skin.

Health care is taking preventative or necessary measures to improve persons well being. Health care is important to ensure a healthy body, healthy workplace, and healthy lifestyle. Our health plays an important role in maintaining good skin. The intake of our food reflects directly on our skin.so, it is very important to take good and healthy food. Breakfast plays an important role in one’s daily routine and it is an important meal of the day because it enhances our metabolism and makes us energetic all day. The intake of healthy breakfast not only plays a major role to maintain good skin but also helps in good health. Some of the facial exercises and a good amount of sleep also helps in developing youthful and radiant skin.

SKIN TYPES

Skin types vary depending upon the combination of factors. They include your skin’s-

Water content
Lipid content(oil)
Level of sensitivity

There are four basic types of healthy skin. They are normal, dry, oily, combination skin types. It is generally determined by genetics. It can vary greatly according to various internal and external factors subjected to it. These are the general skin types people usually have but there are a million combinations of skin types and throwing some sensitivity into it like sensitive dry skin, mixed type, etc. Determining our own skin type is very much important. Once you determine your skin type it is not necessary that skin type is yours for the rest of your life. The skin type can change according to the weather, stress, hormonal fluctuations and a whole lot of things. Once you determine your skin type you should consider it as just for now and here and not ever.

NORMAL SKIN

Normal skin type is generally a well-balanced skin. The skin is neither too oily nor too dry. Normal skin is healthy and radiant. The oil secretion is balanced and moisture is also balanced.

It has

Good blood circulation
Fine pores
Soft and smooth texture
And no blemishes
The skin is not sensitive

DRY SKIN

In dry skin, the secretion of oil is very less when compared to normal skin.Due to this the moisture content is also not balanced.

The causes of dry skin:

Sufficient moisture is not supplied to the skin
Skin is constantly losing water in the deeper layers by active water loss from glands caused by heat, stress.
Natural moisturising factors like urea, amino acids, lactic acids.

Identification of dry skin:

Tightness and rough skin
Chapping

Taking care of dry skin:

Take shorter showers
Use mild, gentle soaps or cleansers
Application of rich moisture content cream after bathing
By intake of liquid-based food

OILY SKIN

Oily skin is a type of skin in which the oil secretion is extremely high i.e., the overproduction of oil from the deeper layers of the skin. It can change depending on the weather conditions.

Causes of oily skin:

Genetics
Stress
Hormonal changes and imbalance
Cosmetic products that cause irritation

Identification:

Enlarged and visible pores on the skin
Glossy shine
Oily skin leads to acne probably appearing on the neck, shoulder, back, chest, and on the T-zone of the face

Taking care of oily skin:

Wash your skin no more than twice a day.
Use a gentle cleanser
Use products that do not clog pores

COMBINATION SKIN

The combination skin type is the combination of oily and dry skin. It is oily on the T-zone that is on the forehead, chin and nose and dries on the cheeks. Overproduction of sebum on the T-zone and less production of sebum on the cheeks.

SENSITIVE SKIN

Sensitive skin is caused by nerve endings in the top of the skin becoming irritated. This occurs because your skin’s natural barrier function is weakened and has broken down due to trigger sensitive.

Skin includes:

Redness
Irritation
Rashes
Swelling
This causes burning, itching

NUTRITION REQUIRED FOR HEALTHY SKIN

Many of use chemical products to ensure that our skin stays healthy and young all through our lifetime but we forget that the root cause of dull skin lies within. If you feed your skin inside out the results are going to be nothing short of amazing. Nutrients are molecules in food that we need for energy, grow and reproduce. Here are some of the minerals and vitamins that help in developing a healthy and radiant skin.

IRON

Benefits of Iron

Iron plays an important role in forming haemoglobin.
It carries oxygen created by red blood cells and supplies it to all other body parts.
If your body is not creating enough haemoglobin you will feel weak and even worse.

Lack of Iron leads to

Excessive hair loss
Lower energy levels
Dark circles under eyes
Skin looks duller than before

Some of the iron-rich foods are Spinach, kidney beans, egg yolk, fish, meat, and whole grains such as brown rice, oats etc.

ZINC

Zinc is an essential mineral that nurtures the skin.

Benefits of Zinc

It works as an antioxidant.
Protects the skin fats
Improves collagen production
Keeps acne at bay
Reduce sebum production

HYALURONIC ACID

It is a natural substance that holds a large quantity of moisture in the skin. Moisture reduction leads to fine lines, wrinkles, etc. It helps in boosting production of collagen.

Benefits of Hyaluronic acid

Retains skin moisture
Increase skin resistance
Rejuvenate the skin

Addition of more amount of Broccoli, Spinach, soya milk, cheese, and carrots, beetroot, sweet potatoes to our regular diet improve the moisture level.

And fruits such as kiwi, strawberries and red wine also helps.

SELENIUM AND COPPER

Selenium and Copper are the only minerals that are required in smaller amounts. However, the little goes a long way.

Benefits of Selenium

Increase the blood flow
Protects against heart diseases
Reduces the risk of cancer

From the skincare perspective

Selenium neutralizes free radicals and forms a protective wall over the cell membrane
It protects the skin from sun damage
Slows down the ageing process

So, the skin stays youthful longer and healthy.

We can supplement our bodies with selenium by eating seafood, mushrooms, eggs, yoghurt, cheese, strawberries, these are excellent sources of selenium. By making these foods as a part of our diet can improve your skin and overall health.

Benefits of Copper

Develops elastin and collagen which are very important for skin.
Reduces roughness, fine lines, wrinkles and other problems caused by exposure to the sun.
The copper-rich foods such as sunflower seeds, almonds, dried apricots, dark chocolate, mushrooms, turnip greens etc. help in maintaining appropriate copper levels in the body.

The Vitamins such as C, E, A helps in healthy skin.

VITAMIN C

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. Vitamin C helps to reduce oxidative stress in the body and may lower cancer risk. Vitamin C is also involved in the synthesis of collagen, an important protein for making your skin supple. It helps in treating and prevent UV rays-induced photo damage. Many fruits and vegetable are great sources of Vitamin C.so, it is important to include them in our diet. It includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, bell peppers, guava, beet greens, grapefruit, oranges, strawberries, parsley etc.

VITAMIN E

Vitamin E is one of the key vitamins for skin health. When combined with vitamin A and vitamin E is especially effective at preventing certain skin cancers. It helps fight free radicals caused by pollution, smoking, processed foods and sun exposure, food sources high in vitamin E include almonds, eggs, walnuts, avocados, pine nuts, spinach, olives etc.

VITAMIN A

Vitamin A is critical for skin repair and maintenance, if you suffer from flaky and dry skin, it could sign you are deficient o vitamin, food sources high in vitamin are collard greens, peaches, beet greens, spinach, eggs, sweet potato, red peppers etc.

SKIN PROTECTION

The ultraviolet rays or UV rays are very harmful rays that cause damage to the skin. The UV rays are of three types UVA, UVB, UVC.pretty much the UVC does not reach our zone. The UVA penetrates really deep and causes delay tanning, the faster appearance of wrinkles, ageing changes. The UVB is the one mostly what we say which causes sunburn. It causes redness, irritation and immediate tanning.

How to take care of the skin from the sun

Avoid direct exposure from the sun from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
UV rays can penetrate pretty much anything so use sunscreen throughout the day
Look for min.spf 15 and PA++ in your sunscreen
Be careful around sand and water. These surfaces reflect the damaging rays of the sun, which can increase your chance of getting a sunburn.
Use protective clothing and accessories
Make sure you apply your sunscreen to a regular lifestyle or habit and reapply it for every 3 hours which will give you actual benefit

The sun causes many types of skin damages such as:

Skin cancer
Wrinkles
Freckles
Age Spots
Discolourations

Drinking enough water and fluids is important for our general health. In addition to drinking enough fluids, keeping your skin moist is essential to skin protection. Skin that is properly hydrated retains pliability and is led likely to become chapped, scaly or flaky.

NEW IN SKIN CARE

Skincare comprises of two types the first one is home care and the second one is the treatment you undergo at your doctor’s place. In-home care, there are a lot of things which have come up especially the ingredients look for peptides look for newer skin lightening agent’s certain vitamins and safer agents and certain plant extracts are used. The basic ingredient such as haldi acts as an important factor for skin care. If you’re looking for something new at the doctor’s place there are certain laser treatments that have come up and removing of acne scars and reduction of redness and irritation etc.

SKIN CARE PRODUCTS AND EXAMPLES

Skincare products can also fall under the general category of personal care products or cosmetics. It is used to improve the appearance and health of the skin formulated for different skin types and its characteristics. Some of the skincare products are loreal, mac, Maybelline, Patanjali etc.

CONCLUSION

What we feel inside our body reflects on the face .so it is very important to follow the proper and healthy diet, exercise regularly, stay hydrated and have good sleep. I believe that the most important thing to achieve glowing skin is to stay happy. This will help to achieve very radiant and healthy skin.