Not another clear skin dressing down! That’s what you’re probably thinking when you read the title. Well, just like any area of beauty and health, things move forward and get better. So unless you want to be surprised by new facts and tips that could help bring a new shine to your skin, you’ll pay attention to how things are changing in diets, food perceptions, studies, medicines, and other forms of treatment. Skin is the largest organ in the body or rather, of the body. It’s incredibly complex, strong, and yet vulnerable to the elements and the stresses we put it through. So we thought it would be a good idea to update you all on the progressions that are being made in this area of beauty and wellness. The skin is different in different parts of the body. The skin on your face is slightly different from the skin on your back. The skin on your knees is a lot different compared to your hands. So let’s explore all of them together.
Let’s start simple, with your hands
Right off the bat, we lied. There is nothing simple about the skin on your hands. Take a look at them right now. The skin on the backside of your hand has to be stretchy and tough. What!? How can those two things coexist? For something to be stretchy, it has to be soft. For something to be tough, it has to be rigid. Well, the skin on the backside of your hand is thick and yet very soft, so it allows itself to be stretched over the knuckles and protects the veins and tendons over the top of your hand. To make this part of your skin healthier, you should do a few things daily.
- Pat or blot your skin dry. Don’t rub the towel over your hands, you’re making the thick skin dryer. The thicker the skin, the harder it is for your body to oxidize it.
- Don’t use too much soap or don’t wash your hands too frequently. In the course of the pandemic, washing your hands has become a religion of sorts. But, if you use too much soap and wash too often, your skin becomes very dry and itchy.
- Don’t wash your hands with hot water, use warm water instead. Again, this is to avoid dryness.
For the inside of your hands, the skin is probably even thicker. Despite more nerve endings being present on the inside of your hand, the skin is even thicker. This is to protect the muscles of your hands. So you should follow the same rules posted above but also a few extra. Use an oil-based moisturizer so the skin remains flexible and stretchy. The amount of grasping and holding we do on a daily basis tends to tighten the skin as our muscles contract. So the oil-based moisturizer will sink deeper and thus, keep that stretch alive. Also, try to do some hand strengthening techniques such as improving your grip strength to inject more blood flow into your hands and skin. If you have blotchy palms, this can really help even out the skin tone.
The skin on your face
Get ready for a long and complex overview of your facial skin. It is by far the most complex skin on your body. It has to stretch, contract, protect, look beautiful, be clear, fight off bacteria, be oily and even fight off the signs of aging. How on earth can we be so brash and bold to ask our face to be all of these things at once?
Well, in the modern world, we want it all. And you know what, who says we can’t? You just need to first, understand how the skin on your face actually works and what it needs to fulfill your demands.
If you have acne, you need to buy the right kind of treatment for it. Duac gel is a good choice because it contains active ingredients. What we mean by ‘active’ is that they will react to the acne and not just passively improve your skin. In this way, it can be just 2 to 5 weeks before you begin to see a marked reduction of your acne. In about 12 weeks’ time you should not need to use this gel anymore and in fact, you shouldn’t because of the active ingredients. It’s a bit of an aggressive treatment, so don’t keep using it if you don’t want to ultimately damage the skin on your face.
If you want to have clear beautiful skin, then you should do a number of things in conjunction with regularly washing your face, i.e. twice a day, at least once with some kind of facial scrub, lotion, moisturizer, etc.
- Get some exercise. The more your skin sweats, the more it releases toxins and thus, healthier, clearer skin.
- Make sure you eat green vegetables; and the darker the better. When you eat foods like broccoli and spinach, you are eating more vitamin E and hence, your skin is stronger and absorbs more water and oxygen.
- Stop smoking and drinking too much. Your skin hates these two awful habits, but especially the skin on your face. When you smoke, you will get grey cheeks. When you drink too much you get red cheeks and blotchy skin on your forehead and nose.
- Try not to wash your face with hot water. For the same reasons posted earlier.
- Try to get 8 hours of sleep at least. Any signs of tiredness and lack of hydration will always appear clearly and firstly, on your face.
More serious skin issues could be worth seeing a dermatologist about. While many skin problems on the face do not cause any pain or carry any added health risks, they can seriously affect self-esteem due to their location. Examples include serious acne, rosacea, psoriasis and lipomas. At-home skin products may not always have an impact when treating these conditions, which is why you may want to look into professional treatment.
The skin on the rest of your body
Okay, so the face and hands have been given their special mentions. So what about the rest of your skin? Well, let’s look at where your skin is rough and tough, and where it is softer and more supple.
Tough skin tends to be on your
- Knees. Your knees have stretchy but thick skin, perhaps the thickest skin anywhere on the body.
- Your elbows come a close second to your knees.
- The back has very thick skin, but it’s softer, because it has to flex and bend as our muscles contract and extend.
- Your feet have thick skin too and often, the very toughest skin on the body.
Softer and more supple skin tends to be
- At the back of the knees. Very often this part of the body is avoided by massage therapists because it is so soft and sensitive.
- The inner part of your thighs has very soft skin, because this is where a good amount of fat is stored.
- The inner part of your elbows is much the same; this is where your tendons and other nerves run past the upper arm and connect with the lower arm (forearm).
For the thicker parts of your skin, use some kind of ointment, oil or paste for skincare. The thick skin will not fully absorb cream and water-based skincare products. The pastes and other such-like substances will be able to stay on top of the skin and eventually, penetrate deeper. For the softer parts of your body, use the types of products we just described to avoid for the thick areas. Creams and serums are great, but try to base all of your skincare products around nutrients, minerals and vitamins instead of complex chemicals.
Your skin is not the same all around your body. It’s highly complex and has adapted to protect and serve your body and all its movements and needs, over millions of years. So adapt your products and lifestyle to it.
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