Your skin does lots and lots of different things, most of which you would not even consider. It helps control temperature, get rid of toxins and protect organs among many other things. It is so important to have good skin care so that it maintains its functioning well, but also so that it looks its best. If you want your skin to be in the best condition it can, check out the 5 top tips below.

1.) Protect your skin from the sun. Nothing else ages the skin and causes blemishes like the sun, so you need to shelter it from the damaging rays. Do not spend long hours exposed to the sun and avoid it when it is most powerful, between the hours of 11am-1pm. Always wear sunscreen, even if you are not going out in the sun as it is very moisturising and will protect against the constant low level U.V rays that silently damage over time.

2.) Keep moisture in your skin. Your skin, like every other part of your body needs moisture to work properly so make sure it is always moisturised and supple. This is not to say you should apply moisturiser all over the body all the time as this can suffocate the skin, but instead treat it when it is dry with qaulity skin and hand care products. Common times when you need to check your skins moisture levels are after showing, swimming or being in the cold for a long period of time.

3.) Don’t smoke. All sorts of toxins and chemicals can be found in cigarettes that cause the skin to function improperly. They close up blood supply, dehydrate the skin, mutate cells and block pores. You only have to look at a chronic smoker’s skin to realise this is a given, so stay away from them.

4.) Reduce Stress. This may be hard to put into practice but its an important element that most people don’t consider. As we are all aware teenagers commonly suffer from outbreaks and this is a result of higher hormone levels during puberty causing excessive skin sebum production. The same thing happens when you are stressed but with stress hormones instead and this can be avoided by taking a little time out each day to relax.

5.)    Keep make-up to a minimum. Light or high qaulity make-ups are not so bad but when you begin layering or using thick make-ups the skin simply cannot breathe and pores become infected and inflamed. Make sure you remove makeup before you sleep overnight as well. This is because the skin does a great deal of self-cleaning over night and this process cannot take place effectively if it is covered in a thick layer of foundation.

Follow these few key tips and your skin will thank you for it by looking better than ever.