Many of us aspire to have flawless skin. Unfortunately, perfection can be quite difficult to achieve when it comes to skincare. Your skin is sensitive and susceptible to so many different risk factors. Unless you are being extra careful, there are a lot of ways that you can damage your skin permanently.
Once your skin is damaged, it can be nearly impossible to reverse the effects. You will have to go through many cosmetic treatments to recover your original appearance. Instead of putting yourself through such an ordeal, you should understand the common causes of skin damage and try to avoid certain harmful activities.
If you want to protect your skin, watch out for these seven most common causes of skin damage:
Cause #1: Sunlight Exposure
When it comes to the common causes of skin damage, the sun is arguably the biggest culprit. As much as you want to stay outdoors and enjoy the soothing sunlight, you need to be careful about overexposure. The sun emits harmful UV rays that break down collagen and elastin, the two elements responsible for youthful skin.
Overexposure to the sun can result in your skin developing premature wrinkles, making you look older than you are. Ever wonder why you get a tan whenever you expose your skin to the sun for long hours? This is because the UV rays also affect melanocytes that are responsible for skin pigmentation. To protect your skin against these damages, sunscreen is recommended before you leave the house on a sunny day.
Cause #2: Smoking Cigarettes
Did you know smoking damages your skin? Smoking causes your blood vessels to constrict. When your blood vessels are narrow, it becomes harder for nutrients to be distributed throughout your body. By smoking regularly, you won’t have enough nutrients that get distributed to your skin. As a result, the skin becomes inelastic and starts to wrinkle.
In addition, smoking has many other adverse effects on your health. Smokers may develop dry skin, skin ulcers, and possibly a grayish colour in their skin tone. If you are serious about protecting your skin, tobacco should be cut out of your daily habits.
Cause #3: Lack of Sleep
You may not be getting enough sleep due to various reasons. It could be a job that keeps you up at night, a lively party that goes beyond the normal hours, or an exam that requires extensive studying. Whatever the reason, there are many challenges that prevent you from adhering to the recommended eight hours of sleep each night.
Inadequate sleep causes the skin to dehydrate, making it appear dull and damaged. Dark circles under the eyes are also a common sign of insufficient sleep. In some cases, you may also experience skin breakout. While there are many cosmetic procedures that can improve your skin condition, nothing works better than just having a good night of sleep.
Cause #4: Stress
People suffering from chronic stress have noticeable changes in their skin, hair, and nails. Whenever you are stressed, a hormone called cortisol is generated. Cortisol catalyzes the glands in the skin to produce more oil, resulting in the blockage of skin pores and the production of pimples. Stress may escalate other existing problems such as eczema, rosacea and psoriasis.
Cause #5: Poor Diet
It’s no secret that a bad diet leads to bad skincare. Depending on the foods that you eat, you could trigger a variety of unsightly skin conditions. While an occasional night of fast food may not do significant damage to your skin, it will have a lasting impact if these bad eating habits persist. Not only is your health and weight going to be affected, but your skin will suffer as well.
For a healthy diet, your meals should have the right balance of protein, veggies and carbohydrates in recommended portions. Drinking water is also an important part to keeping your body healthy and hydrated.
Cause #6: Chemical Products
In your day-to-day life, you may encounter chemical products in the form of cleaning products and soaps, some of which may contain chemicals that can irritate the skin. One common condition is dermatitis, which makes the skin easily irritable and may also cause scaling.
To protect yourself from these chemicals, always wear gloves when cleaning. You should also be careful when choosing a product for washing clothes, since some detergents may contain chemicals that are harmful to the skin.
Cause #7: Smiles and Frowns
While it is impossible to have no expression on your face, excessive smiling and frowning could have a significant effect on your skin. It is common for lines to form around the mouth area due to too much smiling and frowning. The results of a frown or a smile may not be immediately noticeable, but these wrinkles become more visible as you age.