Skin care: 5 tips for healthy skin Good skin care — including sun protection and gentle cleansing — can keep your skin healthy and glowing for years to come.

Don't have time for intensive skin care? You can still pamper
yourself by acing the basics. Good skin care and healthy lifestyle
choices can help delay the natural aging process and prevent
various skin problems. Get started with these five no-nonsense
tips.
1. Protect yourself from the sun
One of the most important ways to take care of your skin is to
protect it from the sun. A lifetime of sun exposure can cause
wrinkles, age spots and other skin problems — as well as increase
the risk of skin cancer.
For the most complete sun protection:
Use sunscreen. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF
of at least 15. Apply sunscreen generously, and reapply every
two hours — or more often if you're swimming or perspiring.
Seek shade. Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when
the sun's rays are strongest.
Wear protective clothing. Cover your skin with tightly woven
long-sleeved shirts, long pants and wide-brimmed hats. Also
consider laundry additives, which give clothing an additional
layer of ultraviolet protection for a certain number of
washings, or special sun-protective clothing — which is
specifically designed to block ultraviolet rays.
2. Don't smoke
Smoking makes your skin look older and contributes to wrinkles.
Smoking narrows the tiny blood vessels in the outermost layers of
skin, which decreases blood flow. This depletes the skin of oxygen
and nutrients that are important to skin health.
Smoking also damages collagen and elastin — the fibers that give
your skin strength and elasticity. In addition, the repetitive facial
expressions you make when smoking — such as pursing your lips
when inhaling and squinting your eyes to keep out smoke — can
contribute to wrinkles.
If you smoke, the best way to protect your skin is to quit. Ask your
doctor for tips or treatments to help you stop smoking. 3. Treat your skin gently
Daily cleansing and shaving can take a toll on your skin. To keep it
gentle:
Limit bath time. Hot water and long showers or baths remove
oils from your skin. Limit your bath or shower time, and use
warm — rather than hot — water.
Avoid strong soaps. Strong soaps and detergents can strip oil
from your skin. Instead, choose mild cleansers.
Shave carefully. To protect and lubricate your skin, apply
shaving cream, lotion or gel before shaving. For the closest
shave, use a clean, sharp razor. Shave in the direction the hair
grows, not against it.
Pat dry. After washing or bathing, gently pat or blot your skin
dry with a towel so that some moisture remains on your skin.
Moisturize dry skin. If your skin is dry, use a moisturizer that
fits your skin type. For daily use, consider a moisturizer that
contains SPF.
4. Eat a healthy diet
A healthy diet can help you look and feel your best. Eat plenty of
fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. The association
between diet and acne isn't clear — but some research suggests
that a diet rich in vitamin C and low in unhealthy fats and
processed or refined carbohydrates might promote younger
looking skin.
5. Manage stress
Uncontrolled stress can make your skin more sensitive and trigger
acne breakouts and other skin problems. To encourage healthy
skin — and a healthy state of mind — take steps to manage your
stress. Set reasonable limits, scale back your to-do list and make
time to do the things you enjoy. The results might be more
dramatic than you expect.