11 Factors for Healthy Skin

We believe that a good skincare routine should be key in your approach to healthy skin – but not the only tool in your beauty arsenal. Though our hectic daily lives may be evidence to the contrary, a few simple self-care rituals and habit changes added to our morning and evening routines can benefit us like a rejuvenating mental retreat.

While self-care is personal and individual to each of us, there are some factors to use as a starting point for healthier habits and happier skin. Buying thoughtfully formulated products that feature plant ingredients rather than harmful chemicals is a great first step toward taking conscious care of your skin.

However, other lifestyle factors such as diet, sleep cycle, and exercise routine can have an enormous impact on the health of your skin and body. Let’s address the top factors for healthier, happier skin and how to become the best version of ourselves.

To maintain healthy skin, it’s crucial to eat right and stay hydrated. Healthy foods provide your body with the building blocks it needs to heal wounds, maintain elasticity and vibrancy, and balance the bacteria in your skin.

Fruits and vegetables
The FDA recommends a sufficient intake of fruits and vegetables. This means you should eat plenty of leafy green vegetables and a variety of low-sugar fruits each day. You should also make sure to incorporate healthy fats from a variety of sources like nuts and avocados.

Inflammatory foods
Inflammation is thought to be a key culprit behind skin aging, and can also worsen the symptoms of acne and other inflammatory skin conditions. To control inflammation throughout your body, you could try switching to an anti-inflammatory diet to help calm your body and skin. At the very least, make a point to avoid inflammatory foods, such as refined carbohydrates and sugar. Instead, opt for dark veggies, fruits, and fatty fishes – aka anti-inflammatory foods - that will also give you brighter, better skin.

Food allergies
It’s also important to note that food allergies and sensitivities can manifest themselves on your skin. If you’re experiencing unusual breakouts that you think might be caused by something you’re eating, consider keeping a food diary. Analyze what you eat, and when your breakouts occur. This can help you quickly figure out what’s causing the problem, and how to cut back.

Some acne-causing foods are white sugar, fast or fried food, dairy, and milk chocolate. We also recommend speaking to a professional dermatologist or nutritionist to get to the bottom of your breakout and to help you find the best diet for your system.

Exercise can reduce inflammation throughout your body, promote circulation, and potentially help to maintain the health of your telomeres, which are DNA–protein structures that are an integral component in the skin aging process. These important proteins keep your body more youthful at the cellular level.

Exercise also promotes proper lymphatic drainage and healthy cortisol levels, both of which promote skin clarity and balance. Getting the right amount of exercise also promotes your body’s natural process of flushing out toxins. You should aim to get at least 15 minutes of intense physical activity per day or 30 minutes of moderate physical activity.

Skipping out on a good night’s sleep is one of the worst things we can do to our skin. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces larger quantities of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol triggers inflammation throughout your body, resulting in redness, breakouts, and irritation.

As inflammation takes hold, your body starts to produce less collagen and hyaluronic acid, resulting in a loss of brightness, smoothness, and suppleness of your skin. Your body also takes care of important processes like balancing hydration as you sleep, so missing out on shut-eye will deprive your body of the chance to keep your skin’s moisture properly regulated.

As we discussed, the stress hormone cortisol can contribute to skin damage and aging (not to mention internal and mental health) in several ways.

It’s never been more crucial than now to properly manage stress for mental and overall health – and for skin health! There will always be some sort or degree of stressors, so it’s important to cope with these with proper stress management techniques. Practicing mindfulness where you’re able to and tuning out current stressors can help you to be more in the moment - and it offers a nice mental break!

As we mentioned, exercise – including meditation and breathing exercises – can address stress all the while not requiring you to go far. Trying movements such as yoga and tai chi can help manage stress, and there are plenty of online classes and tutorials to help you out. Other good choices include paring down on your to-do list or creating a balanced schedule between your daily pursuits and responsibilities. This can help you address burnout and unnecessary stress.

While there are many stress management techniques out there, the best option is whichever one works best for you! Some of our favorite stress management techniques include exercise, crafting, journaling, and just relaxing with friends. But whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you enjoy so you’re more likely to stick with it.

Most of your vitamins for the skin should come from your diet, as your body can process vitamins from food more efficiently than vitamins from supplements. However, if you can’t get the necessary amounts of important vitamins through your diet, you may want to opt for supplements. For instance, vitamin C can go a long way toward skin and overall health and is generally considered safe for most people.

If you have a vitamin B, A, or E deficiency, there are multi-vitamin options and other targeted vitamins you may be able to incorporate into your daily regimen. But you should consult your doctor about supplementation before taking any vitamins.

Other supplements, like magnesium and phosphate, can make a big difference in skin health in individuals who are prone to deficiencies. Remember: always consult your doctor before beginning any course of supplement use, especially if pregnant or breastfeeding.

From smoke to pollution to even the foods we consume, our environment plays a huge role in how our skin looks and behaves. These types of skin irritants and environmental pollutants can clog your pores, increase your chance of breakouts, and interrupt your skin’s natural protection barrier. This can lead to dry skin, breakouts, acne, and other inflammatory skin conditions.

Putting a detoxifying routine in place can treat your skin in accordance with your environment. In addition to a clean diet and skin-saving tips, a skin detox is also the best way to purge those pores of environmental pollutants! We recommend starting with a gentle detoxifying cleanser every other day. The right mask can deeply detoxify pore-clogging pollutants and purify the skin to get it back to optimal health. A healthy water intake is also a must for detoxified skin!

When you regularly exfoliate with natural vitamin-packed exfoliants, this purges your skin of pore-clogging debris, and it also helps replenish and revitalize your complexion. This step is important for removing surface pollutants from the skin, as well as any excess dirt, sebum, and impurities. It’s an easy way to get softer, more supple skin and brings you that much closer to a clear complexion.

It’s key to choose an exfoliator that is on cue with your skin type and needs:

• For the gentlest exfoliation, we recommend simply using a Konjac sponge with a natural cleanser. Bonus: this sponge contains detoxifying bamboo charcoal!

• For exfoliation that’s not too gentle or too strong, powder cleansers are a perfect middle ground. These will exfoliate and cleanse your skin at the same time, and you can customize their texture and cleansing power depending on how much water you add.

• For serious exfoliation, we recommend our Acai Pulp Facial Scrub. This super fruit-infused scrub packs plenty of buffing powder to slough away bumps, flakes, and dead layers while revealing fresh, more supple skin. For more tips on using these products be sure to check out our basic exfoliation tips for your skin type.

We’ve all heard this before, but it’s important to protect your skin with sunscreen daily. Over time, your body produces free radicals in response to UV exposure. These rogue electrons can cause irreversible damage throughout your skin tissue, leading to wrinkles and fine lines, dark spots, and the loss of suppleness and elasticity.

Whether it’s rain or shine, summer or winter, a crucial step in your daily beauty routine is applying SPF to guard your skin against sun damage. If you’re already made up and don’t want the hassle of messing up your glam with heavy sunscreen, our Yerba Mate Mist SPF 30 will be your BFF! This light, refreshing spray provides you with skin-loving nutrients, hydration, and protection.

But not all SPF is created equal, depending on how and where you need adequate protection. For everyday use, our Green Tea SPF 30 is a natural sunscreen lotion that does double duty by protecting against harmful rays with zinc oxide, while delivering toning and hydration benefits with aloe and green tea. Thanks to raspberry, avocado, and rosehip oils, your skin will reap the lingering moisture benefits of this sunscreen all day long.

It’s recommended that you cleanse your skin once in the morning and once in the evening, and additionally after exercising or sweating heavily. There’s no need to use harsh chemicals such as denatured alcohols to cleanse your skin, though a gentle, natural cleanser like our Blood Orange Cleansing Balm can get the job done perfectly without compromising your skin health.

In the evening, it’s important that you remove any makeup and sunscreen from the day to prevent clogged pores. If you prefer to practice the Korean double-cleansing routine, start with a water-based cleanser like our Rose Micellar Water, followed by an oil-based cleanser like our Argan Oil Creamy Cleanser or a natural cleansing balm.

“Moisturization” and “hydration” are often used interchangeably, but there’s an important difference between these two concepts. “Hydration” literally refers to hydrating - or delivering water to - the cells in your skin. In contrast, “moisturization” refers to reinforcing your skin’s lipid barrier with oils and other nourishing ingredients. Moisturizing your skin helps to keep hydration locked in, so it’s important that you get a combination of hydration and moisturization in your skincare routine to achieve a more youthful, supple glow.

PRO TIP: Staying hydrated can work wonders for a clearer, suppler complexion. Ample hydration through regular water intake throughout the day will greatly increase skin’s health and glow.

We’re diehard believers that clean, organic, and natural skincare is the best way to topically maintain the health of your skin. And, natural ingredients also benefit your overall health. Using key ingredients from plants, seeds, fruits, and herbs, natural formulas will be unhindered by harmful ingredients and chemicals that can reduce potency and benefits for your skin, as well as adversely affect your health.

By seeking out natural products that are free of parabens, artificial fragrances, and other harsh ingredients, you’ll ensure that you’re taking care of your skin at the cellular level, and supporting its short and long-term health.

While we know there are various meanings of a healthy lifestyle, it’s important to focus on better lifestyle habits for healthier skin. Take care of all the aspects of your mind, body, and soul that make you, you. The more you adopt a healthy lifestyle and habits, the more you’ll be able to enjoy healthier, happier skin and the best version of yourself.