Because your skin is your first line of defense from infections and diseases, you should take care of it. The skin’s function as a protectant of your body should teach you to take care of it. The skin can be extremely vulnerable to carbon monoxide emitted by cars and UV rays from sunlight. It needs daily pampering because it may just degenerate on you if you don’t take better care of it.

What you must watch out for is the clogging of pores. Environmental pollutants like toxins and free radicals are always around to harm your skin. These chemicals clog the pores, making it difficult for your skin to excrete normally. Sweat and oils come out of pores often, but that’s normal. What isn’t normal is the way sweat and oils try to come out of your skin but cannot because of the clogged pores. Clogged or dirty skin pores are the primary reasons of deterioration of the skin cells.

There are many other factors that may contribute to poor skin conditions. I’m mentioning some of them here so you can avoid them.

Alcohol will always be bad for the skin, especially if taken regularly. Alcohol will dry out your skin, making the pores a little tighter and the texture more rough. When you get drunk, your skin becomes deprived of water and nutrients because you’re excreting too much in copious amounts. Alcohol may also lead to decrease in immunity against diseases that cause digestive tract disorders. Poor diet, or faulty digestion restricts the absorption of nutrients that are important to skin’s health.

Moreover, alcohol consumption can cause liver disease. The liver is the main food processing center of the body, and it’s the one responsible for turning the nutrients from food into minerals that your skin can use. A sluggish liver cannot store skin-nourishing vitamins such as Vitamin A.

Having a better looking skin may mean you need to transform your lifestyle. Besides regular cleaning and a wholesome lifestyle, you may also need to use skin products that are especially made for your skin type. You can use moisturizers or skin products with a lot of moisturizers to cure your dry and flaky skin.

Direct sun exposure can damage your skin. Moreover, it can cause skin cancer. To avoid direct exposure to the sun, use a sun block with SPF 15 at least even on overcast days. The ultraviolet rays of the sun are always present, even if the sun isn’t shining as brightly. We cannot control the way the environment is getting denuded directly, but we can at least do this to prevent the effects of the damaged environment from reaching our skin.

Allergens. To be safe, always apply a dab of a new skin care product on the inside of your elbow and wait for 24 hours before using the product on your whole body. This is to make sure you’re not inadvertently using a skin care product that you’re allergic to.

Be very careful when choosing your moisturizing soap, lotion, cream, and other skin care products. There is such a thing as over-pampering, which could lead to allergies. Use gentle skin care products or those endorsed by health professionals. Sometimes, the development of pimples is the result of using harsh ingredients, comedogenic substances (those that cause pimples) and products that contain too much chemicals and scents.