While everyone stresses themselves out with their New Year's resolutions to lose weight and achieve the beach body of their dreams, other people aim for a more realistic goal – getting their youthful and radiant skin back.
I consider this resolution more realistic due to the fact that sticking to a diet and exercise plan is much harder than just remembering to moisturize your skin a few times a day.
And with people also making resolutions to start spending less money in the New Year, treatments for your skin are also much more friendly to your wallet than expensive diets are.
On top of THAT, many of the ways listed in this article will not even require you to buy anything – they are just simple changes that you can make to your daily routine. Without further ado, let's get started!
1.) It Is Time To Quit Smoking
I have written a lot of these list articles pertaining to ways you can improve various facets of your life. And one of the few constants in all of those articles is to quit smoking. There are no health benefits to smoking and a plethora of health issues that stem from it.
One of the biggest issues that stem from smoking a lot is of course, cancer. But did you know that smoking also negatively impacts your skin? Smoking changes the color of your skin to an unattractive color that is not youthful nor radiant.
It also turns your teeth an ugly rotten yellow color. In addition to all of that, smoking also causes your to start getting wrinkly skin far sooner than it should. In case all of that is not enough to convince you to quit smoking, you should probably know that smoking also increases the time it takes to heal any sore and or cut that you end up getting on your skin.
If your New Year's resolution is to improve your skin complexion, you should also make a resolution to stop smoking if you are a smoker. It will not be easy, but it will definitely be worth it in the long run.
2.) Take More Bubble Baths
This is one that draws a lot of debate from skin experts and regular people alike. Some people think that taking a lot of hot baths actually hurts your skin by drying it out (ironic, right?).
However, I am of the opinion that taking plenty of hot baths can be good for your skin. It makes you feel incredibly good and helps you fall asleep easier. This benefits your skin because when muscles are not tensed up and they are able to relax, the stress on your skin is greatly relieved.
And of course being able to fall asleep easier has tremendous benefits on the skin and the body as a whole. You could also try taking a salt bath. This type of bath will decrease irritation on your skin as well as get rid of any toxins that have gotten into your skin.
3.) Consume A Lot Of Water
Another recommendation that is a constant on my lists is to consume more water. It just has so many benefits for the body that one cannot simply not drink water and expect to live a healthy life.
When you quench your thirst with a nice glass of water, it makes your skin nice and moisturized as well.
4.) Relieve Your Stress
Stress has disastrous effects on the skin, especially when you are suffering from constant severe stress.
It is one of the leading causes of the “aging” effect on the skin. Let 2017 be the year that you stay away from potentially stressful situations and if your stress is really bad, you should see a doctor or another trusted health expert to get the help that you need.
5.) It Is Time To Start Working Out
Another constant on all of my health lists is to work out regularly. While the positive effects of working out on other facets of your health (such as your weight and your muscle mass) are more obvious, the positive effects it has on your skin are not quite as obvious.
They may not be as obvious, but that does not mean they are not as beneficial. If you have just done an intense work out and sweat a lot, you are already helping your skin. Why? When you sweat, any nasty toxins that are residing in your skin will be sent packing and will be sweated out.
I strongly suggest that you take a nice bath right after your intense work out so that all of those toxins can be washed away instead of finding their way back into your skin after being sweated out.
If you have resolutions to lose weight and repair your skin, working out more often is something that you MUST do!
6.) Make Sure That You Get Some Sleep
And also make sure that you get at least eight hours of it every night. I briefly touched on it earlier that sleep helps to rejuvenate the skin, among all of the other rejuvenating properties it has for the whole body.
During the time that you are asleep is when your skin works the hardest to repair itself. When you are not getting enough sleep, your skin obviously does not get the time that it needs to fix itself and you will notice the effects.
Getting at least eight hours of sleep each night is another constant on all of my health lists because sleep is just so vital to keep your body running properly.
7.) Stay Away From Artificial Skin Products
Some of the most popular products out there for your skin are full of artificial chemicals that could cause more harm than good to your skin.
Not only could they trigger an allergic reaction, but some of the chemical mixtures could just simply irritate your skin or cause more severe damage, even if you are not allergic. Instead of going for those artificial skin products, look for more organic sources. Plant-based skin products are usually the best ones to go for.
Try some Aloe Vera – it is relatively easy to find in stores and is a tremendous skin moisturizer. This might be the most pricey method on this list, but if you go the Aloe Vera route, it should not cost you that much.
8.) Clean Your Skin On Regular Occasions – Especially Right Before Bed
Cleaning your skin with water on regular occasions lead the pores on your skin to open right up. And when they open up, your skin is able to fix itself and get all of the nasty toxins that live in those pores out.
For the ladies out there, you need to stop falling asleep without washing your make-up off of your face. This is a terrible habit that can really hurt your skin – as all of those chemicals in make-up products seep into the pores on your skin.
And once they seep into the pores, they tend to clog them up and cause acne among other nasty skin conditions. On top of that, when you sleep with clogged pores, it prevents your skin from fixing itself as you sleep.
9.) You Have Skin To Take Care Of Elsewhere, As Well
Whenever people start trying to work on fixing their skin, they focus primarily on the skin on their face. Those people need to realize that there is skin all over the body that needs attention as well.
Years ago I had a really bad outbreak of dry skin on my hands and it was really unsightly. That really woke me up and I started paying special attention to the skin on my hands and the skin elsewhere on my body.
Besides your face, the other two important places on your body where the effects of aging start to appear on your skin are on your neck and the aforementioned hands. Make sure to give them some TLC (tender loving care) as well.
10.) You Have To Start Eating Healthier
I know that earlier I said that this resolution should be easier than losing weight because you will not have to start sticking to an expensive diet. And I am still right in that regard. Skin-friendly diets are not nearly as strict as weight-losing ones. It will not even require you to completely change what you eat.
You just have to introduce certain foods into your current diet. Fruits and vegetables are must for any healthy lifestyle and therefore introducing more of them into your diet will provide plenty of benefits that extend far beyond just having healthy skin.
Eating fruits help to moisturize your skin and give a kickstart to your skin cells. Vegetables provide similar benefits, but are more potent at making your skin look youthful and radiant than fruits. I just suggest fruits more because people generally find them more palatable than vegetables.
11.) Eat Some Dark Chocolate
Chocolate?! How could I put this right after saying you should start eating healthier? The answer is simple. Dark chocolate is good for you and your skin. As long as you get natural dark chocolate that is full of cocoa, you will reap the benefits of the many nutrients that are contained within cocoa.
It is only the heavily processed chocolate like Hershey's that is bad for you. But chocolate made from mostly its natural ingredient, cocoa, is good for your health. This is due to the high content of antioxidants known as flavanols that reside within cocoa.
These antioxidants work to protect your cells (including skin cells) from the harmful effects of oxidation which damage those cells and limit their abilities to fix your skin and other parts of the body. On top of that, these antioxidants work to moisturize the skin and keep it from drying out.
And perhaps the most exciting benefit of eating dark chocolate is that it can actually help you lose weight, reduce your risk of diabetes, and even lower your chances of coming down with cancer. Incredible, right? And all of these benefits from a food generally regarded as unhealthy…
Beauty Resolutions Summary
I know that it is already February and some of you have already given up on your New Year's resolutions. Look – it is never too late to make an effort to improve your health.
Do you really need a New Year to take the initiative to live healthier? No! Take the steps now and improve your life.
Whether your resolution is to lose weight, improve your skin, save more money, or work out more – do not hesitate! I hope this article goes a long way in ensuring that you achieve your skin-rejuvenating goals for this year.
