Healthy skin requires commitment to a simple system of management at home. The best thing to do is to view this as part of your morning and evening hygiene, thus it will become routine and easily performed. The basic steps to facial care are: cleanse and exfoliate, tone and moisturize and protect the skin. We can always add to this basic routine with facial masks and special serums for the different age groups and for different skin problems.

The skin is our largest organ and will reflect and react to whatever we put into our body as well as what we put on our skin. Therefore part of the basic skin care routine includes the following:

• Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. While we sleep the skin is very active, renewing, cleaning oxygenating. The skin can�t do this cleanup and renewal if it doesn�t have time. Getting enough sleep will help to delay the aging of the skin and keep the skin in good shape avoiding bags and darkness under the eye.



• Stress increases all the hormones that increase oil, causes our bodies to remain in the fight/flight mode, decrease our immunities, etc. Most important is to reduce our daily stress in whatever ways are available: exercise daily, walk, lift weights, aerobics, yoga, and meditate or even take a 10 minute nap daily.



• Exercise will get our circulation moving thus increasing the oxygen through our body and bringing much needed nutrients to our organs, and remember that the skin is our largest organ.



• Drink at least eight glasses of water each day. All our organs especially the skin (our largest organ) benefit from maintaining the water content they need. Since our body is mostly water, we need to maintain this so that our lymph can drain the toxins from our body.


• Make sure that you include enough fiber and fruits and vegetables in your diet to maintain consistent elimination of toxins from your body.



• Include Omega 3 fatty acid at least 2 per day, or eat fatty fish 3 times a week. The Omega is not only good for your cholesterol but it is an anti inflammatory and helps keep our skin supple as well.



• Take supplements of antioxidants each day, they include: all our vitamins, A, B, C, D, E, and other antioxidants such as Alpha Lipoic Acid, Grape Seed, Silica. Antioxidants destroy the free radicals that run through our body and skin before they have a chance to attach to our cells (be it the cells of our body or skin).



• Use �Hydrator� ingredients that hold 1000 times their weight in moisture, such as Hyaluronic acid and Sodium PCA.



• Avoid sugar and processed foods and simple carbohydrates.



• Avoid the sun from 10:00 � 2:00 and wear sun block.



• Avoid excessive alcoholic beverages, antihistamines, diuretics and smoking as they are dehydrating and prevent the flow of oxygen to our cells.