5 Natural Beauty Tips For Radiant Skin

The beauty industry is a multi billion dollar industry, with creams, lotions, potions and more which are all claimed to make your skin look more youthful, brighter and radiant. I’m not saying these don’t work, as some of them actually do, but what I am saying is that radiant, glowing, healthy skin comes from within. The foods you eat, the daily things you do and don’t do, they all add up and they all show through in your bodies biggest organ. I’ve listed 5 natural ways that you can improve your skins health and appearance, all without any products, just through the things we do each day and night! This includes sleep, food, water, exercise and happiness! These are 5 of the key factors which play the biggest role in our skins appearance! Check it out below!

Get 7-8 Hours Sleep

Image courtesy of Zenbedrooms.com

I’m sure you all know the saying ‘beauty sleep’ and it’s called beauty sleep for a reason. Getting enough sleep each night (preferably 7-8 hours) gives your body that much needed rest and you will look healthier and feel more refreshed. Nobody likes having dark circles under their eyes (often caused by lack of sleep), but not getting enough Z’s can also make your skin duller, look more lifeless, make your eyes look and feel tired and dull too, as well as not letting you function at your best ability.

Sleep is a highly important part of our lives and much like food and water, without sleep your body will get so deprived and exhausted, it can’t function anymore. In order to get the best looking skin that glows with radiance, you must make sure you are getting enough proper sleep! Make sure your beds comfortable, you have peace and quiet and some place that you can really relax! Try reading before bed or having a bath to relax you before you actually lay your head on the pillow if you struggle with the whole winding down process. It’s always best to avoid any stimulants before bed too, such as caffeine, TV or computer screens, or anything that makes you too energetic as it will be harder to relax into your sleep.

Drink Enough Water

Image courtesy of Eat Yourself Skinny

Everyone says that you should drink 8 glasses of water a day, but depending on your height and body weight, you might need less or more. You should aim to drink a little more water than you need so you can keep your skin and body hydrated and plump, as well as keeping your eyes sparkling and your brain functioning. Water not only hydrates you, but it also carries the nutrients from your food around your body to your cells, to keep you fueled, so it has a very important added benefit! Without water, you don’t get all of your nutrients from your food, dispersed around your system. It’s really simple! I’ve added a water jug with lemon in the photo because adding lemon to your water gives the added benefit of removing toxins and giving your immune system a boost due to the vitamin c and other minerals. Lemons are also supposed to give you an energy boost, aid digestion and cleanse your digestive system. So instead of your morning coffee, why not opt for a glass of cold water with lemon?

Eat Nutrient Rich Foods

Image courtesy of Divine Glowing Health

You might have heard the term ’empty calories’ and that is exactly what it means; calories with little to no nutritional value, for example fast food and processed foods. These foods just fill you up, but don’t actually benefit your body or give it the fuel and nutrients it needs to function. Instead of choosing convenience foods, make sure you eat your vegetables and fruit as they are full of vitamins and minerals and are an amazing source of nutrients! When you feel hungry, your body needs fuel to keep functioning so make sure you feed it nutrient rich foods! Some of the best fruits and vegetables for your skin to make it glow and feel energized are carrots, avocado, lemon, oranges etc for all different reasons!

To get your daily dose of Vitamin C, you should eat blackcurrants, blueberries, broccoli, guava, kiwi fruits, oranges, papaya, strawberries and sweet potatoes. These are great antioxidants and also help the production of collagen! Vitamin E protects the skin from damage and also helps support skin growth, try including almonds, avocado, hazelnuts, pine nuts and sunflower and corn oils in your diet. Omega 3 is another important part of our diets! Make sure you get enough as these are the essential fatty acids which cannot be made in the body and must be eaten. You can find Omega 3 in oily fish and plant sources such as flaxseed oil, linseeds, walnut and rapeseed oil. These are great for the skin as they encourage the body to produce anti-inflammatory compounds, which can help skin, particularly inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema and psorasis. Don’t forget other important minerals like Iron, which can come from dark green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach and more!

Get Some Exercise

Image courtesy of Karma Jello

You may hate the idea of going to the gym or actually doing exercise as you would prefer to watch something on the TV or read a good book, but the truth is that exercise really does help the body in every aspect. I’m not saying you need to immediately take up running a marathon or doing boot camp, but just some light cardio is a great option. It stimulates your blood flow and gets your metabolism pumping! Your heart works harder so the blood gets pumped around your skin even more than usual, which gives you that flushed look. This doesn’t look attractive of course, but the more stimulation, the better your skin cells reproduce and heal so your skin looks healthier overalls. Not to mention you sweat out your toxins through your pores, so it’s a great way to get out any unwanted visitors!

If you are family orientated and don’t have much spare time, why not take up something fun that you can all do like cycling or a family activity? Kids always have energy! Or if you prefer to exercise alone, an exercise bike is a great option as it’s not too strenuous and is gentle on the joints, as is swimming! There are plenty of ways to incorporate movement into your daily routine!

Happiness

Image courtesy of Huffington Post

Finally, happiness! You might think ‘happiness? how is that going to work?’ but it does! Have you ever noticed how tired, dull and lifeless your skin can look when you are stressed or upset? It can also cause breakouts as well (tips on this will be in another post). If you are happy, your skin tends to look and feel a lot better! You want to eat better, you want to move around, you generally want to enjoy life a lot more than when you are a bit down in the dumps. It’s important to take that ‘me time’ that you need!

Get settled into an amazing book which inspires you, watch some funny movies, plan more date nights with your partner, head over to the park to enjoy the scenery… There are lots of free and inexpensive things that can contribute to your happiness and it will show through on the outside. Not to mention all of the smiling you will be doing! If you are heading outside though, be sure to wear sun cream! The sun doesn’t just give you that amazing Vitamin D, it’s also really damaging to the skin over time and ages it prematurely as well as the chance it can give you skin cancer, so be sure to wear your sun cream all over, especially on your face! Don’t forget it!

– The Fashion Supernova