Do You Have Healthy Skin? Here’s How to Find Out
Our skin is the largest organ of our bodies and is just as important as our lungs, brain or heart. And while it’s easy to measure the health of the body’s other organs (scans, blood tests, etc.), our skin is a little more subjective. Before we can get into how to maintain healthy skin, first let’s take a look at what it actually means to have healthy skin. To learn about the signs and best practices in maintaining skin health, we decided to catch up with one of the experts.
What Does It Mean to Have Healthy Skin?
Certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, Christina Ponzio-Guarino, MSPA, specializes in adult acne and says, “To have healthy skin means to have skin that is hydrated and free of sun damage.”
Ah, two things I always (sometimes) remember to do—moisturize and protect. Ponzio-Guarino explains that SPF should be everyone’s best friend. Sun damage can lead to freckling, wrinkles, pre-cancers, atypical moles, basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and malignant melanoma. (Oh, my!)
“In addition to hydration and lack of sun damage,” she adds, “healthy skin is also even in color, is smooth, firm and elastic.”
How to Measure Your Skin Health
“Compared to measuring your blood pressure or cholesterol, measuring healthy skin is much less objective,” says Ponzio-Guarino. “It’s easier to begin with measures of unhealthy skin and those would include poor texture, lack of moisture, non-elasticity and uneven tone.”
Texture
Unhealthy: “If your skin is rough, bumpy or blotchy,” says Ponzio-Guarino, “these are clear unhealthy measures.”
Healthy: Your skin should look and feel smooth. Consistency among the appearance of pore size and hair follicles should be present.
Moisture and Hydration
Unhealthy: Often used interchangeably (because they have similar symptoms), dry and dehydrated skin are two separate concerns. If your skin is red, dry, tight or flaky, it could very well be dry and/or dehydrated. Even if your skin is oily, it could still be dehydrated. This is because without enough water in your skin, your pores can overcompensate by producing more sebum. Though we do produce oil to help our skin, an excess of it has the potential to create a bacteria-loving environment that we do not want to host! Read more
Also read Skin Care 101: Layers and Functions of Skin
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