Taking measures to prevent skin problems before they occur is always the best course of action you can take. Even so, sometimes things can get a little out of hand. In that case, it is best to be armed with a few additional tips. Don’t just know how to keep your skin looking healthy, know what to do when something goes wrong.

Make sure you keep your skin clean to keep it healthy. Use a good sponge or washcloth along with warm soapy water to help remove all the built up oil from your skin. Doing this helps reduce the amount of acne you’ll see. Make sure you replace your sponge or washcloth every so often to keep bacteria and germs from building up on it.

For clear skin, do more laundry — specifically, wash your bed linens. The oils and dirt from your skin are transferred to your pillow case while you sleep, so regularly washing your bed linens, especially your pillow case, prevents you from putting dirt and oil back on your skin every time you go to bed. Wash your pillow case every other day and your bed sheets at least once a week.

Exercise for great looking skin. You will get that after workout glow. Exercising increases your blood flow and oxygen levels which also increases the oxygen in your skin. This is vital for skin cell renewal. So pack your bags and hit the gym to turn back the hands of time.

So many skin care products are available now, making outrageous claims to turn back time, prevent wrinkles, and restore the fountain of youth. The truth is that wrinkles are a part of getting older. You should expect them in your skin. Heck, you’ve earned them! Dermabrasion can minimize their appearance, or you can trowel on thick, cakey makeups that plaster over them, but sooner or later, wrinkles are going to be on your face from here on out. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps when you’re younger to prevent them appearing prematurely. Staying out of the sun when you’re young, treating your skin gently when washing, and regular moisturizing are probably the three best ways for your wrinkles to be earned gracefully when they do finally appear.

To prevent wrinkles and age spots due to sun damage, limit your exposure to the sun. If possible, always apply a SPF 15 sunscreen that will protect your skin from UVB and UVA sun rays especially between the hours of 10 AM and 3 PM. Wear hats and long sleeves whenever possible to limit sun exposure.

To take care of your skin–especially your face–take the time to wash your bedding. This tip may not seem obvious at first, but it has proven critical to many acne sufferers and people with blotchy skin. We often overlook our dirty pillows and sheets. By sleeping on this dirt and oil night after night, we subject our face to added contaminants. This, in turn, may lead to poor skin.

Make your skin care routine easier for you to handle and remember by organizing your bathroom. The only products that need to be out are the ones that you use on a daily basis. This will help reduce the clutter on your bathroom counter and remind you which products to use when you’re in a hurry.

Since the leading cause of wrinkles is sun damage, you should use sunscreen every day, even when it is cloudy, and in winter. When you purchase a facial moisturizer, get one with sunscreen, it should contain either Mexoryl or Helioplex. Don’t use these at nighttime, as these ingredients aren’t made to stay on your face 24 hours a day.

Focus your skin care regiment onto your legs. Cuts and scratches on your lower legs take a while to heal and they are vulnerable to infection. Using a moisturizer can help prevent small openings from forming and shaving with a razor that has moisture strips, can also be beneficial.

To keep your skin looking its best, reduce stress and anxiety as part of your skin care routine. Taking steps to reduce and control stress in your daily life can help your skin look alive instead of tired and grey. Uncontrolled stress short circuits your skin’s natural ability to repair daily damage and often interferes with your ability to get the sleep you need for fresh looking skin.

If you have dry skin, consider a creamy facial cleanser. Bar soaps can often be very drying to the face and will deplete already dry skin of much needed moisture. Make sure you are not washing your face too often. For most people, washing their face just once a day is enough.

Those were just some of the many methods out there for keeping your skin looking great. When your skin is not looking ideal, try not to just shrug it off. You can always do something about it. Remember that for nearly every skin problem, there is almost always a solution.

Tips For A Healthy And Vibrant Complexion was originally published on Spring