Skin is one of the most important organelles of the body. The skin protects you, skin holds you together, skin allows us to touch. The skin sounds pretty important doesn’t it?

Taking care of your skin should become a routine. Washing your face will help protect you against acne and oils. If your glands in your skin become too inflamed because of excess oils and acne, you may get scars from the pore being permanently damaged. Simply washing your face twice daily improves your skin health by removing impurities, dead skin and extra oil, which can ultimately cause less acne to form and make your face smoother.

Another big skin scare is the sun. With summer approaching, it is very important that you protect your skin from damaging UV rays. Not only can the sun burn you, it can cause wrinkles and if you receive enough harsh sunburns, you are at a higher risk for skin cancer. The regular use of light sunscreen SPF 15 or less can ultimate decrease your chances of skin cancer caused by sun damage by almost 40 percent, according to the National Skin Cancer Foundation. Applying light sunscreen daily will give your skin a protective layer against UV rays and can help your skin be less penetrable by the rays in the future. Many makeup brands are now including sunscreen in their concealers and foundations to help protect the skin. New innovative ways to incorporate sunscreen into your daily life come out every day. Some lotions come with mixed in sunscreen, clothes are made to be UV ray resistant and some face washes have different vitamins in them to help fight the sun.

High school students also struggle with lack of sleep. Sleep deprivations can do more harm to the skin than you may think. Not getting enough sleep leads to bags under the eyes, which can cause your moisture levels drop and leading to more wrinkles. When the moisture levels in your skin drop, your “young glow” goes away and your complexion drops, according to dermatologist Lily Takolab. Bags under your eyes are caused when your blood vessels dilate because of sleep depravity. Other than just simply getting more sleep, adding an extra pillow or more head support can also help fight bags and eye wrinkles because the gravity pull fights against your blood vessels.

Your skin is very important and it needs special care to stay in tip-top shape. The simple routine of washing your face, moisturizing, wearing sunscreen and getting enough sleep is the difference between healthy, full and glowing skin and dry, wrinkly, blotchy skin.

Other skin tips…

• Face masks help many different skin conditions
• Consider a chemical peel
• Clean eating/fruit helps the skin
• Exercising helps the pores
• Hot water helps remove oils
• After washing your face, rinse with cold water to shrink pores