Proper skin care can delay the natural aging process and prevent many skin problems.

Your busy lifestyle leaves little time for pampering skin care. The result: Your skin isn't the baby-soft body glove you were born with. As you age, your skin gradually becomes thinner and finely wrinkled. Oil-producing (sebaceous) glands grow less active, leaving your skin drier. The number of blood vessels in your skin decreases, your skin becomes more fragile, and you lose your youthful color and glow.

Good skin care — such as avoiding the sun, washing your skin gently and applying moisturizer regularly — can help delay the natural aging process and prevent many skin problems. These simple skin-care habits will help you protect your skin to keep it healthy and glowing for years to come.

1. Protect yourself from the sun

The most important way to take care of your skin is to protect it from the sun. Ultraviolet light — the invisible but intense rays from the sun — damages your skin, causing deep wrinkles, dry, rough skin, liver spots, and more serious disorders, such as noncancerous (benign) and cancerous (malignant) skin tumors. In fact, most of the changes seen in aging skin are actually caused by a lifetime of sun exposure.

For the most complete sun protection, use all three of these methods:

Avoid the sun during high-intensity hours. The sun's rays are most damaging from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reduce the time you spend outdoors during these hours.

Wear protective clothing. Cover your skin with clothing, such as long-sleeved shirts, long pants and wide-brimmed hats. Also, keep in mind that certain clothing styles and fabrics offer better protection from the sun than do others. For example, long-sleeved shirts offer better protection than short-sleeved shirts do. And tightly woven fabrics such as denim are better than are loosely woven fabrics such as knits. Several companies now make sun protective clothing (SPF clothing), which is specifically designed to block out ultraviolet rays while keeping you cool and comfortable.

Use sunscreen. Choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) greater than 15. Apply liberally 20 minutes before going outdoors and reapply every two hours, after heavy sweating or after being in water.

2. Don't smoke

Smoking accelerates aging of your skin and increases wrinkles. Skin changes from smoking can appear in young adults after 10 years of smoking.
Smoking causes narrowing of the tiny blood vessels in the outermost layers of skin. This decreases blood flow, depleting the skin of oxygen and nutrients, such as vitamin A, that are important to skin health. All of these factors increase damage to the elastic fibers (elastin) and collagen, which give your skin strength and elasticity.

In addition, the repetitive facial expressions you make when smoking — such as pursing your lips when inhaling and squinting your eyes to keep out smoke — may contribute to wrinkles. It's also possible that repeated exposure to the heat from burning cigarettes may damage your facial skin over time.

3. Wash your skin gently

Cleansing is an essential part of caring for your skin. The key is to treat your skin gently.

Use warm water and limit bath time. Hot water and long showers or baths remove oils from your skin. Limit your bath or shower time to about 15 minutes or less, and use warm, rather than hot, water.

Avoid strong soaps. Strong soaps — those most capable of stripping oil from your skin — can leave your skin dry. Instead, choose mild soaps or detergent substitutes with added oils and fats. Good choices include Dove, Vanicream, Cetaphil and Purpose.

Avoid irritating additives. If your skin is sensitive, avoid products containing perfumes or dyes. These can irritate your skin and may trigger an allergic response.

Remove eye makeup carefully. Use a soft sponge, cotton cloth or cotton balls when removing eye makeup to avoid damaging the delicate tissue around your eyes. If you wear heavy, waterproof makeup, you may need to use an oil-based product, such as Eucerin, Aquaphor or petroleum jelly, to remove makeup.

Pat dry. After washing or bathing, gently pat or blot your skin dry with a towel so that some moisture remains on the skin. Immediately moisturize your skin with an oil or cream.

4. Moisturize regularly

Moisturizers help maintain your skin's natural moisture levels. They work by providing a seal over your skin — to keep water from escaping — or by slowly releasing water into your skin.

The moisturizer that's best for you and the frequency with which you need to moisturize depend on many factors, including your skin type, your age and whether you have specific conditions such as acne. A good way to test if you need a moisturizer is to wait 20 minutes after bathing. If your skin feels tight, you should apply a moisturizer.

Select a moisturizer with an SPF of at least 15 to help protect your skin from damaging ultraviolet rays. If you have sensitive skin, look for products free of heavy dyes, perfumes or other additives. If your skin is very dry, you may want to apply an oil, such as baby oil, while your skin is still moist. Oil has more staying power than moisturizers do and prevents the evaporation of water from the surface of your skin. If your skin is oily, you may want to skip moisturizing.

5. Shave carefully

Shaving is a common and inexpensive way to remove unwanted hair. But shaving can cause skin irritations, especially if your skin is thin, dry or very sensitive. For a smooth shave:

Press a warm wash cloth on your skin before shaving to soften the hair. Or shave after a warm bath or shower.

Don't shave dry skin, which can cause razor burn. Apply shaving cream, lotion or gel before shaving to protect and lubricate your skin.

Use a clean, sharp razor. If using an electric razor, don't use the closest setting, which can aggravate the skin.

Shave in the direction of hair growth, not against it.

Rinse your skin afterward with warm water.

If irritation does occur, apply a lotion that doesn't contain ethyl or isopropyl alcohol. Though alcohol and alcohol-based products may feel cooling, they don't really soothe irritated skin because the alcohol evaporates rapidly from the skin.

恰当的皮肤护理能延缓皮肤的自然老化进程，预防许多皮肤问题。

忙碌的生活使你几乎没有足够的时间来护理肌肤。结果是：你的皮肤不再像刚出生时那般柔软。随着年龄的增长，皮肤会逐渐变薄，出现细小皱纹。产油的腺体（皮脂腺）的活性减弱，你的皮肤会变得干燥。随着皮肤血管的减少，皮肤会变得更加脆弱，你将会失去年经的颜色和光彩。

好的肌肤护理--比如避免阳光照射，轻柔的清洗和有规律的补水，有助于延缓肌肤的自然老化过程，能预防许多肌肤问题。这些简单的肌肤护理习惯将有助于你保护好你的皮肤，在接下来的岁月里，使皮肤保持健康和光彩。

1 保护自己免受阳光的照射

呵护自己皮肤的最重要方法是保护皮肤免受阳光的照射。紫外光线-太阳发出的，虽然看不见但很强烈的光线-能损伤你的皮肤，使皮肤产生深纹、干燥和粗糙，长斑，甚至带来更严重的疾病，比如良性和恶性皮肤肿瘤。实际上，皮肤老化中大多数变化是由终身暴露在阳光下的引起。

做到最全面的太阳防护，下列三个方法都要采用：.

在阳光强烈的时间段，避免接触阳光。从上午9点到下午4点，太阳光损害性最大。减少这一时段的户外活动时间。

穿防护衣。穿长袖衫、长裤，戴宽沿帽子来遮掩皮肤。也要记住一定的服装样式和织品能更好的防护阳光。例如，长袖衫比短袖衫的防护效果要好。纹理紧密的梭织品像丁尼布的防晒效果要优于针脚松散的针织品。有家公司现在在生产防晒衣服（SPF衣服），这种衣服在使你保持凉爽和舒适的同时，经过特定设计来阻挡紫外线。

使用防晒霜。选择防晒值高于15的宽频度防晒霜。在出门之前20分钟充分涂抹。在出汗和水洗之后，每2小时重新涂抹一次。

2 不要抽烟

吸烟会加速皮肤的老化，增添皱纹。年轻成年人吸烟引起的皮肤变化会在10年后显现出来。

吸烟导致皮肤最外层毛细血管变窄。这使血流量减少，使皮肤氧气和营养枯竭，例如对皮肤健康很重要的维他命A。所有这些因素增加了对弹性纤维（弹力蛋白）和胶原质的损害，它们能给皮肤力量和弹性。.

此外，当你吸烟时，不断重复的面部表情-当吸气时撅起嘴唇，吐气时眯缝眼睛-可能会产生皱纹。也可能是不断暴露在燃烧香烟的热气之下，时间久了，你的面部皮肤会受到损害。

3 轻柔的清洗皮肤

清洗是护肤的重要部分。关键是要温柔的对待你的皮肤。

用温水洗澡，限制沐浴时间。热水和长时间洗浴会清除掉你皮肤上的油。把洗浴时间限制在15分钟以下，用温水，而不是热水。

不用强烈的肥皂。强烈的肥皂-哪些最可能夺除你皮肤上的油的肥皂-会使你的皮肤处于干燥状态。反之，选用温和型的香皂或补充油脂的清洁剂替代品。好的选择包括Dove, Vanicream, Cetaphil and Purpose。

不用刺激性的添加剂。如果你的皮肤属于敏感型，不用含有香料和燃料的产品。这些会刺激你的皮肤，有可能引起过敏反应。

小心地进行眼部卸妆。进行眼部卸妆时，要用软海绵，棉布或者棉球，以免损害眼睛周围的纤细组织。如果妆浓，用的是防水化妆品，你需要用Eucerin, Aquaphor or petroleum jelly等油产品来除去化妆品。

拍打干。在洗浴之后，用毛巾轻柔的拍打或吸干皮肤，以使皮肤保持水汽。立即用油膏润湿皮肤。

4 有规律的补充水分

润肤乳液有助于皮肤保持天然水分。它们能给皮肤提供一层保护膜来锁住水分，或者缓慢地向皮肤释放水分。

最适合你的润肤膏和你需要补水的频率取决于许多因素。包括你的皮肤类型、年龄、你是否有诸如座疮等特殊情况。检测是否需要补水的最好方法是在沐浴后等上20分钟，如果皮肤感到紧，就该涂抹润肤膏了。

选择一款SPF值不低于15的润肤乳有助于保护你的皮肤免受紫外线的损害。如果你是敏感型皮肤，选用不含燃料、香料或其它添加剂的产品。如果你的皮肤是干燥型的，即使皮肤仍然湿润，你可能愿意用诸如婴儿油这样的油性产品。 油性产品的持久力优于润肤乳，能阻止皮肤表面水分的蒸发。如果你的皮肤是油性的，你可能不想补水。

5 小心刮脸

刮是一项普遍和低廉的除去多余毛发的方式。但刮会刺激皮肤，尤其是如果你的皮肤薄、干燥、及其敏感的话。顺利的刮脸应这样：

在刮之前在皮肤上覆盖一块干净浴巾来软化毛发。或者在温水洗浴之后再刮。

不要刮干的皮肤，会损坏剃刀的。在刮之前，用剃须膏、化妆水或胶凝体来保护和润滑皮肤。

要用一把干净、锋利的刮刀。如果用电动刀，不要用最近的设置，会加重皮肤的承受力。

顺着胡须生长的方向刮，而不是逆向。

刮完之后用温水冲洗皮肤。

如果没有引起过敏，使用不含乙基或异丙醇的护肤液。 虽然酒精和含酒精成分的产品也许使你感到凉，但它们并不能缓解过敏的皮肤，因为酒精很快会从皮肤上蒸发掉。