Signs Your Skin is Unhealthy
Your skin tells the story of your health. An unhealthy diet, stress and injuries all show up on our skin. Unfortunately, your skin cannot speak with words. That’s why it’s so important to learn to recognize the messages that your skin is sending you.
Your Skin Isn’t Healing After an Injury
If you’ve gotten a cut or a burn that refuses to heal, that is still painful a week after the injury, smells bad or shows signs of significant redness or swelling, that’s your skin’s way of trying to signal its distress to you. Some injuries take more TLC than others do in order to heal properly. For example, burns and other skin injuries often require skin grafts for treatment. If you have an injury that stubbornly remains weeks after you first got it, consult with a skincare specialist to give yourself peace of mind and to give your skin a chance to truly heal.
Your Skin is Flaky
If your skin resembles lizard scales, then it’s time to examine your habits. Doing this allows you to uncover the cause of your skin’s flakiness. An overabundance of long, hot showers, not drinking enough water, harsh soaps and detergents, negative reactions to your diet or even the overuse of products like retinol can wreak havoc with your skin. Skin dryness can have other causes as well, including psoriasis, eczema and other chronic skin conditions. Healthy skin glows. It isn’t flaky, dry, itchy or scaly. If you can’t get the flakiness in your skin under control by changing your diet and drinking more water, it may be time for a visit to a dermatologist.
Your Skin Feels Tight
Many people erroneously believe that if your skin is tight after washing, then your skin is healthy. The opposite is true. Tight skin equals damaged skin. To avoid this eventuality, use gentle products to clean your skin. Also, take a look at the ingredients in the makeup you use. You may have sensitive skin and not even realize it. Some ingredients are more irritating than others for people with sensitive skin. One way to tell is to observe your skin over a period of days after you use makeup. Include a makeup-free day or two. If your skin responds badly to the makeup or clears up on your makeup-free days, you may want to consider alternatives, like permanent makeup. Taking steps like this eliminates the irritation caused by bad makeup.
Excessive Acne
Acne isn’t just embarrassing. It can be a sign of distressed skin. So, how can you tell what amount of acne is normal? If you get a zit once in a blue moon, you probably don’t have a serious issue with acne. However, if you’re constantly breaking out and have a serious acne problem, then it may be time to think about changing your makeup or skincare routine. Be sure to wash your face with a gentle cleanser and avoid sleeping with makeup on your face.
If you still get breakouts, it’s time to look at medical treatments and diet changes to try to get some relief. Knowing how to take care of your skin allows you to put your best face forward. Health problems like jaundice, cracked lips (a sign of dehydration) and a butterfly rash (a sign of lupus) all indicate health issues. Doctors can use your skin as a means to identify that your health isn’t up to par.
However, even less serious issues, like acne, can be an indication that you have too much stress or a diet gone bad. Anytime your skin shows signs of distress, it’s best to have it checked out.