How to Improve my Skin Texture and Get Smoother Skin

The texture of your skin on your face can say quite a lot about you. Your living environment, your habits, healthy or otherwise, your diet and so on. 

In this article, you'll learn how to improve your skin's texture, how to get smoother skin and how to simply look and feel amazing by making a few simple changes to your daily routine.

It's hard not to feel a certain amount of pressure living up to the various expectations set by the societies we live in. Being financially stable, being a good partner, a good parent or a good friend.

These pressures ratchet up once you include the effects of your social media feeds presenting the highly curated and photoshopped lives of our friends and influencers. And to make matters worse, now we're expected to be constantly camera-ready for that steady stream of Zoom calls we're expected to be on every week.

Getting good at stuff requires discipline. You don’t get lean and muscular by visiting the gym once a week. You can’t eat a salad on Monday and then smash down pizza for the rest of the week and expect to lose weight.

Good habits take a minimum level of consistency before they stick but once in get your groove it becomes pretty awesome. People who go to the gym eventually find their bodies start to really crave that next workout. Once you start eating clean and lean, you can’t imagine polluting your temple-of-a-body with that same junk food that used to taste so fabulous.

Achieving great skin is no different. With a little work and a little consistency, you can create those new habits that will eventually become relaxing and therapeutic.

What kind of skin are you working with?

There can be a big difference in your approach depending on your skin type and its current condition. Mostly, the world is divided into two types of people. Those with dry skin and those with oily skin.

Dry skin people will find they have a rough complexion with red patches, and hard-to-see pores. They’ll experience cracking, peeling, itchiness, or inflammation. The backs of the hands, arms and legs might feel particularly rough and scaly.

Oily skin people will experience both a dull or a shiny complexion with large, more visible pores which are prone to breakouts of blackheads and pimples. Oily skin usually gets worse due to:

• Too much heat or humidity
• Hormonal imbalances
• Stress

Combination skin. Yes some people experience both: dry in some areas, oily in others. Those with combination skin tend to experience more blackheads, look more shiny, and produce more oil on the nose, forehead, and chin areas.

Combination skin can get worse due to any combination of the aforementioned conditions.

So what does your skin texture say about you?

Your skin texture can give away your habits, the environment you live in, and your mood. Those who live in a warm, sunny area where air conditioners are alway running are more likely to have dry skin. Think Vegas or Phoenix. Or perhaps you live in Chicago but you spend most of your winters on the tanning bed.

Conversely, those who hail from the humid marshlands of Florida will more than likely have oily skin.

Why does your skin get rough?

Though you may like the idea of being permanently bronzed like a Greek goddess, those UV rays you’re soaking up are working hard to mess up your skin. It doesn’t really make much of a difference whether you’re frequenting your local tanning salon or hitting the beach. UVA and UVB rays will get you. UVA rays cause skin cells to age and they damage the cell DNA. Even on a seemingly cloudy day, as much as 80 percent of UV rays can penetrate the clouds.

When exposed for a prolonged period, collagen fibers and elastin in your skin can break down and lead to a rougher appearance. Not surprisingly, drinking a lot of water every day really helps your skin's elasticity in addition to all the benefits of being generally well hydrated.

Another dry skin culprit is smoking. And while yes, smoking too much should also be avoided, we’re more specifically talking about smoking cigarettes. Tobacco smoke, both externally and ingested internally, leads to premature wrinkling and aging of the skin. As Nancy Reagan taught us, Just Say No …

How do I get smoother skin?

• Wear sunscreen everyday. Even when it’s cloudy! We recommend a 30 SPF or higher. And then reapply often, about every two hours for heavy sun days.
• Drink lots of water! Start your day with a nice big bottle, keep drinking it and keep filling it up. Bathroom breaks be damned!
• Cut the cigs if you’re a smoker, or your friends if they are the smokers blowing their smoke onto your delicate face.
• Purchase a humidifier if you live in a dry area, a dry house or a dry apartment. Cold climates can be super dry because the heating is always on and you tend to feel less thirsty so you're getting dehydrated from both the inside and outside.
• Then there’s exercise. We know that’s a sore subject for a lot of us, but a little bit can work wonders for the texture of your skin. It turns out getting a little sweat on your yoga pants can help thicken the outer layer of your skin.

So there you have it. A blueprint for getting better, softer, smoother skin and we got there without even talking about any skincare products!