Skin Care
Sunny, a teenager, was attracted to classmate of his. He finally got the courage to ask her out on a date. On the D–day, to his horror he found a big pimple on his face. He was tempted to cancel the whole program just because of the ‘Zit’ but that is a different story.

Teenage or adolescence–a time when appearances do matter and hormones play havoc in the human body. One on the unwanted by–products of this being acne. Zinc and essential fatty acids are required for the maturing organs in the body especially the gonads and the skin. A teenage body has to decide how to ration these small amounts of essential building material it is given through an adolescent diet which is usually junk food. The question the body faces is whether it should use it for the growing body or to promote skin health.

But this is not the only cause of acne. Stress, hormones, missing nutrients, intestinal problems, genetic disposition could be some of the factors that create havoc with the skin. Antibiotics or skin ointments may improve symptoms initially but in the long term may worsen the condition. A healthy diet also means having healthy skin. For those who are specially prone to having acne, the following tips should help improve the condition.

Binge on salads
Include lot of raw food in form of greens and salads in your food. Fiber–rich foods and beneficial bacteria are both essential for healthy skin. A lack of fiber leads to constipation which causes to circulate through out the body and come out through the skin.

Find low calorie snack alternatives
Wafers, pokadas, vadas, samosas are snacks that we eat without giving too much thought. Most of these are deep fried and saturated with oil. Highly heated fats have negative effects on overall wellness and skin health. Even baked goods like puffs contain margarine or hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenated oils interfere with hormones called the prostaglandin’s that keep the skin healthy.

Promote liver health
Excess of alcohol creates stress on the liver. Liver and skin are both organs of detoxification. If the liver is under stress and not doing a good job of getting rid of toxic materials more toxins will come out through the skin, decreasing skin quality. In other words a healthy liver is critical for skin health.

Drink to your health
Water is on drink that you can guzzle without worrying about it. One to one and a half liter of water consumed daily helps wash out all the waste from the body.

Oxgenate you lungs
Take deep breaths early morning. Breathing fresh air ensures better oxygenation of blood supplied to the body including the skin. Smoking not only increases the toxins that need to be eliminated by the body it also causes the skin to feel dry.

Chill out
Learn to relax and get adequate sleep. Regular exercise keeps the body toned but also activates the sweat glands and promotes the process of elimination of wastes. If you have a good work out it also ensures that you have good sleep. Beauty may be skin deep but as first impressions are lasting impressions there is no harm to in looking after it. Human skin is the largest organ of the body. It probably has the greatest number of functions. Your overall appearance is greatly affected by the quality of your skin.

Skin Functions
Your skin provides

• A watertight covering of the body.
• Precaution against the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
• Regulation of body temperature.
• Perspiration release through pores onto your skin.
• Communication with the outside environment.
• Sensors for pain, pressure and temperature.

Skin Layers
Your skin has three main layers:

• The epidermis.
• The dermis.
• The hypodermis.

The epidermis is built of dead and living Cells. There are many layers of cells in the epidermis. Dead cells make up the outermost layer. During washing, the cells of the outer skin are shed. In this way, your outer skin is completely replaced about once a month. But new cells are produced by the inner layered of the epidermis. In this layer you will find cells containing melanin. Melanin gives the skin its color–the more melanin the darker the skin, and melanin helps protect skin from UV radiation. When you sunbathe melanin production increases, causing your skin to tan or darken.

The dermis is the inner, thicker layer of skin. The dermis has Protein fibers that give skin its elasticity and flexibility. Nerve endings, glands and hair follicles extend into the dermis. There are two main kinds of glands in the dermis:

• Sebaceous glands.
• Sweat glands.

Sebaceous glands connect to hair follicles and produce an oily secretion called sebum. Sebum oils the skin and hair and helps protect against some pathogens. Sweat glands secrete perspiration through ducts to pores on the surface of your skin. Perspiration is a mixture of water and waste products. Perspiration itself does not have any odor. Bacteria acting on your perspiration cause an odor and you need to regularly shower or bathe to prevent the growth of that bacteria. The hypodermis connects you skin to muscles and bones. This layer serves as the body’s natural insulation against heat and cold.