Many of us believe that the way to take care of our skin is to stay away from the sun. We’ve been conditioned to think that too much sun will increase our risk of skin cancer. So we wear sunscreen, cover up or avoid going outside all together. Yes, too much sun can put us at risk of skin cancer, but not enough sun can put us at risk of many other health conditions including cardiovascular disease, various cancers, depression, dementia are just some of the health conditions associated with low vitamin D levels.

Our skin is our largest organ and it is important that we take care of it. The traditional advice of stay away from the sun may be putting you at even more risk than the sun itself. We don’t need to be afraid of the sun, instead let’s learn real ways to take care of our skin.

Here are the FIVE ways to take care of your skin:

  1. Get natural vitamin D. We need sunlight on our skin to get our natural source of vitamin D. Vitamin D is made in the skin when the skin is exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D is needed for proper growth and development of bones and teeth, it is needed for hormonal balance and normal immune function. I suggest getting 10 minutes of unprotected sun exposure per day to get your natural vitamin D.
  2. Use non-toxic skin products. Everything you put on your skin gets absorbed into your bloodstream so you need to choose non-toxic sunscreens, body lotions, personal care products and make-up. You need to read the labels and stay away from putting large amounts of toxins on your skin.
  3. Drink water. In order to keep your skin well hydrated from the inside out it is important to drink lots of water. The water should be filtered to take out the chlorine which can have damaging effects on the body.
  4. Sweat. Sweating either by exercising or going into an infrared sauna helps to naturally move toxins out of the skin. This is a great way to clean up and improve your skin.
  5. Heal from the inside out. Any time you see symptoms on the skin from rashes to eczema, it is an indication that there are imbalances in the body. We need to uncover and treat those imbalances instead of covering it up with creams. It is not until you address it from the internal environment that you will have lasting, sustainable results.

Let’s change our perspective of what it means to truly take care of our skin.