By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
20 unexpected everyday things that are harming your skin
b7dbdf8773c0d082c50aa5560935180950132af75d62586a70741ff95ce0bcad
There are things you do every day that are sabotaging your face! - photo by Chakell Wardleigh
Have you ever wondered what the secret to having supple, perfect skin is? Well, believe it or not, there are things you do every day that keep you from achieve that flawless look.

Here are 20 things that may be preventing a healthy glow.

1. Forgetting to moisturize

When you forget to moisturize your face at night, your skin can build up bacteria that causes breakouts. While you snooze, your skin can also get dry and flakey. Your moisturizer aids your skins nightly restoration process, so don't forget!

2. Your smart phone

Dont get too grossed out, but your smartphone has 18 times more bacteria than a public restroom. All this bacteria ends up on your face because it's on your phone! Gross! Be sure to give your phone a nice wipe down with a moist disinfectant wipe each day to avoid germs.

3. Lack of sleep

When you sleep, your skin starts to repair itself. When you dont get an adequate amount of sleep, your skin can start to show signs of wrinkles and aging. If you constantly skip out on getting enough sleep you will start to notice dark circles under your eyes and may even see permanent skin damage.

4. Touching your face

Touching your face can be a trigger for acne. Your hands are covered with oils and bacteria, so when you touch your face, those extra oils from your hands can clog pores. If you're in the habit of touching your face, you will notice little acne volcanoes popping up on your cheeks, nose, and forehead.

5. Popping acne

Although there are some avid pimple poppers in the world, popping a zit is one of the deadly sins of ruining your skin. Dermatologists warn that picking at blemishes can leave lasting scars and discolorations.

6. Taking hot showers

Though you might think you need a hot, steamy shower to melt away your stress, your skin does not. The hot steam can strip your skin of its natural, healthy oils. Keep showers short and at a lukewarm temperature for healthy skin.

7. Too much sugar

Sugary drinks and treats are your skins worst enemy. The increased sugar intake can cause hormonal acne and make your skin suffer from stiffness. Sugar also makes it hard for your skin to reduce inflammation and can increase your chance of wrinkles.

8. Your pillow case

Yep! Your pillowcase is crawling with dead skin cells and bacteria. Even if you shower every night before bed, your pillowcase is still prone to the excess oils and sweat on your face. If you are constantly breaking out, try changing your pillowcase once a week.

9. Caffeine

That Diet Coke may taste great, but your skin doesnt think so! Caffeine in a natural dehydrator. It also makes your liver work overtime, which can cause toxins to build up inside your body. With excess toxins comes a disruption in your skin's ability to restore itself.

10. Sleeping with makeup

If you can't bear to be without makeup, you may be making your own skin problems. Sleeping with your makeup on can cause dry skin, acne, wrinkles and disrupts the natural color of your complexion. So, take an extra five minutes at night to remove your makeup; you will be grateful in the long run.

11. Dehydration

Over 75% of Americans suffer from chronic dehydration. Make sure to get your suggested amount of water intake each day. Your skin needs to be hydrated to keep it glowing.

12. Skipping a meal

Along with water, your skin also needs nutrients and vitamins from your food to keep it from looking dull and gaunt. Food is necessary to fuel all of your bodily functions, including your skins ability to stay healthy.

13. Dirty makeup brushes

If you are constantly breaking out, it could be from germs on your makeup brushes. They are breeding grounds for bacteria. Be sure to take the time to clean your makeup brushes at least once a week, if not after every use.

14. Too much salt

Putting that extra salt packet on your french fries might not be the best idea. Sodium dehydrates and can suck all the oil and moisture right out of your face. Go easy on the salt, your face will thank you later.

15. Stress

Just like stress affects every other part of your body, it can affect your skin. Untamed stress can give you under-eye bags, flaky skin, rashes, acne, a flushed face, and fine lines on your face.

16. Over-exfoliating

What? I thought exfoliating was supposed to be great for your skin? It is! But only in moderation. Exfoliating too often strips your skin of the oils you need to maintain your glowing complexion. Keep the exfoliating to once a week in order to avoid damage.

17. Skipping your workout

Exercise increases blood flow throughout your body and gives you a healthy glow. When you skip out on exercising, you arent enabling your body to remove excess toxins through sweat. Exercise can also make you break out if you don't cleanse your face soon after finishing.

18. Alcohol

Like caffeine, alcohol makes your liver work overtime. It also dehydrates you. Many alcoholic drinks are also mixed with an excess amount of sugar as well, spelling double trouble for your skin.

19. Neglecting sunscreen

Forgetting sunblock is one of the most dangerous things you can do if you'll be out in the sun. Avoiding sunscreen means embracing aging lines, sunspots and skin cancer.

20. Washing too often

Washing your face is good for your pores, but know that washing too often can lead to dryness and irritation, which can then lead to even more breakouts.

Try changing up your skin routine by following these tips for better, brighter skin.
Sign up for our e-newsletters
From the book 'Outliers' comes proof that good health is more than just genetics
8ccd7d661f85d37c8298791c9a56bec6e0f8449d4aea5c09c6ffcf527854f186
Friends Jim Young, left, Mike Natale, Jeff Natale and Ryan Kiernan were on Greenwich High School football team together and Jim and Mike were captains. Jim, who was the youngest in Sherry Young's family, was welcome in the homes of the other three boys who still had siblings around and grandparents near. - photo by Sherry Young
As I look back on my life and the lives of others, both personally and in the reading I have done, I am convinced of the necessity of positive human contact in our lives. We are doubly blessed when we are able to make good friends or are a part of a family where we are accepted and loved.

Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers tells of a time in the 1950s when Dr. Stewart Wolf met a physician who practiced in the area of Roseto, Pennsylvania. Roseto was settled by a group of Italian families from Roseto, Italy, who re-created their life again in America.

This was in the 1950s before drugs and measures to prevent heart disease became important. In their conversation the physician said, You know, Ive been practicing for 17 years. I get patients from all over, and I rarely find anyone from Roseto under the age of 65 with heart disease.

Wolf was surprised by these words as, It was impossible to be a doctor, common sense said, and not see heart disease.

Wolf enlisted the aid of a sociologist and friend John Bruhn to help him. They found, There was no suicide, no alcoholism, no drug addiction, and very little crime. They didnt have anyone on welfare. Then we looked at peptic ulcers. They didnt have any of those either. These people were dying of old age. Thats it.

They checked into diet, genetics and possibilities of something in the foothills of eastern Pennsylvania but nothing made sense.

What they found was that Rosetans visited one another, stopping to chat in Italian on the street, say, or cooking for one another in their backyards. (Researchers) learned about the extended family clans that underlay the towns social structure. They saw how many homes had three generations living under one roof and how much respect grandparents commanded. They went to Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and saw the unifying and calming effect of the church. They counted 22 separate civic organizations in a town of just under 2,000 people. They picked up on the particular egalitarian ethos of the community, which discouraged the wealthy from flaunting their success and helped the unsuccessful obscure their failures.

What they found eventually convinced the medical establishment to look beyond the individual and understand the culture people are part of their friends, families and town they came from. They determined that the people we surround ourselves with and the values of the world we inhabit have a profound effect on who we are.

Likely, this study could have been done with other ethnicities. However, my family's experiences with the Italian families in Connecticut ring true to the study. Our hungry and growing sons, especially our youngest son, Jim, who was left home alone with two beady-eyed parents, all had some memorable experiences being fed and loved in the Cos Cob multigenerational families. Proof of the African proverb, It takes a village to raise a child.

We live in an age when the contact we have with people often is on the internet, and many of us live among strangers. Unless we make the effort to reach out, we will become isolated, especially as we age. The Rosetan study is proof that reaching out and communicating may be good for our health.
Latest Obituaries