If the constant emergence of skincare trends and products is anything to go by, it’s the fact that we all live for smooth, radiant, even, and young-looking skin. Unfortunately, that soft, supple skin we are born with doesn’t last a lifetime. For many of us, it’s smooth sailing until puberty hits.
From acne to zits, blemishes, and even bumps, it’s hard to catch a break from all the unpredictable and unpleasant rides your skin takes you on. A lifetime of exposure to elements and having unhealthy lifestyles can take its toll on your skin, resulting in rough and uneven skin texture.
While it may not be possible to regain baby-born soft skin, getting rid of textured skin and ultimately improving skin texture is very much possible. But before we look at how to how to get clear skin for men and women of all ages, let’s go over some important information you need to know about this topic.
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What Exactly Is Skin Texture?
This is basically the measure of how smooth your skin feels. With good texture, your skin feels soft and smooth to touch whereas bad skin texture feels coarse and uneven. So, run your fingers across your face, arms, legs, and the rest of the body, do they feel smooth or rough? Bad skin texture makes skin look dull since it doesn’t reflect light as well as even skin. It also feels unpleasant, which can lower one’s self-esteem, and makes it difficult to apply makeup smoothly.
What Causes Bad Skin Texture?
Several things throughout our lives can take a toll on our skin, resulting in rough and uneven skin texture. But unlike uneven skin tone, which can quickly be hidden with a dab of concealer, it’s a lot harder to mask uneven skin texture and even trickier to treat. Your first mission should, therefore, be to pinpoint the cause of your uneven skin texture and then go from there. Some of the key causes include:
Pollution-Improve Your Air Quality.
It’s no barrier that air is full of tiny invisible particles that are capable of penetrating the skin deep enough to cause dehydration, inflammation, and premature aging. Some like harmful gases will take away moisture and rob the skin of its water content. This makes the skin dehydrated and dry, thereby giving you flaky, dry, and textured skin.
Genetics inheritance from family
We all have different skin types, and genetics play an important role in determining that. For instance, if either of your parents has oily skin you’re more likely to have such skin as well. Oily skin produces excess sebum, which contribute to enlarged pores that eventually give you uneven skin texture.
Other genetic skin disorders such as eczema, keratosis pilaris, ichthyosis, and psoriasis are also easily prone to rough and dry skin. You may not be to blame for your poor skin texture after all.
Stress-Keep it in Check all the time.
Stress is known to manifest itself either mentally or physically, with physical symptoms including itchiness, breakouts, eczema, and other skin conditions. These skin issues tend to leave scars on the face, which in turn causes uneven skin texture. High-stress levels also trigger chemical responses in the body.
When stress hormones like cortisol are produced in high quantities, they trigger abnormal making and secretion of oils, rendering your skin oily. Oily skin is prone to acne and enlarged pores, which quickly damage your skin’s outlook and makes it wrinkled and rough-textured.
Avoid Direct Sunlight into your skin
UV rays of the sun can penetrate our deep skin and break apart skin proteins, including elastin and collagen. These structure proteins are responsible for giving skin resiliency and its soft texture. Therefore, when they are damaged, the tissues underlying them shrink in and cave.
This will pull your pores down and under, making them appear larger than normal and sagged. It will also cause your skin to have wrinkles and hyperpigmentation. All these impart a rough and uneven skin texture.
Congestion–Get serious with cleansing and exfoliation.
There are many reasons your skin could be congested. From excessive oil production to pollution and even residual makeup, congestion makes your skin dirty. This causes enlarged pores as your skin tries to find a hole to breathe through. The result is obviously uneven skin texture.
Acne
There are several causes of acne, which is a topic for another day, but it does affect your skin texture in many ways. From small raised bumps to zits, inflamed comedones, and all types of blemishes, it’s evident that acne symptoms can cause bumpy and irregular skin texture.
Acne-prone skin also doesn’t turn over efficiently, leaving you with rough skin. Also, if you’re constantly picking and popping your zits, acne scars may emerge and disrupt an otherwise smooth face surface. With all these issues, it only makes sense that you want to know how to have a smooth face.
Aging affects your skin texture.
This is one area you actually don’t have any direct control over, but being active in sport improves. The best you can do is managing the situation. Aging affects your skin in many ways. For starters, it slows your metabolism, which in turn slows down your skin’s ability to heal naturally and rejuvenate. Natural skin cell turnover slows with aging, causing dead skin to accumulate on your face. This ultimately leads to skin that’s has a dull appearance and feels rough.
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Make sure to get enough sleep.
Your body undergoes a healing process when you sleep, where it works to repair daily damage. Lack of sleep means your skin doesn’t get a chance to heal itself.
This will result in acne, zits, puffiness, and bumps, all of which cause a rough skin texture as they take forever to heal. Textured skin is the least of your problems if you don’t get enough sleep since it affects your overall health.
Wrong skincare boost hydration with the right moisturizers.
With all the beauty products available out there, it’s hard to tell what’s right for your skin. If you don’t know what your skin issues are, chances are you’ll end up using the wrong products.
Hair removal tools, waxing products, and facial massage tools are some of the products that can cause more harm to the skin when used wrongly. You can also ruin the texture of your skin by simply over-exfoliating.
Benefits of Having Smooth Skin
Smooth skin has often been associated with youthfulness and beauty. It’s highly sought after as evidenced by the thousands of skincare products available on the market for that specific purpose.
Be that as it may, having smooth skin goes beyond just your appearance as it’s also a sign of good health. When you’re healthy inside, it shows on the outside through your skin. Skin is also the largest human organ and has the responsibility to protect our bodies from germs.
Last, but certainly not least, smooth skin is a confidence booster. If you feel good about yourself, you’ll be able to improve your overall quality of life.
15 Ways to Improve Your Skin Texture
Is your skin texture less than ideal? Don’t despair, by the end of this article you’ll have more than one solution to get rid of rough and bumpy skin and make it soft and smooth. Let’s get right into it:
Cleanse your skin on daily basis.
Think of all the things that end up on your face, if not penetrate through it. Air pollution, human bacteria, smoke, and even the makeup you apply can all make your skin dirty, bumpy, flaky, and dull. Cleansing can help remove the build-up on your face and achieve a smoother texture. Cleansing is very simple. All you need to do is hold a warm, damp cloth on your face for a while to help soften the build-up on your skin.
Then, massage the cleansing oil onto your skin after which you can use the cloth to wipe the oil away. Be sure to use a cleanser that suits your skin type. Using the right oil cleanser will remove all traces of pore-clogging dirt such as makeup, dirt, and grease without stripping the moisture from your skin.
Exfoliate regularly to remove dead skin
Exfoliation can help to get rid of dead skin cells. For exfoliating your feet and hands, mildly abrasive scrubs with moisturizing and antioxidant properties is enough to make your skin bright and remove roughness. For face exfoliation, agents like lactic acid, salicylic acid, and glycolic acid are your best bet. They work by dissolving the glue-like substance on your face that binds dead skin cells to the skin surface.
Remember to be gentle though. Over-exfoliation doesn’t necessarily mean clearer skin; in fact, it can cause micro-tears in the skin, which only amplifies the skin texture issues. It’s also not advisable to exfoliate is you have active breakouts as it can irritate the acne, spread it out, and cause scarring. With so many facial care tools out there, you can seek advice from a skincare specialist if you’re unsure how and when you need to exfoliate your skin type.
Moisturize your skin with creams and lotion
Moisturizing is probably the best way to improve skin texture because it is ideal for all skin types and even conditions. It balances your skin’s sebum production, replenishes lost moisture, and prevents dryness and flakiness. You can make it more effective by adding some useful ingredients to the moisturizer such as vitamin C, retinoid, and so on.
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It’s important to consider your skin type and sensitivity when choosing a moisturizer or the ingredients to add. Your best bets are gentle and mild hydrating moisturizers like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and ceramides. Moisturizers are best applied on damp skin immediately after washing, which is when absorption is at its highest and the skin is clean enough to allow for deep penetration.
Follow a healthy and balanced diet
If you want to get a smooth face naturally, you’ve got to start looking after it from inside. The saying, “you are what you eat” could not be more accurate. Junk food, processed foods, and refined carbs have been found to contribute to the growth of bad bacteria in the gut, increase oil production and clog pores, as well as encourage premature aging. All of these effects will manifest on your skin.
Choosing healthier food options will surely help with your skin’s texture issues and overall health. Start your diet with naturally occurring vitamins found in oranges, tomatoes, broccoli, kale, strawberries, pineapples, etc. Vitamin C has antioxidant properties that play an integral role in skin repair and overall health.
You should also increase your intake of foods rich in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids because they do a tremendous job reducing inflammation and promoting skin elasticity, which in turn improves texture.
Hydrate your body by drinking at least 8 glasses of water daily.
Improving skin texture can be as simple as drinking water and plenty of healthy fluids throughout the day. This will help flush out harmful toxins from the body, which would otherwise manifest on the skin and cause roughness. It also keeps the entire body hydrated.
The skin is able to soak up on the extra hydration and expands cells while causing the moisture potential to increase substantially. This reduces the appearance of dullness and makes the skin feel smoother.
End unhealthy habits and lifestyle
It’s probably obvious but excessive drinking and smoking has never been good for anyone’s health. It’s, therefore, no surprise that they can affect your skin’s texture. Smoking, for instance, impacts your circulatory system, meaning the much-needed oxygen and nutrients have a hard time reaching the skin.
This causes premature aging and wrinkles, increases your risk of skin disorders, and also reduces your skin’s ability to heal itself. Alcohol, on the other hand, is a dehydrating drink. When your skin is dehydrated, it will show larger, more rigid pores, resulting in uneven skin texture. For the sake of your skin, cut back on these bad habits or stop altogether.
Minimize your stress levels
We already saw that stress can accelerate the physical process of aging and make you more prone to skin conditions. Needless to say, de-stressing as much as possible will help improve skin texture. Now is the time to explore a few mindfulness techniques and get a smooth face naturally.
Get enough sleep on a daily basis
You don’t need to look for glorious skincare procedures to deal with uneven skin texture. Sometimes, it’s as simple as getting quality sleep. We already covered sleep deprivation as one of the causes of uneven skin texture. Those who are sleep-deprived often have a lot of scalloping under their eyes and a face that looks rough, shrunk in, and dry.
Beauty sleep is a real thing. Your body, especially the skin, repairs itself during sleep and recovers from daily physical and mental stress that would otherwise take a heavy toll on your skin. Increased collagen production and blood flow are a few of the things that happen when you sleep.
These two will help to repair any form of skin damage and improve your skin’s texture. Quality sleep will also improve your overall health, leaving you with rejuvenated, healthy skin as well.
Exercise regularly
Although you’re eating right and getting enough sleep, your journey to a healthy lifestyle is not complete without regular exercise. This makes it another one of the best natural ways to have smooth skin. Exercise helps in many ways such as:
1. It stimulates blood flow throughout the body, including vessels of the skin, which in turn increases the flow of micronutrients and healing properties to the skin. This can help slow the process of aging and result in smoother, younger-looking skin.
2. Sweating opens up pores to get rid of toxins, debris, and skin build-up, thereby revealing a healthy, even, and smooth skin underneath.
3. It helps to reduce inflammation, prevent free radical damage, and regulate skin-related hormones, all of which improve overall skin health.
4. Last, but not least, exercising helps to tighten skin pores and muscles, making it less vulnerable to common skin issues that will lead to textured skin.
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Use essential oils
Using the right kind of essential oils is how to get a smooth face like a baby. Oil-based products can help with regulating sebum production and moisturizing skin. They can also fight skin discoloration and build-up of dead skin cells, leaving you with brighter and smoother skin. There are several essential oils you can use to fight uneven skin texture –whether home-made or available in the store. The most common ones include:
Turmeric oil
Ginger oil
Licorice oil
Marula oil
Green tea oil
These oils mostly possess anti-allergic, antimicrobial, and anti-bacterial properties for reducing acne and promoting healthy skin. They offer cleansing, lightening, hydrating, moisturizing, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory benefits. That, together with the fact that they are able to penetrate deep into the skin, makes them the right natural weapon against skin conditions such as acne, pigmentation, wrinkles, fine lines, and the effects of aging.
Avoid direct sunlight into your skin
UV radiation is generally harmful to the skin. In fact, it’s the most common cause of skin issues in older people. A lifetime of unprotected sun exposure will slowly but surely damage your skin proteins (collagen and elastin), which in turn leads to dryness, premature aging, and ultimately leaves you with dull and textured skin.
Textured skin is the least of your problems when it comes to exposure to UV rays as it puts you at a higher risk of skin cancer. The best solution is to limit your time in the sun. Use a sunscreen, preferably SPF 50 or higher, and wear protective clothing if you have to spend extended periods outdoors to protect your skin from harsh UV rays.
Go natural you with makeup
You don’t always need expensive skin care products or a dermatologist to take care of your skin issues. There are several home remedies that you can use to get a smooth face naturally, and they are equally effective. Aside from using natural ingredients such as honey, onion, cucumber, and the likes in your diet, you can use them in your DIY face masks as well.
These ingredients have antioxidant, cooling, hydrating, exfoliating, and several other health properties. All of these help to boost collagen production, increase blood circulation, soothe inflamed skin, reduce sagginess and puffiness, hydrate pores, rejuvenate damaged skin cells, prevent wrinkles, treat skin pigmentation and discoloration, and so on. It goes without saying that using natural ingredients as face masks will leave you with smoother, even skin texture.
Use serums to nourish your skin
These are light-weight liquids with active ingredients that nourish the skin. Most of them are packed with vitamins, peptides, and antioxidants that can help nourish your skin and eventually improve skin texture. Some contain lightening substances like kojic acid, which can brighten dark spots and scars.
There are also anti-aging serums that can improve skin texture by addressing wrinkles. Serums have deep penetrating abilities so your skin can absorb them quickly and easily. 1-2 drops of serum before going to bed is how to get a smooth face overnight.
Consider taking supplements
You can add nutrients to your diet and cover all the bases of internal skincare by taking dietary supplements. Whether its vitamin supplements, collagen supplements, or hyaluronic acid, dietary supplements generally help your skin and body to be healthy and more resilient, thereby improving your skin texture.
Consider skin treatments in case of severe skin issues.
While we’ve been focusing on the best natural ways to have smooth skin, medical treatments are also available for treating specific skin issues including wrinkles, dark spots, scars, sagging skin, acne, and so on, which compromise your skin’s ideal texture. Some of these issues can only go away with mild and invasive treatments such as:
1. Chemical peels: These treatments remove dead skin cells to reveal smooth, healthier skin underneath.
2. Laser skin resurfacing: This procedure uses powerful light beams to get rid of damaged skin and reveal smoother, healthier skin.
3. Microdermabrasion and Dermabrasion: Both treatments involve removing the outermost layer of the skin to trigger new skin cells formation that is healthier and smoother.
4. Intense pulse light (IPL): Though prescribed to remove unwanted hair, IPL technology can also shrink pores, rejuvenate wrinkles, and tighten the skin for improved skin texture conditions.
5. Dermal fillers or Botox: These are injectable cosmetic treatments used to fill in lines and reduce wrinkles, giving a softer and smoother face.
6. 4% hydroquinone: This is a skin lightener and it can be used to treat hyperpigmentation, age spots, acne scars, and post-inflammatory marks to achieve smooth and brighter skin.
As you can see, these medical treatments tackle different skin issues, so talk to your dermatologist first before trying out any of them.
Wrinkles, breakouts, lines, and other markings on the skin that result in textured skin are all a natural part of life that tend to manifest more with age.
There’s no shame in having them, although most of us would love to hang on to our smooth and soft skin for as long as possible. Hopefully, you have found two or three solutions from this text that will work for your skin type and help you resolve your skin issues once and for all.
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