Health-Bar.net

Hey—your epidermis is showing—all 20 square feet of it. And keeping it in showroom shape is no easy task. You could be battling breakouts, sun damage, dryness, irritation, unwanted hair, or all of the above.

The good news: You’ll grow nearly 1,000 new layers of skin throughout your lifetime, so you’ve got plenty of chances to make sure it’s smooth and glowing. To help, we sifted through the latest research and talked to lots of dermatology experts to come up with the 19 best tips. Follow them, and your skin will look so great you’ll want to walk around naked (but don’t, unless you’re wearing sunscreen).

Don’t wash money down the drain.
“There’s no need to buy an expensive cleanser loaded with fancy ingredients,” says photobiologist Daniel B. Yarosh, Ph.D., author of The New Science of Perfect Skin. “They’re on your skin for less than a minute, so they don’t have time to really do anything.”

Adding injury to insult: Some pricey ingredients can actually cause irritation (that would be you, peppermint and eucalyptus). Start with inexpensive face washes (try Biore Revitalize 4-in-1 Foaming Cleanser, $7 for 6.7 oz, drugstore.com) and see-through glycerin soaps like Neutrogena Facial Cleansing Bar ($3, drugstore.com).

Both remove dirt, oil, and dead skin cells without stripping away your skin’s natural (and necessary) oils.

Save money: Use the right amount of product for your face with this handy guide.

Cover your mouth.
We’re talking about a lip balm with UV protection, not ruby red lipstick. Your lips (along with your eye area and upper chest) have some of the thinnest skin on your body, so they need extra shielding.

A survey by a member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery found that only 47 percent of respondents used lip protection containing UV blockers. That’s bad news, because “when skin cancer originates from the lips, it’s especially aggressive and has a higher risk of spreading,” says Erin Welch, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Guard your smackers by stocking up on balms with sunscreen, like Softlips Lip Protectant/Sunscreen with SPF 20 ($4 for two tubes, drugstore.com).

Get the red out.
For the estimated 14 million people in the U.S. with rosacea—the condition whose symptoms can be triggered by alcohol, spicy food, exercise, and sun exposure—their reddened skin can feel like a scarlet letter.

Researchers have found that when rosacea sufferers wash their faces with a sonic skin-care brush (like the Clarisonic Skincare System, $195, 12. clarisonic.com), their skin calms down. The theory is that the gentle exfoliation allows skin treatments to be absorbed more effectively to put out facial fires.

Go au naturel.
There are more skin-care products claiming to be “natural” or “organic” than there are reality-TV stars.

If environmental and purity standards are important to you, consider buying products made in Europe. Companies overseas making eco claims trace ingredients back to their sources to verify their natural origins.

A few of the brands that do: Lavera (lavera.com), Weleda (usa.weleda.com), and Dr. Hauschka Skincare (drhauschka.com). And while you’re at it: On products from the U.S., look for the National Products Association’s new Natural Seal; it certifies that 95 percent of the ingredients are truly natural and pose no suspected human health risks (for more information, visit naturalproductsassoc.org/certifiednatural).

Use an anti-ager—now!
Don’t wait for the first crow’s feet to appear before you reach for that little tube. “Even women in their twenties should be using a topical retinoid—unless they’re pregnant or nursing,” says Francesca Fusco, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

Here’s why: Retinoids, which contain vitamin A, are one of the most potent agents for preventing and reversing sun damage and signs of aging. And, says Hirsch, “they’re the ultimate multitasker. They speed skin renewal by shedding dull, pore-clogging cells and increase collagen production to prevent wrinkles.”

Ask your doctor about a retinoid prescription or try an OTC, such as Roc Retinol Actif Pur Anti-Wrinkle Moisturizing Treatment—Night ($22 for 1 oz, drugstore.com).

Eat for Beauty: Get rid of those lines and protect your face with the Age-Erasing Diet.

Fight the fuzz.
Painless hair removal sounds about as legit as those Nigerian e-mail scams.

But this is one investment you won’t regret: Studies have shown that Eflornithine HCl, a prescription cream sold under the name Vaniqa ($63 for 1 oz, drugstore.com), reduced hair on the chin and upper lip for nearly 60 percent of women tested. And in two separate studies, using the cream with laser hair removal was more effective than either treatment alone.

Rise, but don’t shine.
Sleep on this: While you’re logging quality snooze time, havoc may be breaking out on your face.

Hormonal surges during sleep cause your sebaceous glands to pump oil—and about 14 hours later, you end up shinier than the Harry Winston showroom. Those cursed with oily skin and breakouts can fight acne and grease slicks before they strike with an overnight treatment.

One of our favorites is Vichy Normaderm Night ($20 for 1.7 oz, vichyusa.com).

Don’t strip for just anyone.
We’re not knocking your trusted doc, but dermatologists really are the best at knowing which growths are worrisome and which are harmless.

A survey in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that derms had significantly higher accuracy in identifying abnormal skin growths than primary-care physicians. In fact, more than 90 percent of dermatologic surgeons have seen one or more patients in the past year with a skin cancer that had been overlooked or misdiagnosed by a non-dermatologist.

Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is the third most common cancer in women ages 20 to 39, so book your skin screening now.

Take a chill pill.
Not that you need more to worry about, but it really is true that stress can mess with your complexion.

Researchers at England’s University of Manchester proved it using what many of us find the most brutal stress test: public speaking. They took pre- and post-presentation snips of skin from the butt cheeks of participants and then compared the cellular activity. The tense skin showed a 16.4 percent decrease in immune-system-regulating cells.

Another study reported that stress caused acne to worsen. True, you can’t protect your skin from every PowerPoint panic. But if you’re under a lot of pressure, baby your skin.

Less Stress: Quick and easy tips to help you chill out when under pressure.

Get all in a lather.
Anytime you sweat, your body produces more sebum (an oily pore-clogging secretion), says dermatologist Audrey Kunin, M.D., founder of dermadoctor.com.

So if you’re tempted to skip the shower after a lunchtime workout (and we’re not judging here), don’t! Since bacteria love to feast on sweat and oil, you’re setting yourself up for breakouts.

After any sweat-inducing activity, rinse off under cool water with a shower wash containing oil-clearing glycolic or salicylic acid. We like Phisoderm Anti-Blemish Body Wash ($6 for 12 oz, drugstore.com).

Know your numbers.
You might think slathering on a high SPF number is the most important factor for sun protection, but you’d be wrong. An SPF of 15 blocks 94 percent of burning UVB rays; jump to SPF 30 and you’ll get 98 percent coverage. Going to 50 adds just 1 percent more coverage. (Can you say “diminishing returns”?)

A smarter choice: A broad-spectrum sunscreen with zinc oxide and stabilizing ingredients that prevent UV blockers from breaking down in sunlight.

Look for Helioplex, found in Neutrogena Age Shield Sunblock SPF 45 ($10 for 4 oz, walgreens.com), or mexoryl, an active ingredient in L’Oreal Paris Revitalift UV Daily Moisturizing Cream ($23 for 1.7 oz, drugstore.com).

Don’t complicate things.
The average adult uses at least seven skin-care products a day—cleansers, moisturizers, exfoliators, and serums included. That’s a lot of stuff!

To prevent ingredient overload and reduce irritation, Zoe Diana Draelos, M.D., editor-in-chief of the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, advises limiting your skin-care routine to only those items that contain no more than 10 ingredients apiece. According to Draelos, the fewer ingredients there are in a product, the less likely it is to cause a problem.

“And always wait at least five minutes between each application,” says Francesca Fusco, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. “Otherwise, you’ll dilute the effects of the previous one.”

Spread out your morning skin-care routine so your serum has time to sink in before the last hour of the Today show.

Be a soap star.
When you sleep, lotions, hair gels, and oils sweat off of your body and onto your linens.

Kenneth Beer, M.D., clinical instructor in dermatology at the University of Miami, advises washing your sheets weekly.

At the very least, put on a fresh pillowcase to keep the gunk (and the bacteria that eat the gunk) from clogging your pores.

If you fake it, don’t bake it.
How’s this for unfunny irony: For the first eight hours or so after you apply self-tanner, your skin is especially susceptible to free-radical damage from sunlight, according to a 2007 German study.

Forty minutes after researchers treated skin samples with the bronzing ingredient in self-tanners, dihydroxyacetone (DHA), elevated levels of free radicals (180 percent more than untreated skin!) formed during sun exposure.

Another self-tanner ingredient, erythulose, produced a similar response. Researchers suspect that when the bronzer interacts with the skin, a chemical forms that generates free radicals when exposed to UV light.

The safe way to get a faux glow: Avoid excessive sun exposure for at least 12 hours after applying a self-tanner.

Steer clear of stinky butts.
If you’re reading a site with the word “health” in the title, you probably don’t have a pack of Camels crammed into your purse.

But just in case, here’s new info about how hard smoking can be on your looks: A 2007 study found that smoking ages the skin on your body that the sun doesn’t even see. Researchers found that smokers had more pronounced wrinkles than non-puffers on areas of the body usually untouched by UV rays, like the inner arms.

“It seems that smoking accelerates the aging process,” says Yolanda Rosi Helfrich, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Michigan and lead researcher on the study.

Don’t feel the burn.
Investing in special creams for each body part seems to make as much sense as Scarlett Johansson’s singing career. Do you really need a separate eye cream? Actually, yes.

“The skin around your eyes is delicate and needs to be treated gently,” says Francesca Fusco, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

Eye creams contain lower levels of potentially irritating ingredients, such as retinol, AHAs, and glycolic acid, than products designed for the face.

Double your cover.
“To get a decent amount of UV protection on your face, you’d need to coat your skin with at least a tablespoonful of sunscreen that has an SPF of at least 30,” says Sandra Marchese Johnson, M.D., a dermatologist in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

But who wants to layer on that much lotion?

An easy solution: Apply a coat, then follow with a foundation infused with sunscreen or a mineral powder containing titanium or zinc oxide, natural barriers to UV rays.