To elaborate further about the importance of water in protecting and taking care of our skin, I want to mention what Dr. Colbert said in his book The Seven Pillars of Health. He said that water keeps your skin supple and in addition to that it keeps your eyes bright, and your body spry. He somehow illustrated it with plums; removing water from plums and you get prunes. In the same way, removing water from your skin you get wrinkles. The skin was designed to hold in moisture to be elastic, and depriving it with water the skin becomes dry, flaky wrinkled, sagging and loses elasticity that no amount of wrinkle cream can cure it.

We can observe that more and more facial products are out in the market today on skin care. Although it is true that we need the right stuff for our skin, it essential to still have the proper foundations, and that is drinking water. In Dr. Colbert’s book, The Seven Pillars of Health, he said that if you don’t drink enough clean water you may lose your good looks and that he believes that water is the single best beauty treatment on the planet. With this, we do not have to go all the way to Florida just to stay young; the fountain of youth is right in our own homes.

The Fountain of Youth, a historical landmark in St. Agustine, Florida is said to restore the youth of any one who drinks from its waters. The myth goes back to 1513 when a Spanish explorer named Juan Ponce de Leon was looking for the said fountain when he traveled to the present-day Florida. Until now, many people believe that by drinking from this fountain, the aging process would be reversed. Actually, there is some truth in this myth, and that is the ability of water to rejuvenate your skin and can make you look younger. So, drink up and stay young.

We need to be careful of what we feed our skin. A lot of products in the market are made up of fillers that are really harmful to the skin. In checking out skin-care product labels, look out for terms such as mineral oil, lanolin, and alcohol. Oil-based products, those with mineral oil and lanolin, mainly clog the pores, and if the pores cannot breathe, its tendency is to become bigger. Also, oil tends to attract more dirt from the surroundings to your skin. Oil- and alcohol-based products are the main causes of skin discoloration when the skin is most exposed under the sun.

Cleanse. Tone. Moisturize. You may be a man or a woman but we all need to have a basic daily skin care regimen to take care of our skin and prevent premature aging. You wouldn’t want to look 40 when in fact you are just 25. Cleanse to remove dust, oil, and dirt clogging your pores. Tone to close the pores, even out your skin tone, and to prepare your skin for moisturizing. Moisturize to seal in skin moisture and to prevent dryness, which causes wrinkles. In addition, exfoliate 2-3 times a week using masks or scrubs to remove dead skin cells.

The skin is the largest organ in our body—it is the most exposed organ that people see and feel. Sad but true—we usually get prejudged by people based on what we look like. They say that if you don’t know how to take care of yourself, you cannot take care of anything at all. For aesthetic reasons, it would be easier to win someone’s heart, easily get a job, etc., if you have good-looking skin. Also, the skin is our first line of defense from harmful macro- and microorganisms. Thus, taking care of our skin should be an utmost priority, especially in a time where skin cancer is rampant.