Five tips for better, healthier skin

For pretty much my entire life I have been fortunate enough to have what others like to call "good skin." Breakouts were rare, I didn't have excess oiliness or dryness, no redness or sun spots. But having "good" skin and healthy skin are two completely different things. So I'm going to share with you a few things I do on the regular to help keep my skin healthy and also "good."

1. Remove your makeup at night. This is probably the most important step of all, and if you're only going to do one, please do this one. When you sleep in your make up, it will build up in your pores and cause acne. By removing it before bed, it allows your skin to "breathe" a little and let those pores air out. Generally I just remove all of my makeup with a makeup removal wipe, but if you wear water resistant eye make up (or a lot of eye makeup) it may be better to use an oil free eye makeup remover on a cotton ball.
2. Exfoliate. If there's one thing I wish I would have started doing a long time ago, it would be exfoliating my skin on a regular basis. Sure, I use a loofa scrub on my body, but I was missing out on my face. I used to have these terrible dry patches - one between my eyebrows and two on the apples of my cheeks. I thought if I moisturized enough it would go away, but you can't moisturize skin that's already dead. The only way to have fresh, new skin is to get rid of the old. I recommend exfoliating 2-3 times a week with an exfoliating scrub or an exfoliating brush + your normal face wash.
3. Moisturize. As I said, moisturizing won't fix dead/dry skin, but it will definitely help prevent it. Every night after I wash my face, I apply a renewing night cream. Every morning, before I apply my makeup I apply a simple moisturizer. I usually try to let it dry for about five minutes before I put any makeup on. Don't forget that part of moisturizing is staying hydrated - drink plenty of water throughout the day to prevent dry skin all over.
4. Wear sunscreen every day. I can say that I'm still working on this one. I wear sunscreen when I know I'm going to be outside for an extended period of time, but I really need to get in the habit of doing it daily. We all know how much the sun can damage our skin, so one of the best lines of protection is a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher with both UVA and UVB protection.
5. Don't use soap. Sure, it's okay to wash your face in the shower, but soap can actually dry your skin out more than it already is. Harsh soaps and body washes can remove natural oils from our skin, thus causing overproduction of oils, which can lead to break outs. When washing your face in the morning or night, I recommend using a mild face wash. I actually keep mine in the shower, so I never wash my face with soap or body wash.
Some of my favorite products:

My skin is pretty partial to Aveeno products (seriously their stuff is great, and it smells really fresh), which are found in most drugstores. Other favorites are St. Ives, Neutrogena, and Burt's Bees (they have an amazing sugar scrub). Just remember that your skin is the largest organ in your body, and it has one of the toughest jobs: protecting all of your other organs. The least you can do for it is take care of it while it's taking care of you.

What are some of your skin care tips?

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