4 benefits of exercise to your skin's health and appearance

Exercising has been shown to have several beauty benefits for those who do it regularly, and it can help keep skin looking healthy and young.

Exercise has a myriad of health benefits, from aiding in weight loss to reducing stress, and it can also be great for skin.

When most people exercise, they sweat quite a bit.

• Sweat is one of the body's natural ways of cleaning its own skin.
• Exercise causes the pores to dilate, so that when sweat comes out of the body, it washes away any dirt or oil that has been trapped in the pores.
• This not only helps to get rid of bacteria and dirt that could make you sick, but it also helps clear up acne.

Doctors recommend washing your face after you exercise to ensure the dirt and oil that has come out of your pores does not get trapped in them again when your pores close.

Exercising naturally increases blood flow in the body, which means that more blood reaches skin cells than when you're sedentary.

• The blood that reaches the skin carries oxygen and nutrients to those cells, resupplying them with the things they need. The effect is that the skin cells are revitalized.

The increased blood flow that happens when you exercise is also able to cleanse skin cells of cellular waste as it flows into and out of cells.

• Some cellular waste poses risks to skin health.
• For example, free radicals, which are malformed cells, have been known to cause cancer and other health problems.

Exercising can help you rid your skin of what might potentially damage it or make you sick.

Exercise is known to be one of the best ways for people to ease the stress they have in their lives.

• This process of relaxation improves skin health because stress can cause a range of skin conditions — from eczema to acne.
• By lowering your stress levels, you can reduce your risk of developing those conditions in the first place or speed up the process of getting rid of them if they are already there.