how to get glowing skin
Using a topical vitamin C serum will help with skin cell turnover.
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  • You can achieve glowing skin by making sure you get enough vitamins A, B, C, and E in your diet. 
  • Your skincare routine should also include regular cleansing, moisturizing, and exfoliation. 
  • It’s essential to wear sunscreen every day to protect against dark spots.
  • Visit Insider’s Health Reference library for more advice.

Not everyone is born with naturally glowing skin. Although dullness is natural and nothing to be ashamed of, making a few lifestyle changes and tailoring your skincare routine can help your skin look bright and even. 

Here are seven dermatologist-approved tips for achieving glowing skin.

1. Make sure you have the right diet

Skincare isn’t just about what you put on your skin – it’s also about what you put in your body. If you don’t have a healthy diet, it will show on your skin. Therefore, eating right will help your skin look its best. 

These are the best vitamins for your skin:

  • Vitamin A: Found in leafy green vegetables like kale and spinach, orange and yellow vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes, fish, eggs, and cheese.
  • Vitamin B: Found in grains, nuts and legumes, meat, poultry, and fish.
  • Vitamin C: Found in citrus fruits like oranges, other fruits like strawberries and kiwis, red and green peppers, and tomatoes.
  • Vitamin E: Found in green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, nuts, and vegetable oils.

These vitamins are important for skin health for a variety of reasons. For example, a 2012 report found that taking vitamins C and E combined orally protects you from UV damage and the dark spots that may result from spending too much time in the sun.

In addition, vitamin A aids in skin cell reproduction, and vitamin C is an antioxidant, which can provide extra protection for your skin. 

2. Cleanse regularly

Washing your face in the morning and evening should be the first step of your skincare routine, says Caren Campbell, MD, board-certified dermatologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Cleansing regularly contributes to glowing skin by removing dead skin cells, dirt, and debris from the skin, which prevents the clogging of pores and dulling of skin, Campbell says. 

 

You should wash your face with a gentle facial cleanser. Campbell recommends the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser and the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser as two great budget-friendly options.

3. Exfoliate

Exfoliating can help slough off the outermost layer of dead, dry skin cells - revealing brighter, more glowing skin. 

Campbell says she prefers chemical exfoliation over mechanical exfoliators (as with scrubs that contain abrasive particles) since scrubs can create microtears, or tiny abrasions, in the skin. 

 

She recommends using a chemical exfoliator such as glycolic acid once or twice a week. If you are over 40, when your skin cell turnover starts to slow down, you can use it daily or as tolerated by dryness. 

4. Use topical vitamin C

After you wash your face in the morning, Campbell says you should apply two to three drops of a topical vitamin C serum. As a bonus, she says vitamin C helps your sunscreen work better, which is why it's best to apply it in the morning rather than the evening. 

Because of its antioxidant properties, Campbell says topical Vitamin C is known to:  

  • Prevent brown spots and lightens pre-existing ones
  • Reduce skin redness 
  • Help stimulate collagen, resulting in healthier skin tone and texture.

5. Try niacinamide

Niacinamide, also known as vitamin B3, is an antioxidant that fights oxidative stress and is an anti-inflammatory agent, says Campbell. 

This is a great option if your skin is dull or discolored due to various skin conditions such as red or dark spots from acne or rosacea, or sunspots. A small 2015 study, for example, found that a moisturizer containing niacinamide was effective in reducing redness from rosacea in participants, and that the ingredient is also effective in improving the skin barrier.

Campbell recommends using niacinamide in both your morning and evening skincare routine. You can use a serum or a moisturizer that contains niacinamide. 

6. Moisturize twice daily 

Dry skin will look dull, and a great way to counteract this is to moisturize regularly. For the best results, Campbell says you should moisturize every morning and evening. 

 

In the morning, you should wash with a gentle soap-free cleanser, apply products like an antioxidant such as vitamin C, and then moisturize. In the evening, cleanse your skin, use your products for your skincare concerns, and then moisturize. 

7. Wear sunscreen

Aging skin can look dull, and the best anti-aging product you can use is sunscreen, says Campbell. Sunscreen of at least SPF 30 should be applied every day as the last step in your skincare routine, before putting on makeup, she says. 

The rule of thumb is to reapply sunscreen every two hours if you're outdoors, and reapply after sweating or swimming. Even if you aren't going outside, Campbell recommends applying sunscreen in the morning after completing your skincare routine.

Insider's takeaway

Follow these steps and you'll be on your way to bright, glowing skin. Be patient, though. Changes won't happen overnight. If you're still struggling with skin dullness or other potential skin conditions after following all these steps and giving it a few weeks, consult a dermatologist. 

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