Smoking and exercise can affect skin's appearance

Women are constantly searching for the secret to younger, healthier skin. While there are many African American skin care products on the market that can help turn back the affects of skin aging, there are also simple lifestyle changes that people can make to improve the look their skin.

Kentucky news source KY Post reported that it's important to drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day, because water supplies important nutrients to skin cells. The news provider also recommended exercising regularly. Along with helping circulation throughout the body, exercise can relieve stress, which has been shown to cause premature aging.

The Kansas City Star also reported on lifestyle changes that can improve skin's appearance. The new provider spoke to dermatologist Daniel Aires to get his take on skin care. He suggested If a person is a smoker and looking to improve their skin, they should stop immediately.

"[Smoking] constricts the blood vessels in the skin. And it induces matrix metalloproteinases, or MMPs, that act like scissors and cut up the skin and increase wrinkling. And cigarettes contain all kinds of weird toxic things," Aires told The Star.  

Do films ignore African American beauty?

Naturally beautiful African American actress Viola Davis has received attention for her talent as well as her looks. Davis shines on the cover of this month's Essence magazine, where she talks about her recent success in films as well as the struggles African American women face.

“As black women, we’re always given these seemingly devastating experiences - experiences that could absolutely break us. But what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly," Davis told the news provider.

Her latest role is in the movie The Help, where she portrays a maid in the 1960s. The website Indie Wire raised the question this week - do black actresses have to make themselves look ugly to get serious film roles?

The website raised concern over the fact that the lovely Davis was forced to look plain and matronly for her role, a theme that seems to happen often in films with African American women in them. Another example Indie Wire gave was actress Taraji P. Henson in Hustle and Flow and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Henson was made to look haggard and older in both of the dramatic films.

In the end, people have to decide for themselves if this theory is true and if action should be taken against it. African American women should never have to hide their looks, and skin care products for black skin can help give black women the confidence to let their true beauty shine.

How a person eats can affect their skin health

There are many products that can help protect the skin from aging and sun damage. For ethnic women, African American skin care products with added SPF can keep skin healthy and looking great. Along with these products, Allure magazine reported on foods that can boost skin's resistance against damage.

According to the magazine, Australian researchers evaluated the diets of over 1,000 people to determine if what they were eating was affecting their skin. They found that drinking half a glass of red wine a day could lead to a 27 percent reduction of an individual's chance of developing skin blemishes. Researchers found similar results with fish oil, which contains omega-3 fatty acids.

"It's definitely true that diet can play an important role in all skin conditions -- not just helping combat wrinkles and lines, but other skin problems as well, including acne, eczema, psoriasis even dry flaking or very oily skin," said biochemist Elaine Linker, PhD, quoted by WebMD.

There are many skin care products for black skin that contain some of the healthy extracts that come from red wine and other foods.

New documentary exposes emotional issues that come with dark skin

African American women have often had to endure hardships and racism due to the color of their skin. Unfortunately, this has lead to many young black women growing up with issues regarding their skin color. The website Fashion Bomb reports that a new documentary is coming out to address this issue and promote confidence in African American skin.

The documentary is called Dark Girls and explores the complex emotions that African American women have about their skin tone. The trailer for the film can be found on many different websites, including The Frisky. The film is comprised of interviews with black women on how they feel about their skin and what they have experienced over the years.

In the trailer for the film, one young girl is asked to identify who is the "smartest" child out of pictures of other children. The girl, who is African American, chose the white child simply because she is white. This shows the serious issues regarding skin tone that still exist today.

Ethnic women of all skin colors deserve to feel confident and beautiful in their skin. Skin care products for black skin are designed to boost black skin's natural beauty.