Prevent redness, brown spots, and hyperpigmentation issues that add unwanted years with these easy, basic guidelines.

1. Be gentle on your skin. Avoid harsh scrubs and rigorous towel drying, which can cause irritation that makes skin look older. And anytime you have an ingrown hair, clogged pore, or even a scratch from the cat—don’t touch it. “Many women pick at their skin, not realizing it can cause post-inflammatory pigmentation and scarring,” explains Heidi Waldorf, MD, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

2. Stay away from smoke. “Chemicals from cigarettes get into your bloodstream and find their way to your skin, making it sallow and spotty,” explains Alistair Carruthers, MD, a dermatologist in Vancouver. Even if you don’t smoke, sitting in a smoky room or restaurant exposes your skin to the same chemicals that cause discoloration.

3. Say yes to daily SPF. You’ve heard it a million times, but have you gotten the message? “My patients say they don’t use sunscreen because they don’t sunbathe, so I show them the freckles and little broken capillaries on their skin. I explain that they can get sun damage from simply walking to the car each day without sunscreen,” says Dr. Carruthers.

Internet site reference: http://www.prevention.com