You’ve changed your diet, started drinking more water, and switched to healthier moisturizers. However, your skin is still looking dull and dry. What else can you do to improve it? One important consideration you may be forgetting is your indoor air quality. Here are some ways boosting your indoor air quality can give you the smooth and soft skin you crave.
Decreases the Risk of Age Spots and Wrinkles
Image via Flickr by CushySpa
There’s nothing you can do to completely stop the progression of age spots and wrinkles, as they are a natural part of getting older. However, you can slow them down by improving the air quality in your home.
Science has shown that high levels of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) in the home leads to increased pigment spots along the forehead, wrinkles on the upper lip, wrinkles on the back of the hands, and droopy eyelids. For reference, atmospheric particulate matter is tiny particles less than 2.5 micrometers in size, or about 3 percent the width of a human hair. These particles are commonly released by traffic and cigarette smoke, so living close to a highway or smoking could put you at risk.
So how can you get rid of particulate matter in your home? The study that produced these results recommends installing an air conditioning system to filter them out of the air. In particular, you’ll want to install a HEPA filter to catch all these minuscule particles. Having your HVAC system regularly inspected ensures these filters are running as desired to keep your air fresh.
Reduces Eczema Symptoms
Do you have chronic itchy and red skin? If so, you could have atopic dermatitis, more commonly known as eczema. Unfortunately, poor indoor air quality is a major contributor to this skin condition, as evidenced by a recent study completed in Korea.
Researchers took a look at two groups of children: one living in a space with polyvinyl wallpaper, which adds volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde to the air, and the other in a space with environmentally friendly wallpaper. At the end of the study, the results were clear — the children in the environmentally friendly space had decreased eczema symptoms.
Obviously, one important step is to avoid using this hazardous wallpaper in your home. However, you should go a step further by installing a UV light filter in your HVAC system, which can remove VOCs and keep your system much cleaner overall.
Decreases Dry Skin
Dry skin is no fun, as it looks unsightly and can be very irritating. Unfortunately, if the air in your home is too dry, you’ll never be able to feel moisturized no matter how many buckets of lotion you pour on yourself.
Luckily, this is an easy problem to fix. Simply have a humidifier installed in your HVAC system so all of your home’s treated air is optimized for moisture. As long as you keep the humidity levels around 35 percent, your skin will naturally look and feel softer and smoother.
Your poor skin doesn’t have to be a chronic problem. By making a few tweaks in your home, you can easily get that glowing, youthful look you’ve always wanted.
