adiant, glowing skin is the first step to looking great.

And that skin can be yours for the asking, sans expensive skin treatments, high-end skin products or layers of makeup.

The secrets to good skin are much more basic; they have to do with a well-balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, the two most important factors that influence the condition of your skin.

Practise these diet dos and lifestyle tips and get that glowing skin the natural way. 

Vitamin power

Revitalise your skin with a regular intake of vitamins.

i. Vitamin A helps repair body tissue, prevents skin dryness and postpones ageing. Make sure you get lots of Vitamin A by supplementing your diet with milk, cheese, eggs, butter, spinach, broccoli, carrot and fish oils.

Vitamin A is fat soluble. This kind of fat gets stored in the liver, so make sure you do not have it in excess.

ii. Vitamin B improves circulation and skin colour. It is found in yoghurt, brown bread, wheatgerm, yeast, cereal and green leafy vegetables.

Vitamin B is water soluble, which means it can be taken daily.

iii. Vitamin C helps maintain levels of collagen, a protein constituent of skin that is essential for healing the skin as well as keeping it smooth, firm and healthy-looking. 

Eat lots of citrus fruits, strawberries, blackcurrants, potatoes, cabbage, broccoli and sprouts.

Vitamin C is also water soluble and can be taken on a daily basis. 

• On a fad diet? Beware!

Water, water everywhere

Water flushes out the toxins, so drink plenty of water.

Consciously make an effort to have at least eight to 12 glasses daily. 
                                                   
Sleeping beauty

Your skin, which is prone to damage during the day, is repaired as you sleep.

Some people require as much as eight to nine hours of sleep every night; others can make do with just five.

Remember, there is so substitute for sleep if you want great skin.

• Tips for dry skin

Say good-bye to stress

Stress and tension accelerate the formation of lines around your eyes and can even produce abnormal skin conditions like eczema (where the skin gets dry and itchy; it can even result in broken skin and bleeding).

So try to keep a tab on your stress levels.

• Practise power yoga, reduce stress

The environment and your skin

Pollution and exposure to ultraviolet rays can harm your skin.

It's important that you use a good sunblock cream or lotion to protect your skin.

Read the instructions on your sunblock and choose one with an Sun Protection Factor (it will be given as SPF) suited for your lifestyle.

If you spend very little time outdoors, then a sunblock with SPF 15 will do.

If you spend between one to two hours continuously, then a sunblock with SPF 30 is what you need.

If your outdoor activity exceeds two hours a day, go for a sunblock with SPF 50 or more.

• 5 steps to a better, healthier you

Pack those vices

Needless to say, alcohol, smoking and drugs are not really the way to having great skin.

If you are fond of any or all of these, you know why your skin looks so unhealthy.

Dr Rohini Wadhwani, is a cosmotologist and medical director of the skin clinic, Bare Necessities based in Mumbai.

TOMORROW: How to identify your skin type