Kenneth Gardner

Apart from the many benefits of regular exercise, it also enhances the look and feel of your skin. When you exercise it contributes to healthier, younger, fresher-looking skin.

Most persons have already established a good skin care regime. They cleanse, carefully exfoliate, use toners, and stay away from products that will cause their skin to automatically produce more oil. However, there is still one more thing we can do that will help you on the road to healthier, beautiful skin. Do regular exercises! From reducing acne breakouts, unsightly oily skin to fighting the signs of ageing, health experts say regular exercise will play a big role in healthier-looking skin.

Regular exercise helps to build collagen which reduces wrinkles and fine lines and it also increases circulation which provides nutrients to skin cells. As people age, collagen-producing cells generally slow down and as a result, the skin becomes drier, less firm and more prone to the development of wrinkles. By exercising, we speed up these collagen-producing cells that help keep wrinkles and lines at bay. Exercising also helps to keep your body firmer and younger looking regardless of your age.

Protects against acne

One of the most dramatic effects of exercise is on acne-prone skin. An acne outbreak is caused by the skin's overproduction of oil. The oil catches foreign particles, for example dust, that clogs the pores. Regular exercise can help to regulate the production of the related hormones thus giving your body more internal balance and easing the production of oil (sebum), which will lead to less oily skin and less acne.

Stress is another factor that can be directly related to creating havoc on our skin. Regular exercise will help to relax the body and reduce the chances of a skin outbreak. The male hormone, androgen, contributes to an acne flare-up, but regular exercise helps to stop the adrenal glands from producing the hormone as quickly as it usually does.

Sweating helps

Regular exercise also results in increased sweating. This is beneficial to the skin as sweating helps to unclog pores and flushes away toxins from within the body. Agood sweat will push out all those clogging materials and give us an edge over acne breakouts and oily skin.

According to Goldberg, a clinical dermatologist, "persons who engage in regular exercise have a better complexion overall. If they have acne, it's better controlled, and if they have occasional breakouts, they are definitely less severe and clear, quicker and easier." Cleansing after exercise is also essential and it will really help to keep our skin clear.

Research reveals that certain exercises can also be used to help break up pockets of cellulites - that cheese-like skin on the buttocks, back of thighs and upper arms. This develops as a result of fibrous connections in the skin that are pulled tighter leading to compacting pockets of fats.

Exercises such as aerobics or weight training will contribute by helping to tone these muscles which will help to reverse the tension and reduce the appearance of cellulites. By conditioning these muscles, skin attached to them will become firm and beautiful. So, in this respect regular exercise will help you look younger for longer.