A natural glow is a sign of healthy, hydrated skin. However, there are a lot of factors that can deprive your skin of its radiance and luminosity, including sleep, age, stress, and diet. If you're wondering how to get glowing skin, know this: rejuvenating dull skin takes a combination of proper skin care and lifestyle changes.

Healthy Habits for Glowing Skin

Achieving glowing skin involves a consistent skin care routine with carefully chosen ingredients, healthy diet choices, and more. Check out these steps that will set you on your way.

Discover four simple steps for achieving glowing skin

Create and Stick to a Consistent Skin Care Routine

Skin care plays an important role in skin health and achieving a natural glow. The right combination of active ingredients and products can transform dull, dry, and acne-prone skin into glowing, hydrated, and clear skin. While you may need to address other factors, such as a lack of sleep and high stress levels, a consistent skin care routine can contribute to your glow.

If you are new to skin care, you don't need a complicated regimen to benefit from topical products. If you're just getting started, try the basics: cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen. This will keep your skin clear, hydrated, and protected. With consistent use, you are sure to see improvements in your skin.

Cleanse Daily to Keep Skin Clear

Many people who experience acne often wonder how to clear up these problems. In fact, despite a variety of skin care products to choose from, an estimated 50 million Americans are affected by acne annually.

Making your skin glow starts with addressing acne and breakouts. If you have acne-prone skin, cleansing is a vital step. The EltaMD Foaming Facial Cleanser, formulated with pineapple enzymes that reduce inflammation, is just one great choice. Since redness often accompanies acne, anti-inflammatory ingredients can soothe inflamed skin. Taming this discoloration will help your natural glow shine through.

After your nightly cleanse, you can try EltaMD Skin Recovery Toner to calm and detox the skin, followed by the EltaMD Skin Recovery Serum, a concentrated formula designed and proven to kickstart recovery.

Hydrate and Repair With a Moisturizer

The right moisturizer not only hydrates dry skin but also repairs a damaged skin barrier, one culprit of dull skin. To get your glow back, try products like the EltaMD Skin Recovery Light Moisturizer, which is powered by a proprietary blend of amino acids that calm skin, minimize irritation, and promote a healthy skin barrier. It also contains squalane to protect against moisture loss and antioxidants to minimize the visible signs of aging. Addressing skin issues like irritation, moisture loss, and premature aging makes it much easier to get that glow you're searching for.

Protect Skin Health with SPF

As mentioned earlier, sunscreen is an absolute must in your daily routine, but this key product warrants its very own number for all the good it does your skin.

A broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher can protect against sun damage, which can increase the risk of skin cancer and cause hyperpigmentation, fine lines, and wrinkles. Too much sun also exposes skin to free radicals, which damage cells, leaving your skin susceptible to other outside irritants such as smoke and air pollution.

Daily use of a broad-spectrum facial sunscreen like the EltaMD UV Glow Broad-Spectrum SPF 36 can get you on the path to glowing skin by protecting against damage caused by the sun. Its specialized blend even includes the natural mineral mica to leave your skin looking fresh and luminous. Apply every morning—rain or shine—for total protection from the sun's aging rays.

Choose the Right Active Ingredients

With many skin care products and active ingredients to choose from, it can be intimidating to know which actives will help you meet your skin goals.

To brighten skin, consider these antioxidants: vitamin C, vitamin E, and niacinamide. Ergothioneine, one of the key ingredients in UV Glow, is a powerful antioxidant that protects against free radical damage while improving uneven skin texture and dull skin tone. Products with peptides, like EltaMD Renew Eye Gel, can stimulate cell growth and relax fine lines to make the skin appear more even.

For a stronger skin barrier, turn to amino acids. These are the building blocks that make up all peptides and proteins that create skin cells. Amino acids in topical products—like the EltaMD Skin Recovery System—have many benefits: they fortify the skin immune system, reduce signs of aging, and maintain skin hydration.

For maximum hydration, opt for hyaluronic acid, which binds water, ceramides that reinforce the lipid barrier to protect from environmental damage, or squalane, which softens skin. These actives help to hydrate, lock in moisture, and banish dry skin.

Use a Humidifier

Anyone wondering how to get glowing skin should consider using a humidifier. Adding this piece of self-care tech to your bedroom at night puts moisture into harsh, dry air. In the arid artificial environments that air conditioning and central heating create in our homes, skin issues can be hard to pin down—even normally oily skin can appear dehydrated and muted.

Dehydration could be holding you back from glowing skin, so using a humidifier to restore some water to the air is a good idea. You may even get some relief from chapped lips and dry airways during the cold months.

Nourish from Within

Healthy habits like drinking plenty of water and eating a nutrient-rich diet can help more than you might suspect. In addition to proper skin care, be sure to consume plenty of foods that promote healthy skin: fruits, vegetables, fatty fish, and protein sources. Foods that are rich in vitamins (especially antioxidants), minerals, and water content also contribute to skin health. If you want a natural glow, fill your plate with foods that will nourish each and every skin cell.

If knowing how to get glowing skin was straightforward, there wouldn't be so much confusion surrounding skin concerns like acne, dryness, and sun damage. But with a little forethought and diligence, you can improve your overall skin health and boost your confidence. To maximize the benefits from proper skin care and a healthy diet, make sure to get plenty of rest, stay hydrated, and manage your stress levels—do all this and you'll be well on your way to that glow you've been chasing!

Author

  • Lacey Muinos

    Lacey is a Southern California-based freelance writer who combines her passions—fitness, health, and a vegan lifestyle—with her work to help readers feel and be their best. Her work has been featured in Healthline, Livestrong, Verywell Fit, Eat This Not That, KinderBeauty, and more.