15 GREAT THINGS YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR SKIN

Hey--your epidermis is showing--all 20 square feet of it. And keeping it in showroom shape is no easy task. You could be battling breakouts, sun damage, dryness, irritation, unwanted hair, or all of the above.
The good news: You'll grow nearly 1,000 new layers of skin throughout your lifetime, so you've got plenty of chances to make sure it's smooth and glowing. To help, we sifted through the latest research and talked to lots of dermatology experts to come up with the 19 best tips. Follow them, and your skin will look so great you'll want to walk around naked (but don't, unless you're wearing sunscreen). Don't wash money down the drain. "There's no need to buy an expensive cleanser loaded with fancy ingredients," says photobiologist Daniel B. Yarosh, Ph.D., author of The New Science of Perfect Skin. "They're on your skin for less than a minute, so they don't have time to really do anything."
Adding injury to insult: Some pricey ingredients can actually cause irritation (that would be you, peppermint and eucalyptus). Start with inexpensive face washes (try Biore Revitalize 4-in-1 Foaming Cleanser, $7 for 6.7 oz, drugstore.com) and see-through glycerin soaps like Neutrogena Facial Cleansing Bar ($3, drugstore.com).
Both remove dirt, oil, and dead skin cells without stripping away your skin's natural (and necessary) oils.
Cover your mouth. We're talking about a lip balm with UV protection, not ruby red lipstick. Your lips (along with your eye area and upper chest) have some of the thinnest skin on your body, so they need extra shielding.
A survey by a member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery found that only 47 percent of respondents used lip protection containing UV blockers. That's bad news, because "when skin cancer originates from the lips, it's especially aggressive and has a higher risk of spreading," says Erin Welch, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Guard your smackers by stocking up on balms with sunscreen, like Softlips Lip Protectant/Sunscreen with SPF 20 ($4 for two tubes, drugstore.com).
Get the red out. For the estimated 14 million people in the U.S. with rosacea--the condition whose symptoms can be triggered by alcohol, spicy food, exercise, and sun exposure--their reddened skin can feel like a scarlet letter.
Researchers have found that when rosacea sufferers wash their faces with a sonic skin-care brush (like the Clarisonic Skincare System, $195, 12. clarisonic.com), their skin calms down. The theory is that the gentle exfoliation allows skin treatments to be absorbed more effectively to put out facial fires.