Skin that is less than ideal can arise from a variety of different causes, with the main ones being:

Dehydration. Even if you drink plenty of water, if your body is not utilizing it correctly, all of the layers of skin may not receive the hydration needed. Drinking water is the best way to keep the body hydrated. If you don’t like the taste of plain water, add lemon or cranberry to it, which will also provide pH-balancing benefits. Dehydrated skin actually stems from internal dehydration. When the body is deficient in water, the organs become dehydrated, too, as does the skin. If your skin is dehydrated, very fine lines may be present, the overall skin color will be flat and the skin will feel dry and inflexible.

Lack of exercise. If you think that the only benefit of exercise is a better body, guess again. Exercise is also important for your skin because it helps to stimulate the lymphatic system, which keeps everything moving, especially blood. Proper blood flow is essential for both a healthy glow and to fuel the underlying cells so they can function at their full potential.

Smoking. Smoking is extremely damaging to the skin since it depletes the body of vitamin C and accelerates the rate at which collaged and elastin are broken down. It’s no question that smoking is a big factor in causing unhealthy skin. The chemicals in cigarettes suck moisture out of the skin, making it look and feel dry.

Diet. The digestive system and skin have a reciprocal effect on each other. Certain foods positively influence the skin’s behavior. It’s not about what is missing from your diet as much as it is about what you can and cannot address. If you can’t properly break food down, it won’t move throughout the digestive process and can actually cause you to become bloated and the skin to look sluggish. Since the skin is a functioning organ, when not enough vitamins and minerals are ingested to fuel the body, the skin suffers.

The Sun. A top skin offender, the sun is a major cause of unhealthy skin. Repeated sun exposure depletes collagen and elastin from within, making the skin less elastic and thinner, which leads to wrinkles. The sun is a known contributor of dark-colored spots and leathery, wrinkled-looking skin—an obvious sign of unfit and aged skin. The effects of the sun begin when we are kids. It is years later when we begin to see spots, wrinkles and, sometimes, precancerous patches and skin cancer.