5 essential steps to achieve beautiful skin

LOS ANGELES At Senator Carol Liu's 10th annual Women's Health Conference, doctors covered numerous issues important to women.

But some of the more popular workshops addressed what many women see as soon as they look in the mirror -- aging skin.

Emily Chen says it is important to her to maintain a healthy glow.

"I think it's important to take care of my skin," said Chen. "It is the largest part of my body and people see it."

Dr. Alina Lopo is an internist who used to be a molecular biologist. She says skin can tell you a lot about a woman's health.

"You can tell when somebody is dehydrated," said Dr. Lopo. "You can tell if someone is a smoker. That usually is a dead giveaway. And you can even tell what kind of nutrition they are getting."

She says the first part of getting healthy skin is to concentrate on what's going into your skin not what you put on top.

"Moisturizers don't put water on your skin," said Dr. Lopo. "Moisturizers keep the water in, but the water has to come in through your mouth."

She advises women to drink 64 ounces of water a day and stick to a low carb and low sugar diet.

"Fruits and vegetables are good," said Dr. Lopo. "Chicken, fish and lean meats are good."

Dr. Lopo says skincare doesn't have to be expensive to effective. She says look for practical, quality products that help you execute the five essential steps in skincare.

"You should cleanse, tone, exfoliate and moisturize," said Dr. Lopo. "And the most important thing is to protect your skin with sunscreen."

Dr. Lopo says that sunscreen is the most important of all of the steps. She advises women to make time for their skin the way they make time to brush their teeth.

When it comes to buying sunscreen Dr. Lopo says it doesn't pay to buy anything over an SPF of 50. She says you don't get much more protection the higher you go.

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