When I tell women that tough skin is a good thing, they tend to shy away from this skin care tip.

They shun the idea of tough skin because of two misconceptions based on the way we use language.

The first misconception is that they assume tough skin is the same as rugged skin. They equate tough skin with rough, leathery, unattractive skin. This, however, is not at all what I am talking about. But I do understand where they get this impression.

They get this mistaken impression because they are used to the carefully-spun language used by advertisers to seduce readers and viewers into buying products. When describing facial skin, glossy women’s magazine advertisements or television commercials use words like “soft,” “smooth,” “silky,” “creamy,” and so on. This unconsciously implies that skin must be delicate to be beautiful.

The second misconception is people often they think of the metaphor of thick skin, meaning a pachyderm like indifference to unpleasant facts, words, or experiences. Again, the impression is that a thick skin is something that relates to insensitive, cold, hard, and calloused people. Although this is a connotation, an associated or secondary meaning, it is still enough to cloud judgment.

The Real Truth about Tough Skin

The truth of the issue of tough skin is that beautiful, healthy, and smooth skin looks that way because it is tough and thick. In fact, it is 7 layers strong because skin was designed to protect the body, rather than serve as an ornament draped over flesh and bone to increase sexual appeal.

Young people, for instance, have beautiful skin because they have tough skin. Yes, their skin is thick and tough! This does not mean that it is unhealthy or unattractive as a result of too much swimming, sunbathing, or beauty care neglect. Instead, thick and tough skin means that it is well-structured, strong, and works as an effective barrier against bacteria invading the body from a topical source. Let me repeat: tough skin is also beautiful, healthy, and smooth skin. It is skin that is attractive. While it may be smooth to the touch, it is not delicate skin.

How Skin Gets Tough

So now that we have established that tough skin is a good thing, something that you should want to have, the next thing you may be wondering is how skin gets thick and tough. Why did our skin look beautiful when we were younger? It is because as we aged, our skin began to create less collagen and elastin to toughen up.

In fact, contrary to popular opinion, delicate skin is not a good thing. As our skin became more delicate, it actually began to crease, line, and wrinkle. It lost its tough, elastic, durable texture. Delicate skin is a nice way to say thin, oversensitive skin. When skin gets thin, it begins to sag. Bags under the eyes, for example, are a result of thin, delicate skin.

So when I offer a skin care tip about tougher skin, I am actually pointing people in the right direction.

How, then, does one get tough, thick skin?

Tough skin is skin rich in collagen and elastin. It is healthy, resilient, well-structured skin.

The way to get tough skin is to get more collagen and elastin in the tissue of your skin.

The Great Deception

Realizing that consumers are becoming much more sophisticated when it comes to skin care, cosmetic companies are pretending to offer it to them in skin care creams. In fact, they boldly proclaim that their product has collagen and elastin. Consequently, their sales do really well.

Now, this is not a lie. But it is a deception. Let me explain.

When assayed by independent laboratories, the beauty product will indeed have collagen and elastin.

What the manufacturers are not telling you is that a skin care product with these ingredients is absolutely useless. The proteins have molecules that are too large to be absorbed by your skin. So when you rub the lotion or cream on your face, you only enjoy a temporary benefit. Your skin will look younger and smoother-until you wash off the cream. Then it will go back to its original weak structure and your wrinkles will reappear.

A Better Solution

In your quest for tougher, thicker skin, you should not look for products that have collagen and elastin. Instead, you should look for products that have ingredients that stimulate your body’s ability to produce its own collagen and elastin.

Only the highest quality skin care products give you the right ingredients for beautiful skin. These products don’t have additives, preservatives, or filler substance, but are completely natural. Use of these products over time, assuming you use them daily, will recreate the two vital proteins. When they are back in the layers of your skin, you will indeed look years younger. People will marvel at the change.

Not Made In North America or Europe

If you live in North America or Europe, you will not likely have heard of skin care products that are rich in antioxidants, emollients, and, yes, collagen and elastin boosting ingredients. This is because the best beauty products have extracts that come from New Zealand and the Amazon forests in Brazil.

As someone living in the United States, I myself had not heard about these products until I became a passionate Internet researcher. I can assure you that I never heard of them when I was in a prestigious beauty school, purportedly learning all about skin care.

Fortunately, due to the reach of the Internet, you don’t have to rely on brick-and-mortar stores to get high quality and reasonably priced skin care products that really work. Today, you can get them wherever you live.

Here is what I use and recommend:

• Maracuja from the Amazon forests of Brazil.
• Babassu from the Amazon forests of Brazil.
• Phytessence Wakame, a sea kelp from Japan.
• Extend TK from New Zealand.

In closing, it is my hope that you will take this skin care tip to heart. If you do, it will completely transform the way you think and feel about your beauty. The simple truth is that tougher, thicker skin is the foundation of beautiful, healthy skin.