skinThere you are, in front of the mirror, staring at the nightmare before you – pimples, blackheads, blotchiness and wrinkles. It’s like your own face has become some sort of self-sufficient bully, stripping away at your pores and self-esteem with a vengeance.

Unless you’re a masochist, you’re probably not into waking up with a face full of pus every morning. But fear not, because there’s plenty you can do to turn that craggy, Mickey Rourke-like complexion into smooth, clear and healthy looking skin.

So, have a look at these tips to find out.

Get the perfect products

Your first step is to clean up your cleaning regime. While you might wake up in the morning and simply splash some water on your face, but we’re going to get a little more intricate than that.

By purchasing products that specialise in blackhead removal and pore cleaning, you’ll be guaranteed a cleaner start to your day – and skin that won’t remind you of a deep fat fryer.

Stay in the drink

Do you think you drink enough water in a day? If not, it could be affecting your pallor. Those without enough H2O can suffer from greasy, pale and tired-looking skin.

This isn’t because water is doing anything directly to your pores. Instead, it’s brightening up the health of your kidneys, which is, in turn, giving your skin a healthy glow.

So far, so good. But be sure you don’t drink too much. Your average eight glasses a day (or, about two litres a day for men, 1.6 litres a day for women) should be enough to give your skin the good health you want.

Fine dining and good health

It’s always so tempting to loll around at home with a Domino’s pizza and a bottle of Coke, ploughing through your Breaking Bad box set like you were on some kind of time trial. But will it lead to good skin? Nope.

Figure out a healthy and balanced diet that will take in all the vitamins, minerals, protein and carbs you need to function in a day. While it’s not always possible to home-make your meals every day, try your best, and stick to wholefoods whenever you can.

Combine this with regular exercise and you’ll find that a healthy lifestyle will lead to healthy pores. Soon, your face (not mention the rest of your body) will be looking fitter and cleaner.