It’s January, which means that the gyms are packed and Whole Foods’ shelves are empty. In two weeks everyone will forget their resolutions and all sense of normalcy will be restored.

Let’s not let that happen. I know everyone is working out to lose weight, or tone up, or in attempt to look like Karlie Kloss, but there’s other benefits to exercising that many of us don’t realize.

Exercising makes you beautiful. I mean, we’re already beautiful (never forget that), but it’s been proven that exercise can improve our health in ways that show on the outside.

For one thing, exercising induces sweat (if you’re doing it right). Many of us, myself included, are repulsed by sweat, but it turns out that sweating is actually good for your skin and hair. Sweating cleans out the dirt and oil in your pores, acts as a natural antibiotic that helps fight acne, and increases blood circulation to your scalp, which promotes hair growth.

Speaking of increased blood circulation: an improved circulation helps improve your skin tone. An increase in blood circulation floods your skin with oxygen and nutrient-rich blood cells, which results in a more beautiful, clearer complexion.

Exercising also helps reduce bloat and puffiness. When you work out, you’re stimulating your lymphatic system, speeding up flowing processes, which causes a reduction in water retention in our bodies and an improvement in under eye puffiness and dark circles.

To top it all off, exercise help ward off wrinkles. Prolonged exercise stimulated collagen and elastin production and improved skin thickness. Who doesn’t love the sound of that?

So keep up with your resolution, and develop that natural glow we all love and crave.

Ally | Elite.