Putting the Care back in skin care.
Your skin is your body's largest organ and not only is it keeping everything in but it's also got a barrier function to keep bad stuff out. Your skin's job is to protect you from bacteria, allergens, and ultraviolet (UV) damage, while regulating your body temperature...your skin does a lot for you, what are you doing for it?
If you feel like you are in a constant battle with your skin's appearance, ask yourself if you are truly caring for it. When your skin appears (or feels) dry, irritated, inflamed (red), or you often refer to it as sensitive you may need to look beyond your reflection into your diet, daily habits, sleep patterns, and (of course) products to see how you can change your skin for the better.
Healthy food choices lead to healthy skin. We're all different and I am by no means promoting any specific "diet", but you do need to feed your body well if you want your skin to be healthy. In general, it's good to have a variety of fruits and veggies for vitamins and antioxidants, fiber for digestive health, water for hydration and moisture, and healthy fats and some protein. Work to minimize the amounts of highly processed foods, excess sugars and salt, and alcohol and caffeine. It's the basics, but your diet affects more than just your clothes size...and most of us need the occasional reminder (myself included).
Right now (during the Covid 19 pandemic) I get that our daily routines have been adjusted somewhat...but you may have noticed your skin has changed some as well. Maybe your exercising more (or less), maybe you're spending more time outdoors (or less), most of us are dealing with more stress and we're all handling it in our own way (and that's fine, everyone is in a different situation). Just be aware that stress affects your hormones which in turn can have an effect on your skin (especially showing up as breakouts on the lower part of your face). My point is, just take notice of what is going on in your day to day habits and see if there are some places you can make adjustments...for your body, mind, and skin.
Good sleep (the amount differs for everyone) is needed for your body to create and distribute HGH. Skin wise, this is important for collagen production. If you're not sleeping well or getting enough sleep your body can't repair itself as well...it's called beauty sleep for a reason.
The easiest thing to take control of is the products you use on your skin. If you've been using the same products for several months and you still notice that your skin is having the same problems then that product is not working for you (conversely, if you are constantly trying something new...you may not be giving products time to work). Plant based products are my recommendation...but always look to the ingredients to make sure you know what your getting. Ingredients are listed in the order of amount/percentage of the products, your most active
ingredients should be in the first 10-15. Avoid things like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (usually what makes a product foamy) but actually can be irritating for your skin, Parabens (used a preservative) but there are less harsh alternatives, and added fragrances (these are used to cover up less pleasant smelling ingredients) instead look for plant based products and ones that use essential oils instead as these have beneficial properties for your skin.
When you take the time to really look at how you are caring for your skin, you'll see that caring for your whole body really is a form of self care. It is all connected, what you see in the mirror is just the end result of everything that is going on on the inside (both physically and mentally). I really mean this when I say it, take care of you.
Wishing you good skin and good vibes, Tamara
