Lock down skin
Your skin is suffering due to this period of lock down.
How do I know?...
……My clients have been contacting me to tell me and there is a physiological reason that our skin will suffer at this time.
Stress - increase in cortisol levels in the blood is a result of stress. It does this for a good reason, it gets us ready to take flight or fight in the face of danger.
It increases sugar level in the blood to give us the energy to do either. Binding of sugar to protein or lipid molecule results in glycation in the skin, this is seen is the ageing appearance, wrinkles, lines lax skin.
This increase in cortisol also increases the production of sebum in the skin which cause breakouts, acne and oily skin.
Activities shown to reduce stress include yoga, medication, any exercise, sleep and baths. Baths have the added benefit of increases oxygenation to the skin.
Diet- I am sure I’m not the only who’s fridge has started asking ‘what do you want now!’. Meals have become a focus of the day. We feel we deserve our nice food, as well as being a family time. Now find we have more time to sit down together and enjoy it. This I think it a wonderful part of lockdown, preparing and eating together.
The snacks between them is what has let me down…just one more chunk of chocolate!
Sugar as pointed out above, along with dairy and refined carbohydrates can exacerbate skin ageing and dull complexion. Being mindful of reducing the intake of these and increasing our dietary vitamin C can benefit our skin hugely.
More time inside – this leads to the reduction absorbed vitamin D from the sun. Vitamin D takes its part in reducing ageing and dryness of the skin as well as improving mood and boosting your immune system.
The other side of that coin is more time outside! – Skin damage UV rays are responsible for 90% of ageing as well as exacerbating rosacea and hyperpigmentation. Sun protection factor of 40 or above is vital to protect you. A good SPF is the best cream you can get to prevent further ageing of the skin.
Naked faces – The benefits of going make up free include not clogging the pores with oily foundation or drying the skin out with powders. Also, it has been very liberating, confidence building and time saving!
I have looked embracing my natural look, my skin is clearer and the time I would have spent on makeup I have invested in sticking to my skin care regime and it shows.
The temptation of not wearing makeup is not to cleanse as often, do not fall into this trap. We still need to clean away the pollutants of the day. Skin care is even more important especially as we are not getting our in-clinic treatments which help take care of clearing the pores and exfoliating.
Now is the time to get on board with your skin care. What benefits acne skin will not help rosacea for example, in fact they may make it worse
Top tips – SPF is number 1 in any regime.
Get the right serum to treat YOUR skin.
Cleans morning and evening.
If in doubt get professional advice, its less costly than expensive products that sit in the bathroom cabinet not being used!
Investigate in clinic treatments to get your new skin journey started.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Stay safe.
Kelly x
