How intimidating is it to look at the back of a skincare product bottle and decipher whether that product is good for us or not?! Now more than ever, we want to be well-informed and educated about products and we want to know that we are doing the best thing for our skin and our bodies. Life is busy enough; we don’t need to stress about skincare ingredients that make us feel as though we need a PhD in Cosmetic Chemistry to decipher the contents of those little bottles.
So how do you know what you should be doing for your skin? Firstly, you need to get to know your skin just like you would when you start dating someone new. You want to know all the juicy gossip on your skin, its history, past experiences, and current situation. Are you one of those people that had 5 must-haves or 5 deal-breakers in a partner?
Here are the 5 key things you need to know to ‘Get to know your skin’ and get started on the right journey to skin health.
Skin Type
Did you know that one of the best ways to cause skin problems and age the skin is by using the wrong products? Ever heard a friend tell you ‘You should try this', I mean, even influencers do this daily. This is their job! No, my friend! Your skin is as unique to you as your fingerprint is. Nobody else has the same skin as you so you can’t treat it the same. There are so many variables and factors to consider when choosing skincare and your choice of skincare should be unique to you.
Your skin ‘type’ is what you are genetically born with, just like your fingerprint.
Skin, in general, will either be oily, dry, combination or normal. Now, before you get upset because I’ve left the sensitive skin range out, I’m not discriminating, there is a method to the madness. Almost nobody has genetically sensitive skin. Most skin sensitivities are caused by dietary choices (which is a trend that runs through generations), lifestyle, drugs, medications, hormones and other factors. Whilst baby skin is delicate, we need to be gentle and everything is generally more sensitive, it is not common that a baby would be born with genetically sensitive skin.
You can deep dive into the detailed characteristics of skin types to find out which type you fit into best. You can also seek professional advice from a skin specialist, therapist or dermal therapist for true advice on your skin type. Deciding your skin type will set you on the right path to using the correct cleanser and moisturiser for your skin.
Skin Conditions, Concerns and Problems
What specific concerns do you have about your skin? If I was to ask you for your top 3 concerns (you may not have 3, you may only have 1 or 2 or you may have 6). Regardless of how many you have, put them in order of priority from most concerning to least and stick to the top 3. For example, my top 3 skin concerns are hyperpigmentation, skin ageing (appearance of lines), and uneven skin texture.
By narrowing down and prioritizing your skin concerns, you then make life easier when it comes to selecting your treatment products to start tackling your concerns.
Diet Matters
Yes, it does! One of the biggest culture shocks, when I moved from Australia to the UK, was the lifestyle and diet. This is by no means throwing the Brits under the bus, however, I did notice a significant difference in the ‘health-conscious movement and awareness between the two locations. Although this doesn’t apply to everybody, of course, my general observation was that Australian culture promotes a more active, sun-loving, healthy lifestyle, whereas the British diet is very high in sugar, starchy and hearty carbohydrates, lots of bread and puddings and very limited in fresh fruit and vegetables. It felt as though it was beige banquet heaven. One of the biggest things I noticed in clients’ skin was the appearance of glycation. Glycation is the bonding of a sugar molecule to a protein or lipid molecule without enzymatic regulation. This means the patient consumes so much sugar and so little goodness from fresh fruit and vegetables that the sugar bonds to the protein in the skin causing a very obvious deep line that has the appearance of a deep wrinkle that will not budge with a very ‘shiny’ appearance to the skin. Essentially, sugar binds to the collagen to make the skin stiff. Whilst a little dewy glow is what we all want, a good skin expert knows a patient consumes far too much sugar just at first glance.
Aside from glycation, sugar also activates inflammation in the skin, speeding up the ageing process. Try to reduce sugar and add in fresh fruit and vegetables, in particular, leafy green vegetables to regulate your bodily functions and aid detoxification by eliminating waste. Try to consume fresh foods that are high in antioxidants. Antioxidants are the fountain of youth and help fight free radical damage. Free radicals sound cool, but they are the bad guy and cause ageing and cell damage.
It is also important to help the body move and flush static toxic build up so drinking water and tea tonics (minus the sugar) are fantastic for helping aid your lymphatic system function. It is recommended that you drink at least 2 litres of water per day.
Lifestyle
We all love to lounge around in our activewear and enjoy the comfort of our homes and sofas. I mean, what else are weekends for, right?! Do it! But you should also make sure that you are getting that body moving as much as possible. Movement encourages blood flow and stimulates the lymphatic system so that toxins have a better chance of being eliminated, rather than sitting stagnant in the body having a pity party.
Be mindful of alcohol consumption for several reasons. Firstly, alcohol dilates the pores of the skin, leading to blackheads and whiteheads. Alcohol consumption also impairs your sleep and causes dehydration. Dehydration then compromises the regenerative cycle your body enters while you rest. We know this as cell renewal or cell turnover which happens overnight. The decrease in normal cellular turnover leads to dull-looking skin with uneven tone and texture.
In addition to exercise and alcohol, we all know the super-ageing and detrimental effects that smoking and other drugs have on the body. These naughty little nicotine sticks are your one-way ticket to the Premature Age Express!
Stress
Ok, I heard you roll your eyes. They rolled so hard that I heard them hit your brow bone. I’m not here to tell you “Don’t stress”. I am here to help you manage your stress and how balancing all things in your life in healthy moderation is the healthiest option for you. When we talk about stress, we are talking about a variety of stressors or stress factors. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a stressful job, although you may and it may very well mean that you are a busy individual trying to balance a high-paced demanding career while trying to get kids fed and out the door for school drop-off, only to have the dog to walk, the family to feed for dinner and that presentation that needs to be ready for that really important client meeting tomorrow morning. Or maybe you just are not managing life and smoking and drinking your pain away, or maybe your relationship is going through a tough time and you just are not coping. Perhaps you have none of the above but you spend so many hours in front of the computer and books studying for hours that you have no time to sip any water, you’re living off adrenalin and caffeine and there are just not enough hours in the day!
Stress can affect your whole body, including your hair, nails, and skin. Since stress is a part of life, what matters is how you handle it. Ever heard the saying ‘You can’t change the person, but you can change how you react to them?'
Stress causes a chemical response in your body that makes the skin more sensitive and reactive. It can also make it harder for skin problems to heal and as a result, slows down the skin repair and regeneration process and therefore, as a result, ages your skin. Have you ever noticed that you break out more when you’re stressed? This is because stress causes your body to make hormones like cortisol, which tells glands in your skin to make more oil. Oily skin is more prone to acne and other skin problems.
Stress can also aggravate any underlying skin problems. For example, stress can aggravate psoriasis, rosacea, and eczema. It can also cause hives and other types of skin rashes and trigger a flare-up of fever blisters. Diet stresses and intolerances can also aggravate these conditions so make note of anything that makes you react.
Stress can disrupt the effect of your daily skincare. If you’re stressed, you might skimp on this part of your routine, which can aggravate skin issues or you may find that you suddenly are having a reaction that you wouldn’t normally have. Stress also disrupts healthy oil production and therefore can cause the skin to be oilier or disperse oil unevenly causing breakouts. We all know breakouts when we’re stressed means we’ll probably start picking. Picking will cause wounds in the skin, skin needs time to heal, stress slows down the healing process and this will all just cause you more stress!
5 skin tips to manage stress:
Practice stress management techniques, such as breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, or visual imagery. Start with small, bite-size chunks. Start with just a few minutes that you know you can manage but whatever you do, give yourself those few minutes every day. It’s 5 minutes out of the 1,440 minutes that 24 hours gives you.
Get regular exercise. It's good for your skin and the rest of your body. Even if it’s for 20 minutes, get moving outside, the fresh air will do you the world of good and you’ll have mental clarity.
Take time for yourself to do something you enjoy, even if you only have 10 minutes. Take a bath or read a book.
Get enough sleep. Seven to 8 hours each night is ideal.
Say no. It is acceptable and OK to set limits and boundaries to lower your stress. Saying NO is extremely empowering. Try it!
So what are the key takeaways here?
You should get to know your skin and decide whether your diet and lifestyle choices are working for you. Think about whether you are doing your absolute best to ensure you are managing your stress levels. Once you have established your skin type and your main skin concerns, you must start on a good skincare routine to start to treat your skin and chip away at your skin concerns while you are managing life!
At the end of the day, if life is getting the better of you, at least you can slay a great skincare ritual, feel in control of your skin and achieve an outer glow that helps you feel that you are bossing life!
And remember... When life gives you lemons, add a shot of tequila!
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