Guaranteed Ways To Breathe New Life Into Tired Skin
The holiday season is over, so now's the time to say goodbye to dull, exhausted-looking skin and hello to a brand new year.
December is known for many things – cold, blustery weather; chestnuts roasting on an open fire (although who even does that!) and panic shopping for holiday gifts to name just a few. It’s a great time of year for most of us, but when it comes to your skin? Well, not so much. In fact, boozy parties and sleepless nights can ruin your skin’s mojo. So, now the festive fun is over, the last thing you want to be stuck with is sleepy skin that looks and feels as tuckered out as you feel.
While nothing beats the magical powers of eight hours of beauty sleep, there are plenty of ways to put a pep in your complexion’s step. Here are five of our utmost faves. And no, finishing off your cleansing routine with blasts of freezing cold water is not one of them. Because that’s downright torture at this time of year. And we’re not quite that mean…
1. Exfoliate Your Skin
Dead, dulling skin cells can really pile up if you’ve had little to no zzzs and your skin has lost out on its vital regeneration time. Couple this with too much partying (read salty snacks and Prosecco) and it’s no wonder the festive season goes hand-in-hand with burnt-out skin.
The best way to amp up cell turnover and improve radiance is to exfoliate your skin. And exfoliation comes in two forms: physical and chemical.
Physical exfoliation includes all the obvious stuff like face scrubs, cleansing brushes and loofahs – basically anything that requires some kind of physical movement in order for it to work.
Chemical exfoliation is just as good as physical exfoliation, and can actually be a much better choice if you have sensitive skin that gets easily irritated by abrasive scrubs and the like. Chemical exfoliators are products that contain some kind of ingredient (usually acids like glycolic, salicylic or lactic) that help loosen the bonds between skin cells to encourage them to naturally slough away more efficiently. They don't require pressure or massage, they just do the job as par for the course. Clever, right?
Try our Vitamin C Super Serum+ which not only contains salicylic acid, but antioxidants galore. Apply it to cleansed, dry skin before moisturizing to help get your party glow on.
2. Get Your Daily Vitamin C Fix
Speaking of antioxidants, they’re vital at this time of year (and any time of year for that matter. Antioxidants work by nixing free radicals caused by stress, a less-than-ideal diet, alcohol and exposure to things like pollution and cigarette smoke.
Most experts agree that the absolute queen of skincare antioxidants is vitamin C. Why’s it so great? Ha, how long have you got? Seriously though, in a nutshell, vitamin C has not only been proven to slow aging by working on free radical-induced wrinkles, but it accelerates collagen production and is a bit of show-off when it comes to warding off dull, tired-looking skin. How so? Because it inhibits wayward melanin production which is what causes dark spots and patchy skin. So, there you go.
Apply Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream to cleansed skin before hitting the sack to promote healthier, brighter skin as you sleep – no effort required. Got to love that, right?
3. Exercise More
An hour at the gym is not only good for your abs and pecs, but it stimulates blood flow to your skin, providing oxygen and nutrients to your cells and helping to give your complexion a fabulously healthy glow. And if gym sessions aren’t your jam, don’t fret because anything that gets you moving and your heart rate up will take care of business nicely. A brisk walk, Zumba class, even dancing around the kitchen… all good.
4. Stay Away From Smoking (And Smokers!)
You know smoking’s bad for you. We know you know that. But let’s just have a refresher course on just how tragic it is for your skin, shall we?
There are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, many of which destroy your collagen and elastin fibers, which, as you know, are the key players when it comes to maintaining awesome skin. Cue lines, wrinkles, puffiness and an uneven skin tone. Nicotine, in particular, causes your blood vessels to constrict, reducing blood flow and depriving your skin of all the oxygen and nutrients it needs to stay bright and healthy-looking. And yes, secondhand smoke is just as damaging to your skin, maybe even more so, because the levels of nasties like nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide and nitric oxide are at least double the numbers found in firsthand smoke. Mic. Drop.
If you ever find yourself surrounded by a bunch of smokers, counteract the damaging effects of all those collagen-destroying enzymes by applying products that contain proven ingredients to increase collagen production in your skin. Things like vitamin C, retinol, MSM and peptides are the mutt’s nuts for this. In steps Retinol Facial Serum...
5. Try Your Hands At Facial Massage
There’s nothing better for waking up your skin in the morning than by giving yourself a two-minute facial massage as you cleanse. And honestly, a few minutes is all it takes to majorly boost your circulation and encourage toxin drainage.
Apply Vitamin C Brightening Cleanser to damp skin and work it all over your face and neck, using the pads of your fingers. Sweep your fingers down your nose a few times, across your cheeks from the center outwards, up and around your forehead, then from the middle of your chin out towards your ears. Finish with your neck, using the palms of your hands to perform light strokes from the base of your neck up to your jawline.
More About This Article
Georgia Gould
Georgia is an award-winning beauty writer who has been in the business for over 20 years. British-born, she began her career as a magazine beauty editor in London before moving to San Francisco, CA in 2012 where she now continues her love as a freelance writer and editor. As well as her editorial work, Georgia has created content for many high-profile beauty brands, including Clarins, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Simple and TRESemmé. Her passions include retinol (obviously), golfing, skiing and walking her beloved Schnauzer, Dave.
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Tired, stressed out skin can be a real party pooper. So get ahead of the game and up the skincare love with these simple beauty hacks.
Are you guilty of neglecting your skin during the party season? OK, so maybe ‘neglect’ is too strong a word. But if you’re already experiencing beat up skin that looks like it needs a fortnight in the Caribbean, chances are your skin is feeling the burn of one late night too many.
The holiday season can be stressful enough, however, so why add to your woes by putting your skin under so much pressure that it repays you with a whole bunch of unwanted holiday gifts like redness, dry patches, pimples and dullness? If you ask us, that’s just one stress too much.
We say a big ‘NO’ to stressed, partied out skin. Not by declining all the invitations. Heck no! But with the following skin-loving hacks that require zero effort (check) but offer maximum pay-out (check).
1. Double Cleanse Before Bed
Our motto is that if your cleanser doesn’t feel like it’s doing a good enough job on its own, then you need to think about the formulation you’re using. However, like all good rules in life, this motto is made to be broken! And during these times double cleansing can be a real lifesaver.
At this time of year you’re likely to be wearing more makeup, more often thanks to a crazy social calendar. Not only that but the combination of late nights, more booze, less sleep and more rich food is going to quickly make your skin feel and look super tired. And this is when problems quickly arise. If you’re a rosacea or eczema sufferer, for example, flare-ups will occur lightning fast. If you have oily skin, on the other hand, your sebaceous glands can go wild, producing more oil than ever and possibly leaving you with breakouts just when you don’t need them. You see where we’re going here…
One of the best ways to keep your skin under control during the holidays is to treat yourself to a pre-bedtime double cleanse. As you sleep, your skin goes into full recharge mode, regenerating new skin cells and repairing environmental damage. But how can it successfully do this when it’s covered in makeup and grime? The short answer is that it can’t. Instead, it’ll punish you with poor, rough texture; dull, dry skin and dark, puffy bags under your eyes.
Double cleansing can take on many forms but it basically means cleaning your skin twice to remove both oil-based debris (makeup, sebum and sunscreen) and water-based grime like sweat. Your first port of call is to massage some kind of oil-based cleanser into your skin to remove the oil-based surface debris. Then you wash with a cream, gel or lotion to finish cleansing and treat your skin according to your skin type or concerns. It’s a fairly simple process – although a little lengthier than regular cleansing – but in times of need it can work wonders for your skin and pores. Just remember, it's unlikely to be necessary every night, and stay away from overly harsh, perfumed or alcohol-heavy products. Keep it gentle with our range of awesome cleansing giants.
2. Laugh In the Face Of Free Rads
When you’re putting your body under more stress than normal, free radicals like to have a wild party of their own!
But what are free radicals? Well, without getting too sciencey on you, free radicals are unstable, highly reactive atoms or molecules that form in your skin when it’s subject to things like sun damage, pollution, alcohol, stress or a poor diet. Due to their unstable nature, free radicals seek out electrons from other, unsuspecting molecules in your skin to try and stabilize themselves. This is bad news because it creates even more free radicals, leading to what's known in the skincare biz as oxidative stress. This is probably all you need to know about those little free radical devils but needless to say, oxidative stress can cause serious damage to all the good stuff in your skin – namely collagen and elastin.
The good news is that antioxidants are able to donate electrons to free radicals to neutralize them and stop them screwing up the other, more important components in your skin. Your body has its own, hard-working antioxidant defense system but (isn't there always a but?!) aging weakens it. No surprises there! This means there inevitably comes a time when your skin needs help from other sources like an antioxidant-rich diet or topical antioxidants in your skincare routine such as vitamin C, niacinamide, green tea and vitamin E.
Our party season go-to is Vitamin C Super Serum+. And the best news is you only need to use it two or three times a week for awesome results. We suggest you get on board, immediately!
3. Layer Up With Hydration
Dehydration is an absolute b*tch for letting your skin down, making it look dull and feel horrible. Of course, a little amount of dehydration is a given if you’re a fan of overdoing the G&Ts and don’t counteract it with plenty of water. So try to sip on H20 as much as possible.
Just as importantly for helping to curb dehydrated skin is to apply products that draw water to the surface layers. Our favorite humectants (the water magnets of the skincare world) are hyaluronic acid, glycerin and aloe so keep your skin in good supply of these through twice daily use of treatment serums and good quality moisturizers.
We have many superpowered serums like Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum which is incredible for pumping up moisture, but we also love Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum which is one of the finest for boosting radiance and uplifting a gloomy, dehydrated complexion.
4. Perk Up Tired Eyes
What’s the first area of your skin to, without fail, give the partying game away? The skin around your eyes. The reason for this is that the skin here is slightly different to the rest of your face. It contains fewer sebaceous glands (cue dryness) and is around ten times thinner which makes it way more susceptible to the visible signs of tiredness and premature aging. Also, thanks to its natural thinness, underlying tissue and blood vessels become more prominent when you’re tired, causing shadows and dark circles.
But that’s not all. The skin around your eyes also contains a limited amount of fat and muscle which means collagen and elastin are even more important for maintaining strength and support. When your collagen and elastin become compromised thanks to too much partying, basically the poor skin around your eyes stands no chance of remaining its best.
So what can you do about pooped-out peepers? First, try to get early nights whenever you can. Obvs. Drink plenty of water day and night to reduce dehydration, and always keep a fabulous eye treatment in your refrigerator to apply morning and night to cleansed skin. Our new Depuffing Longevity Eye Cream is a real hero, or you could try Peptide Eye Gel which works like a dream on tired eyes.
5. Exoliate A Tad More Than Normal
Exfoliating too much can send your skin into a state of frenzy, but if you have strong skin and you feel like it needs a bit of a kick in the booty, a little extra exfoliation can work wonders.
If you like to use a scrub, try exfoliating once more a week during the party season, or try our new AHA, BHA and PHA Liquid Exfoliant which contains glycolic and salicylic acids as well as a gentle hydrating exfoliant called gluconolactone. It’s super effective yet gentle enough to use every day. Can we get an Auld Lang Syne for that?!
6. Feed Your Skin From The Inside
Finally, while you’re putting all manner of salty snacks and sweet treats down your throat, remember to save some room for plenty of good, nutritious foods. Fresh fruit and veggies are a given in any healthy diet, but also up your intake of lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids to help regulate oil production and nourish your skin. You’ll find omega-3s in things like oily fish, seafood, nuts and seeds.
While we’re on the subject of looking after your skin from the inside, now’s also a great time to try our new Collagen Boosting Skin Supplement which helps to promote quality natural collagen production while improving hydration and fighting off those naughty free radicals.
It’s the perfect antidote to living the good life ;)
HolidaysSkin-Saving Beauty Hacks To Take You Through The Party Season
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Knowing how to switch things up to get your skin ready for the day as opposed to ready for bed? Life-changing. Well, skin-changing at the very least.
There’s something to be said for nailing a consistent skincare routine. However, it’s not always easy to find your perfect product match. In fact, it requires much nurturing and tweaking – often over many years – to get your routine exactly where you want it. Whether you prefer to keep things basic or like to go all-out with every potion you can get your hands on, skincare is a very personal thing. But there are some fundamentals that every successful regime should abide by.
One of these is the importance of variation. And by this we don’t mean owning 75 moisturizers and just as many facial serums that you switch out more often than your underwear. Because, frankly, this is not the kind of consistency skin strives for. No, by variation we mean having a few different products in your arsenal that are tailored to your skin’s needs as they change from AM to PM.
Often brushed off as marketing hype, morning and night time skincare is, in fact, quite different. Do you really need separate cleansers, toners, eye treatments and exfoliators for morning and night? Absolutely not. These products are important, for sure, but they can definitely remain the same, no matter what time of day they’re being used. However, other products require a little thoughtful adjustment so they’re able to offer exactly what your skin needs as it transitions from day to night.
Never quite sure how to approach your morning and bedtime skincare routines? Then read on for the three most important products you need for each of these skinfluential times of day.
Your Morning Skincare Routine
Life often gets in the way of awesome skin. Things like emotional stress, pollution, the sun, your diet, they all have their own ways of upsetting the health of your skin and throwing things way off whack. This means your morning skincare routine must, most important of all, set your skin up for a daily battle against everything life throws at you.
Morning Skincare Musts
1. Environmental Protection
So, life. As awesome as it is, it batters your skin with daily aggressors that encourage the formation of free radicals. Free radicals are few and far between at night when you’re asleep, but during daylight hours, they can overrun your skin, compromising your collagen supplies, screwing up your elastin and even messing with your DNA. This is seriously bad news for the health of your skin as it can accelerate fine lines and wrinkles as well as other skin peskies like dark spots, sagging, dullness and poor texture and tone.
Keeping your skin protected from free radicals, therefore, should be an absolute priority for your morning routine. And the best way to do this? With an antioxidant facial serum. Unlike other skincare ingredients, antioxidants work hard to neutralize free radicals, allowing your skin to go about its business without the risk of damage from things like the sun and environmental pollution.
Topical antioxidants include the likes of vitamin E, niacinamide and green tea but the real biggie is vitamin C – something we know rather a lot about, here at TruSkin HQ! Universally loved and clinically-proven to nix free radicals in the bud while also brightening the skin, we think of it as a non-negotiable morning essential. You should, too. So try our fan-favorite Vitamin C Facial Serum and get on that, this second.
2. Hydration
As well as to protect itself from the outside world, your skin’s other main job is to keep itself hydrated and moisturised all day so that its barrier function remains in optimum condition. Your skin’s barrier function is what keeps toxins and pollution out and moisture in so it’s vital to moisturize daily to keep it strong and in great working order. Otherwise, you’re asking for trouble in the way of dehydration, dryness, breakouts and potential irritation.
We believe daily moisturizing should be about lightweight formulations that you can layer without overloading your skin. Look out for serums that harness ingredients like hyaluronic acid and aloe vera which help to draw moisture into the skin’s top layers. Then follow with a light lotion that locks all that moisture in. We love the winning combination of Niacinamide Facial Serum followed by Firming Collagen Day Lotion which is deeply moisturizing but light enough for everyday wear.
3. And The Most Important Product Of All: SPF
Of course, sunscreen is futile before bed, but your morning skincare routine is nothing without SPF. You just can’t ignore the fact that the sun is the biggest skin ager and responsible for somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of external skin aging.
If you want to ward off fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots and sagging skin for as long as humanly possible you need to apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen every morning – rain or shine. Broad-spectrum formulations protect your skin from both UVA and UVB so that’s important to look out for on your product labels. Also, make sure to go with nothing below SPF 30 and stick with mineral formulations that are much kinder to your skin. Our SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C checks all those boxes, so no probs there.
Your Bedtime Skincare Routine
As your body and brain go into rest mode, your skin goes into reset mode. Your environment has completely changed and gone are all the elements that have been going at your skin all day long. This makes night time the best time for your skin to heal and rejuvenate itself, ready to do it again tomorrow.
Bedtime Skincare Musts
1. Thorough Cleansing
Cleansing your skin is essential, morning and night, but at night time, after subjecting your skin to a whole day of sweat, makeup, oil, sunscreen, dirt, pollution and, well you get the picture, cleansing is everything.
Your product choices are down to you and your skin type, but always stick with gentle formulations that are free of harsh ingredients like sulfates and parabens. Sure, effective cleansing is important, but you don’t want to strip your skin completely dry or irritate your delicate barrier function. Our current favorite is our Soothing Cleansing Milk but, like we said, the ball is in your court.
When cleansing, take your time to thoroughly massage your skin to remove all traces of daily grime, and use lukewarm (never hot!) water to rinse well.
Double cleansing can also be a good idea before bed – especially if you like to wear a good amount of makeup during the day or are prone to oily skin that feels pretty dirty by the evening. And double cleansing is exactly what it sounds like. First, you use an oil-based cleanser to remove makeup and sunscreen, then you followed this with a water-based formulation to wash away other surface debris and help target your skin type or concerns.
2. Rejuvenation & Repair
Unlike the rest of your body which takes a well-deserved break as you sleep, night time is when your skin gets busy. All the excitement from the day shifts your skin into regeneration mode, repairing damage and preparing it for the next day. During this time blood flow increases, collagen production accelerates, cell turnover doubles and your skin’s natural antioxidant system amps up. It’s like a well-oiled machine that really kicks into gear as the rest of you catches your zzzs.
The products you choose to help all this move along seamlessly are endless, so it’s really a matter of choice. Do you want to help target fine lines and wrinkles as you sleep? Then Retinol Facial Serum might be the one for you. Perhaps you want to concentrate on looking after your collagen? In which case, Smoothing Collagen Serum has your name on it. Then there’s Peptide Facial Serum which strengthens and protects your barrier function to help your skin rejuvenate.
We know they all sound amazing (and that’s because they are!) but try to resist applying more than one at a time. Helping your skin during the overnight regeneration process is great. Overloading it with too many actives? Not so much.
3. Deep Moisturization
Did you know, your skin produces less sebum while you’re asleep? Well, now you do. And hopefully this also makes you better understand the importance of deeper, more intense moisturizing at night.
You might, like us, hate the feeling of heavy creams during the daytime but there’s no better feeling than slathering your face (and neck, of course!) in a beautifully intense moisturizing cream that will nourish your skin and have you waking up with a soft, plump complexion.
Our Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream is perfect for the job. It has that extra sprinkling of vitamin C to add a bit of antioxidant prowess to the party. Plus, it contains aloe to hydrate and our favorite beautifying compound, MSM to soothe, strengthen, firm and revitalize your skin. No effort required.
We love that for you.
Skincare RoutineWhy Your Morning & Bedtime Skincare Routines Should Be Different
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Skin that’s unusually dry, itchy, dull or overly oily is trying to tell you something. And you need to listen.
Everyone’s skin can get a little sensitive now and again. Life just happens. Maybe you’ve overdone it with the retinol, perhaps your hormones are all over the place, or hold on, what about all those late nights you’ve been pulling recently? There are many factors, like these, that can upset your skin. And it’s your barrier function that first shows the signs of stress, furnishing you with all manner of skin peskies like dryness, itchiness, redness, inflammation, breakouts and dehydration.
Sounds familiar? Then read on for the best ways to improve your skin’s barrier function.
But First, What Is The Skin Barrier?
Your skin’s barrier is technically referred to as the stratum corneum. If you don’t care about fancy names, however, that’s fair enough, but know the following: your skin consists of three main layers. The deepest layer is the hypodermis which supplies blood and keeps your skin attached to your bones and muscle. On top of that you have the dermis which is where all the good stuff like hair follicles, sweat glands and blood vessels hang out. Then, right at the top is the epidermis which protects all the rest. The epidermis is pretty complex and consists of many intricate layers – the top of which is the stratum corneum, aka the skin’s barrier.
Your skin’s barrier is like a brick wall built from around 20 layers of cells. It provides your body with its first line of defense against things like pollution, allergens and other irritating environmental stressors. Being the outermost layer it’s vital for keeping these bad guys out, but it also works super hard to keep moisture in, helping to maintain soft, supple and healthy skin.
Truth is, your skin’s barrier is vital for the health of your entire skin. And it really gets put through the mill.
What Causes Damage To Your Skin’s Barrier?
So. Many. Things. Most of which you can probably guess, but here’s a list of the ten most common triggers of a compromised barrier function…
- Stress
- Over-exfoliation
- Natural aging
- A lack of sleep
- Harsh, chemical-laden skincare products
- Smoking
- Poor moisturizing
- UV radiation
- Environmental pollution
- Extreme temperatures
It’s also worth noting that everyone’s skin composition is different, so certain triggers that might break down your skin’s barrier might be totally fine for the next person. Pale skin, for example, naturally has a thinner and weaker barrier than darker skin types which means it’s more prone to irritation from common aggressors.
Your skin barrier also weakens as you age, so while your skin might have been totally unbreakable in your 20s, by the time you hit your 40s certain triggers can, out of the blue, start to have negative effects.
What Are The Signs That Your Skin Barrier Needs Help?
When your skin barrier is in good shape, your skin will look and feel just as awesome – glowing, healthy, moisturized and smooth. If it gets compromised, however, nothing good will come of it. We’re talking dryness, dehydration, itching, inflammation, redness, breakouts and more. Active products in your skincare regime might also produce stinging or burning effects that were never there before.
How To Repair The Skin Barrier
Once you’ve determined that your skin barrier is not feeling up to snuff, you need to think about the best ways to help strengthen and fortify it. And there are two important areas to take into account.
1. Your Skincare Routine
The most common and easiest way to damage and disrupt your skin’s barrier is through a complicated or over-zealous skincare routine. Harsh cleansing or exfoliating too hard and too often are massive no-nos as these can strip your skin’s barrier of the natural moisturizing factors that help to keep it healthy and in optimum working order. The same goes for applying too many active ingredients like retinol, glycolic acid and vitamin C on the reg. Basically, you just need to live by the classic rule that less is always more.
Stick to once or twice weekly exfoliation and only ever apply one facial serum at a time – no disrespect, but cocktailing active ingredients is best left to the professionals. Of course, you can still enjoy the benefits of different active ingredients but if your skin can’t hack it, don’t push it. Instead, try applying your serums on alternative days or just a couple of times a week. We love to use Retinol Facial Serum twice a week, and our Rejuvenating Longevity Serum every other evening. This, combined with Vitamin C Facial Serum in the mornings, makes for a pretty dynamite but caring combination.
Other important parts of your skincare regime to take into account? Well, do you like to shower, bathe and/or cleanse your face with super hot water? Bad idea. This strips your skin of essential moisture and lipids, totally compromising your delicate barrier function. Lukewarm water all the way, baby.
And to finish... two words: sunscreen and moisturizer. These are two of the most important products to have in your barrier-protecting skincare routine so never scrimp on either. Moisturize your skin every time you cleanse, using products that contain ingredients like ceramides, hyaluronic acid, squalane and niacinamide. These proactively help to strengthen and hydrate your barrier function. Then, always apply plenty of SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen every morning without fail. But c’mon, you MUST know that by now…
2. Your Lifestyle Habits
Getting your skincare routine ship-shape is one thing, but you must also think about your entire lifestyle if you truly want to make a difference to the health of your skin’s all-important barrier.
Do you smoke? Maybe think about trying to stop that. Studies show that nicotine and other harmful chemicals found in cigarettes get absorbed into your skin, damaging blood vessels and changing the structure and function of certain cells which impairs healing and makes your skin age at lightning speeds. And vaping? Same thing.
Stress and a lack of sleep (which often go hand in hand) are other important ways in which your skin’s barrier can become negatively affected. Both throw your hormones out of whack and suck away important lipids and proteins in the skin, increasing transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and acclerating dehydration. Sure, it may be easier said than done to stress less and sleep more, but try to take time out for yourself each day by going for a walk or reading a book. And get thee to bed. Eight hours is the sweet spot but you should aim for at least seven.
Finally, you are what you eat so try to cut down on refined carbs, processed foods and sugar, and increase your intake of antioxidant-rich fruit and veggies, nuts, whole foods and oily fish. Oily fish, in particular, are incredible for the skin barrier because they’re high in omega-3 fatty acids which help decrease inflammation while improving your skin’s elasticity and moisturization.
Do all this and you barrier will start to look and feel better in no time, promise.
Skincare TipsThe Best Barrier Repair Tricks For Unhappy Skin
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As skincare ingredients go, vitamin C is seen as the holy grail of glowy, radiant skin. But does vitamin C really work? And if so, how?
Vitamin C. If you know anything about TruSkin, you will know that we are all about it. Our first ever product was our award-winning and best-selling Vitamin C Facial Serum and over the last ten years, almost our entire range has been built around this fan favorite face treatment.
But what exactly is it about vitamin C that makes it SO good that it had to be the absolute foundation of our skincare journey? And why is it hailed as the one of the best ingredients for brightening dull skin?
Read on for the three main reasons we believe vitamin C deserves every inch of its glow-getting praise…
Vitamin C: The Antioxidant Master
Vitamin C is a very powerful antioxidant. Science says so. And who are we to argue with science?
Antioxidants are super important for the health of your skin. You see, life can be a constant struggle as far as your skin is concerned. You can’t get away from sun exposure, environmental pollution and stress – they’re all part of daily life. But they’re no good for your skin. Similarly, a lack of sleep, poor diet choices and smoking all contribute to this onslaught of aggressors that totally compromise the strength and stability of your skin.
Why are these such bad news? Two words: free radicals. Free radicals form in your skin when it’s been exposed to the aforementioned daily aggressors. They’re very unstable, highly reactive atoms that have unpaired electrons, and their mission in life is to pair up these electrons in order to stabilize themselves. In order to do that they commit theft, pinching electrons from unsuspecting healthy cells and proteins in your body. In your skin, specifically, they seriously chip away at things like collagen and elastin, damaging your skin’s tone and texture, and making it look dull and sad at lightning speeds.
Thankfully, the world has blessed us with antioxidants which help neutralize free rads by offering up electrons without themselves becoming damaged. They’re super important in the quest for healthy, bright skin which is why applying a topical antioxidant every day should be a vital part of your skincare regime.
We have tons of awesome vitamin C products for you to try but if you really want to reap the benefits, you should opt for a facial serum first and foremost. Serums have a very low molecular weight which means they’re able to penetrate your skin and deliver all their goodness exactly where it’s needed. Try our high-powered Vitamin C Super Serum + which offers a concentrated hit of vitamin C alongside hydrating hyaluronic acid and soothing niacinamide.
Vitamin C: The Dark Spot Warrior
Granted, most people know about vitamin C’s extraordinary antioxidant powers, but that’s not all it offers in terms of skin-brightening assistance.
Studies have also shown that vitamin C helps reduce dark spots and an uneven skin tone by blocking melanin production. As we’re sure you know, melanin is what gives your skin (as well as your eyes and hair) its color. The more melanin your skin produces, the darker your skin naturally is.
Melanin also absorbs UV radiation to help protect your skin from sun damage. This is why, when your skin is exposed to sunlight, melanin production amps up and your skin may become darker. Sometimes this is uniform and you tan, but other times melanin production becomes a bit wayward, and your skin tone becomes patchy and irregular as dark spots appear.
Dark spots can really kill your skin’s radiance, giving your tone an uneven appearance and generally making it look like kind of ‘meh.’ Of course, sunscreen is vital for warding off sun damage, but vitamin C is another great way to help keep melanin under control.
How does vitamin C help reduce the appearance of dark spots? Well, research shows that it inhibits a certain enzyme called tyrosinase which melanin needs in order to synthesize. Without tyrosinase, melanin production slows down meaning less darkness and potential patchiness as a result. Bingo!
Try the awesome duo of Vitamin C Brightening Cleanser each morning, followed by Vitamin C Facial Serum, Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer and that all-important sunscreen. Winner.
We also have a Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream to help brighten, strengthen and repair your skin while you’re asleep. Just remember to always patch test any of these formulations before using regularly all over. All of our products are gentle and suitable for most skin types but everyone’s skin reacts differently, so you can never be too careful.
Vitamin C: The Sunscreen Bestie
Going back to sunscreen for a minute, this is the number one way to fight off ALL signs of skin aging, including dull skin and dark spots. Any broad-spectrum sunscreen that’s mineral-forward and has an SPF of at least 30 is going to do your skin all number of radiance-boosting, protecting and anti-aging favors, that’s for sure. However, if you really want to soup up the effects of your sunscreen and double down on its benefits, vitamin C is a shoo-in.
Word is that vitamin C makes sunscreen work better and harder, neutralizing more free radicals (check!) and helping your sunscreen absorb more UV radiation (double check!).
The thing is, even the very best, most highly protective sunscreens can only protect your skin from 98 percent of UV rays, so there will always be a few that slip through the proverbial SPF net. Not only that but certain studies have shown that sunscreen is only able to shield your skin from around 50 percent of the number of free radicals caused by the sun. So why would you not want to try to catch all those extra rays and rads by combining the antioxidant prowess of vitamin C alongside your sunscreen? There’s no reason not to do that. No reason at all.
Especially when our SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen has been powered up by vitamin C for you, anyway.
The pleasure is all ours!
Vitamin CExactly How Does Vitamin C Help Brighten Your Skin?
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