Guaranteed Ways To Breathe New Life Into Tired Skin

Reckon you’ll never see bright eyes and a glowing complexion again? On the contrary. Here’s how to hit the reset button on over-indulged skin.

Hangovers are bad enough. The headache. The foggy memory loss. The nausea. The maxed-out credit card. Oh the shame of it all. Plus there’s nobody to blame but yourself. Eugh, why do we do it to ourselves? You’d think we would have learnt better by now.

Ha, fat chance.

Another thing. Is it just us, or as we get older, don’t hangovers feel 3,000 times worse? And, hold on, but why does our skin look so freakin’ terrible? Surely that didn’t happen in our 20s right?

The truth is, hangovers do get worse with age because your body’s metabolism decreases allowing alcohol to hang around in your system for way longer than you’d like. Also, your liver becomes less efficient which means its less able to cope with all those toxins that alcohol throws at it. It will get there eventually but, again, it will take way longer than a 20-year-old liver. There are also other factors to take into consideration. Your body weight, whether you're taking any medication, all this adds up to longer, worse hangovers and ruddy-looking skin as a consequence.

Sigh.

How Alcohol Affects Your Skin

Alcohol affects your skin in a number of ways. Here are the biggest things you'll notice after a night (or two) on the sauce...

* Alcohol is a diuretic which means that it increases urine production, making you pee more frequently and therefore lose vital water. Cue dehydration and more visible fine lines.

* Excessive water loss also causes your body to miss out on vital vitamins, minerals and nutrients that help ‘feed’ your skin and strengthen its barrier function. Cue dullness.

* Alcohol causes your blood vessels to dilate. Cue redness and flare-ups in existing conditions like rosacea.

* Ever woken up after a boozy night out only to feel like you’ve slept for minutes, rather than hours? That’s because alcohol unbalances your sleep, causing you to wake up throughout the night. Cue dark under eye circles and puffy skin.

* Then there are all those free radicals that form and screw up your collagen and elastin. Cue accelerated skin aging.

5 Tips For Rejuvenating Morning-After Skin

No matter that we know how bad drinking excessive amounts of alcohol is for our health and our skin, we still do it. So if you find yourself experiencing some serious morning-after-the-night-before skin, here are five emergency sk-invigorating (see what we did there?) tricks to try.

1. Wake Up Your Skin

Even just stepping in the shower and letting the water fall over your body can instantly lift a hangover. But to really get your blood flowing and thus encourage oxygen and nutrients to flood to your skin, we recommend a good (but gentle) exfoliation session. Our energizing Vitamin C Gentle Face Scrub is awesome for hungover skin as it also contains brightening whizz-kid, vitamin C – c’mon, it’s right there in the name!

Offering the effects of a mini facial (but with minimal effort), exfoliation helps clear out your pores and get rid of dead, dulling skin cells from the surface of your skin. It also boosts collagen production and smooths out the skin making it better able to absorb all the other goodies you’re about to treat it with. And trust us, your skin needs all the help it can get right now.

Gently work your scrub over your entire face and neck, using circular motions to lift and smooth out the skin as you massage it all over. And if you can bear it, try a cool rinse to finish. It’ll feel pretty savage at the time but, trust us, it’ll make you feel a million times better in the long-term.

2. Calm Redness

Facial flushing and booze go hand-in-hand for many people so if that includes you and you find that your redness lingers way into the next day, keep your morning-after routine simple and calming. Avoid exfoliating acids like glycolic and salicylic, and stick with gentle cleansers, hydrating toners and treatments that contain de-stressing ingredients like ceramides, aloe, vitamin E and niacinamide.

We love treating our skin with Rose Water Refreshing Facial Toner after a particularly boozy night out. This one-ingredient-only (er, rose water) facial spritz instantly calms and hydrates the skin after cleansing, plus it feels cooling and refreshing which is perfect when, inside, you feel neither of those things!

TOP TIP: In future, try to stick with clear spirits rather than red wine or dark liquor. Clear spirits like vodka, tequila and gin contain less histamines and are less likely to aggravate the skin or cause inflammation.

3. Reduce Puffiness

Too much booze makes your body want to retain water in a bid to combat dehydration. And fluid retention is the pits for your skin, inevitably making your face – and especially the area under the eyes – look puffy and swollen. It doesn’t help that you’ve also been starved of quality sleep which raises your levels of cortisol (the ‘stress’ hormone) which alters the salt balance in your body and forces it to retain even more water. Ever woken up after a big night out with under eyes bags the size of China? Yeah, this is exactly what we’re talking about. 

To help pep up your face and reduce swelling, try a deep massage with your morning cleanse. Your hands are a powerful tool for getting blood flowing and improving lymphatic drainage so spend a few minutes working on your face to help depuff your skin.

When it comes to your eyes, place cold, used tea bags, cucumber slices or teaspoons over them and relax for 10 minutes. Anything cool will help reduce swelling by narrowing the blood vessels. Then, for an extra shot of depuffing freshness, follow with Depuffing Longevity Eye Cream.

4. Enjoy A Hit Of Multivits

Similar to how your oral multivitamins will give your body a much-needed pick-me-up, their topical cousins will also make your skin feel (and look!) a hundred times better. Vitamin C helps boost energy while vitamin E soothes and calms your skin. Then there are your Bs, D, F and K which all work together to balance the skin, neutralize damaging free radicals, protect your collagen supplies and strengthen the barrier function.

Our Multivitamin Facial Serum is a great post-party treatment because not only does it contain all of the above but it’s chock full of minerals and electrolytes for a complete, healthier-looking skin overhaul. Apply just a few drops to your face and neck after cleansing and toning and nobody will ever know about that extra shot of tequila you downed when you should really have been getting an Uber.

5. Load Up On Hydration

Morning-after thirst is real. Not only for your entire sorry being, but for your skin, too. So as well as drinking plenty of fluids to reduce nausea and a banging headache, you need to rehydrate and moisturize your skin from the outside in.

If you have some kind of intensely hydrating mask at hand, that’ll go a long way to taking the thirst away from parched skin. Look out for ingredients that draw water to the surface. These are called humectants and include things like glycerin, aloe vera and the biggest crowd-pleaser of them all, hyaluronic acid.

Our Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum contains all three of these big guns and believe us when we tell you that your skin is going to lap it all up! Apply it to damp skin to make the most of surface moisture, then finish with a rich day cream that contains botanical oils, ceramides and/or fatty acids to help seal it in for the rest of the day.

Our favorite post-party moisturizer? Undoubtedly Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer which blends antioxidant-rich green tea with jojoba oil and a cheeky hit of vitamin C to really get your glow back on.

Now, who's ready for another night out? Anyone?

Do you know which skincare ingredients are fair game when you’re pregnant, and which most certainly aren’t? Not a problem, we’re here to make things a whole lot simpler…

Pregnancy brings incredible changes to your skin, including that infamous ‘pregnancy glow’ which often has the complexion looking the best it’s been in a long time. But it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. During pregnancy, you can also experience unexpected breakouts, extra sensitivities and dark spots that most certainly weren’t there before.

Is it wise, therefore, to overhaul your entire skincare routine during these transformative months? Or is it more prudent to simply be conscious of the changes happening to your skin so you can make informed decisions on what to use, what to avoid and how to maximize that glow?

We believe the latter. Here’s how…

What Happens To Your Skin During Pregnancy?

In a word, hormones. As your body goes through the important process of supporting a growing fetus and preparing for childbirth, your hormones go through significant changes. Of course, these fluctuations are crucial for the health of both yourself and your unborn baby, but their effects on the body can be huge. Tender breasts, mood swings, aches and pains are some of the obvious noticeable impacts. And then there are the visible changes to your skin. These include things like stretch marks, spider veins and skin tags which can appear anywhere on the body. 

When it comes to the face, the most common skin changes are:

Melasma

Often called the ‘mask of pregnancy’ melasma is a type of hyperpigmentation that causes dark patches on the face. Studies show that melasma affects around 90 percent of pregnant women making it one of the most common skin concern during this time.

Acne Breakouts

Hormone fluctuations can stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum and overload your skin with oil that it really doesn’t need. The result? Clogged pores and pesky breakouts.

Irritation

According to the American Pregnancy Association your body produces 50 percent more blood when you’re pregnant. This can be a great thing, often giving you fabulously glowing skin. However, this increase of blood flow, when combined with crazy hormones, can also increase skin sensitivities, making some skin types reactive and prone to itching, redness, dryness and flaking.

The Two Skincare Ingredients To Avoid During Pregnancy

According to popular belief you should steer clear of many active skincare ingredients when pregnant, including things like vitamin C, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) and benzoyl peroxide. And sure, these are all potent topicals that can cause irritation when used without due care. However, according to research, with the exception of two, most skincare ingredients act locally and therefore cause minimal risk to an unborn child.

The two no-nos to really be aware of? Hydroquinone and retinoids. 

Hydroquinone is a topical ingredient that’s extremely effective for lightening the skin and fading dark patches. This makes it very tempting for pregnant skin which can often being plagued with melasma. However, it’s estimated that somewhere between 35 and 45 percent of hydroquinone is absorbed into the bloody stream. Some research shows no links to adverse effects for an unborn child, but this absorption is a major red flag. Our advice? Don’t go there.

Better choices are to minimize sun exposure to avoid exacerbating dark spots, wear a broad-spectrum mineral-based sunscreen like SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen Facial Serum daily, and try safer skin-brightening ingredients like vitamin C, niacinamide and exfoliating acids in small doses.

Retinoids are the holy grail for healthy skin, working hard to help minimize the visible signs of aging and simultaneously decrease the severity and frequency of acne breakouts by accelerating cell turnover and boosting collagen production. They’re very potent beasts, however, and should always be treated with respect. Especially when pregnant. Oral retinoids, in particular have been shown to cause birth defects so these should be avoided at all costs. 

And topical retinoids? While these are widely believed to be fairly low in risk, they’re best kept at arm's length to be on the safe side. This includes everything from tretinoin (a prescription retinoid) to milder retinol.

Instead, try bakuchiol which is nature’s gentle alternative to retinol and generally considered safe for use during pregnancy.

How To Build The Best Pregnancy Skincare Routine

The key to managing changes in your skin during pregnancy lies in using gentle, pregnancy-safe products. While widely deemed safe, there are questions around ingredients like benzoyl peroxide, high concentrations of salicylic acid, certain essential oils, phthalates and parabens so you might want to give those a wide berth. Other than that, being sensible with your skin, listening to its needs and treating it with tender loving care is the best way to encourage healthy, glowing skin during this time.

Here are five quick tips to help you along the way.

1. Avoid Over-Cleansing

Cleansing is vital to balance sebum and remove potentially pore-clogging debris from the surface of your skin. Just don’t go mad with stripping formulations that can screw up the skin’s important barrier function and exacerbate irritation. Stick with gentle, balanced cleansers and use lukewarm, rather than hot water to rinse the skin.

2. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

Apply a hydrating Hyaluronic Acid or Niacinamide Facial Serum after you cleanse and before moisturizing to boost moisture, help reduce inflammation and improve both the tone and texture of your skin. These ingredients are both safe and extremely beneficial for most skin types during pregnancy.

3. Patch Test Everything

Even ‘safe’ ingredients have the potential to irritate the skin, especially when it’s more sensitive during the hormone frenzy that comes with pregnancy. To avoid any mishaps and unwanted inflammation, always patch test your products before using them on a daily basis. Not sure what that means? We can help with that, right here.

4. Embrace Mineral Sunscreen

Although limited, certain research points to chemical sunscreens having the potential to have harmful effects on the human body so, to be safe, we recommend sticking with mineral formulations only. Mineral sunscreens like our SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C use the FDA-recommended zinc oxide to protect the skin.

5. Give Botox & Laser Treatments A Rest

Gentle facials that incorporate pregnancy-safe ingredients can be a great way to boost the look and feel of your skin. Always consult with your facial or aesthetician first, however, and know that many dermatological treatments like chemical peels, laser treatments and injectables should be paused until after your baby has been born. The FDA classifies Botox, for example, as a category C pregnancy drug which means there’s insufficient evidence to determine its safety.

If you’re a fan of a downward-facing dog you might also be intrigued by face yoga. Read on for everything we know about exercising and stretching your face in the bid for glowing skin.

Face yoga has become a real thing in the last ten years or so. Thanks to social media and a whole host of A-list celebrities touting their love of facial exercising, it’s now commonplace to spend 20 minutes each day stretching the skin around your eyebrows and making lion faces in the mirror.

But does this natural approach to youthful-looking skin really work or are there better ways to spend 20 minutes on your skin? Let’s do a little face yoga digging…

What Exactly Is Face Yoga?

If you know anything about yoga, you’ll understand that this ancient Indian practice is all about combining physical postures, stretches and breathing techniques to help build strength and flexibility while boosting your mental wellbeing. Face yoga follows a similar philosophy but instead of concentrating on the whole body, it targets the muscles of the face and neck.

The practice involves performing repetitive movements, exercises and exaggerated stretches to strengthen, tone and relax the facial muscles. What’s the point, you may wonder? Well, the point is to improve the overall health of your skin to help boost radiance, enhance skin tone, refine skin texture and reduce the appearance fine lines and wrinkles.

What Are The Key Benefits Of Face Yoga?

Your face contains more than 50 different muscles which, as you age, naturally lose mass, strength and volume. Face yoga aims to build these muscles back up again to help them function more efficiently and therefore enhance skin health. It’s like bodybuilding. Or facebuilding, if you will. 

Specifically, face yoga is said to benefit the skin in five primary ways:

1. Muscle Strength. By building muscle back into the underlaying areas of your skin, face yoga is said to help fill in the contours of the face and tighten, sculpt and firm the skin.

2. Better Blood Flow. Exercising and stretching the face and neck increases circulation which brings oxygen and nutrients to the skin, aiding healing and improving radiance.

3. Stress Reduction. Just like traditional yoga practices, face yoga is said to tap into the parasympathetic nervous system which helps reduce emotional stress. And as you know, stress can be a killer on the look and feel of your skin.

4. Enhanced Lymphatic Drainage. Certain massaging techniques are believed to stimulate the lymphatic system which can help reduce puffiness, sluggish skin and bags under the eyes.

5. Efficient Cell Turnover. Regular massage may help accelerate cell turnover which naturally slows down as the skin ages. This helps minimize things like dullness, blocked pores and rough texture.

Is There Any Proof That Face Yoga Actually Works?

There’s not a huge amount of research to back up the efficacy of facial yoga but it’s so closely related to regular yoga that we believe there’s probably something in it. One of the few trials we could find studied a bunch of 40-65 year olds who partook in 30 minutes of daily face yoga for eight weeks, then continued practicing every other day for a total of 20 weeks. Unfortunately, this study included just 16 participants but, still, results showed modest improvements in their facial appearance, specifically in the cheek area. Experts also agreed that it seemed to shave an average of three years off the look of their skin.

Not bad, right?

Is Face Yoga For You?

Face yoga is safe for most people. However, experts recommend erring on the side of caution if you have sensitive or acne-prone skin as the extra strain on your skin can cause irritation. Also, if you have dermal fillers, regular facial exercises may compromise their longevity, so check with your dermatologist before starting any kind of face yoga routine.

One of the best things about face yoga is that it requires no needles… and it’s free! Of course, it’ll never give you the same results as Botox or fillers, but if you have realistic expectations and are looking to boost your skincare routine with a natural alternative it’s definitely worth a go. Just remember, you will need to be willing to set aside 20-30 minutes at least three or four times a week.

3 Popular Face Yoga Exercises To Try At Home

There are plenty of YouTube video and apps available to help guide you through your face yoga journey, but here are a few basic moves you can easily do at home. Some of them require a hands-on approach so ensure you cleanse your hands and face first. You can also apply moisturizer for a little extra slip. 

1. The Lion’s Pose

This is a fabulous face stretch which helps tone the skin around your eyes and jawline. It’s also super easy. From a seated position, make yourself as small as possible, scrunching up your entire being from head to toe. Then breathe out, open your arms wide, stretch your legs, stick out your tongue and widen your eyes. Basically make yourself as big as possible, then relax and repeat 5-10 times.

2. The Cheek Workout

A great one for toning and firming the cheek area. Start by smiling as wide as you can, making sure you lift the cheeks as you do so. Then simply close your eyes and hold this position for 15 seconds. Relax and repeat 15 times.

3. The Forehead Smoother

Place both hands flat on your forehead, spreading your fingers wide so they span your entire forehead from brows to hairline. Apply light pressure, then sweep your fingers outwards to the sides of your head. Hold for a few seconds then relax and repeat 10 times.

Our Take On Face Yoga

When it comes to deciding on the best route to take for healthier skin, we firmly believe that you should always do you. Whether you choose to stick with a consistent skincare routine, incorporate facial yoga into your daily regime or explore other cosmetic procedures, the key is to find whatever supports your lifestyle, budget and skin health goals.

Face yoga is unlikely to have a detrimental effect on your skin (although some experts believe that if you perform repeated exercises incorrectly, they may have the potential to make fine lines more noticeable – eek!), so if you want to try it, go nuts. Just remember, evidence-based skincare ingredients like retinol, vitamin C and peptides alongside a consistent routine form the true foundation of healthy skin.

Want to crush lit-from-within skin this spring? Then you’d better start your glow-getting routine immediately.

We don’t know about you, but this time of year is when we generally start thinking about getting our skin prepped and primed for spring. After all, brighter sunshine, longer days and warmer temps mean more time spent outside and so we want our skin to reflect the joys of springtime weather – bright, radiant and full of life.

Don’t get us wrong, we’ve done everything we can to keep our skin moisturized and looking good all winter long, but it’s not always easy, especially after the holidays when the focus has been more on wine and cheese than topical antioxidants and deep moisturization.

So what’s on the ‘must do this’ list for getting skin glowing and ready for spring? Follow these pointers and you’ll be well on the way. 

1. Focus On Moisture

Winter is notorious for drying out the skin. You can blame the weather, for sure, because dry, cold air sucks all the hydration from the skin’s uppermost layers. But there are plenty of other things going on that ruin your skin’s moisture mojo. Central heating has to take some responsibility, as must things like hot baths and comfort foods.

If your skin is still feeling somewhat thirsty after battling the elements all winter long, stick with what you’ve likely been doing for the past few months. It’ll pay off eventually – promise. Invest in a humidifier for your bedroom to boost the moisture content in the air as you sleep and make sure your diet includes plenty of water-rich foods like cucumber, watermelon and tomatoes, as well as omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish and seeds.

As for your skincare routine, we love to layer a hydrating, nourishing serum under moisturizer as this supercharges the skin’s levels of moisture, without it needing to rely on super-heavy creams that can weigh it down.

Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum is always a smart choice but you could also try our much-loved but often underestimated Peptide Facial Serum which combines three of the best hydrators we know – aloe, glycerin and panthenol – alongside collagen-enhancing peptides. Apply your serum of choice under moisturizer morning and night and your skin will soon have a brighter pep in its step. Plus, it'll feel downright amazing as an extra bonus.

2. Get Friendly With Exfoliating Acids

Chemical exfoliants are awesome for gifting your skin with a smoother (and therefore brighter) surface. Unlike facial scrubs which use grains like fine sand or salt and require physical motion to work, chemical exfoliants simply sit on your skin and go about their business with no effort at all. They work by breaking down the bonds between dead skin cells so they’re able to slough away quicker and more efficiently. Simple as that. 

Furthermore, if you choose wisely and opt for a kind-to-skin formulation that harmonizes different kinds of chemical exfoliants, you may even be able to use it every day. Take our 6% AHA, BHA and PHA Liquid Exfoliant, for example. This hard-working, but never too hard-on-your-skin toner accelerates cell turnover with a perfectly balanced blend of glycolic acid (AHA), salicylic acid (BHA) and gluconolactone (PHA). And, yes, we know that might sound like a lot of exfoliating acids for one face, but fear not, we made sure to include just the right amount of each to gently exfoliate without leaving your skin feeling stripped or dry.

It’s the perfect product to give your skin the coveted glow you’ve been seeking since September said goodbye.

3. OD On Vitamin C

One of our favorite skin mottos is ‘when in doubt, reach for topical vitamin C.’ And do you know what? It’s never let us down. In fact, vitamin C is what’s known at TruSkin HQ as the ultimate brightening powerhouse. Not only is it one of the most trusted and tested antioxidants (reminder: antioxidants fight free radicals and keep your collagen levels in check) but it’s also thought to inhibit melanin production which means fewer dark spots, less patchy areas and a more glowy, even-looking complexion all round.

Of course, we don’t literally want you to OD on vitamin C. Some forms can be extremely potent and even a little irritating if you use them too much and apply them too often. So you have to tread carefully. Our advice? Introduce new products slowly into your routine, patch test them first, and stick with sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP). SAP is a salt form of the pure stuff which makes it more stable and therefore much gentler.

You'll find vitamin C, and more specifically SAP, in a ton of our skincare formulations so you really can pick and choose depending on your skin’s needs and preferences. Serums are the obvious choice, but since you're likely concentrating on hydration with your facial serum right now, how about trying our Vitamin C Brightening Cleanser instead? With a name like that, it would be rude not to.

4. Think Of Bedtime As TLC Time

You might be under the impression that overnight skincare is a bit pointless when you’re tucked up in bed doing nothing but dreaming of the teenage skin you wish you still had. But on the contrary, your skin does its best repair work when you’re asleep. Cell turnover peaks, collagen production revs up, blood flow increases and your body’s natural antioxidants system kicks in to help neutralize any pesky free radicals that may have built up during the day. Leave your makeup on and go to bed with dirty, unmoisturized skin, however, and all this good stuff becomes basically redundant.

To encourage the magic to happen, cleanse your face and neck gently but thoroughly before bed and start a slow-building retinol regime to naturally accelerate cell turnover and collagen synthesis. Our Retinol Facial Serum has your back here as it’s also infused with vitamin E and hyaluronic acid to boost radiance and hydration both in the short- and long-term.

Mimic your morning routine by always following your serum with moisturizer. In this instance try Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream which contains that all-important, glow-getting vitamin C, as well as ‘nature’s beauty mineral,’ MSM which is one of the most underrated but overachieving ingredients for healthy skin. And we don’t say that lightly.

5. Make Massage A Must

We can think of little better for waking up your skin than a morning massage. The benefits of a facial massage are undeniable. For starters, it boosts blood flow and therefore allows more oxygen and nutrients to rush to the surface of your skin. Hello big-time glow! It also improves lymphatic drainage to help remove toxins away from the skin, reducing things like puffiness and inflammation. Not to mention how relaxing and stress-reducing a morning facial massage can be.

Don’t worry, though, we don’t expect you to learn all the tricks of the massage trade just like that. You can actually do this facial massage quickly and easily in mere minutes. You can also do it while cleansing, or applying facial oil – it totally depends on your jam. 

Simply work your chosen product all over your face and neck, using the pads of your fingers, then sweep your fingers down your nose a few times, across your cheeks from the center outwards, then up and around your forehead. After your forehead, take your hands down to the middle of your chin and use sweeping motions to lift the skin up and 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. Repeat this as many times as you like, using medium pressure to work the skin and get everything flowing.

Now, how long until March, again?