What Exactly Is ‘Healthy’ Skin?
How can you tell if your skin is living its best, healthiest life? Well first up you need to know what healthy skin truly means. Let’s get on that…
While it doesn’t pump blood around your body or enable you to breathe, your skin is just as important as your heart and lungs. It regulates your body’s internal fluids and temperature, protects you from everything the world throws at you and enables you to sense important things like heat and pain. It’s also the biggest organ you have and the only one you can actually see, so it figures that looking after your skin and helping it be as healthy as possible should be a top priority.
We spend our lives talking about healthy skin but it occurred to us recently that perhaps not everyone understands what the term ‘healthy skin’ really means. What words come to your mind when you think about healthy skin? Radiant? Fresh? Soft? Zit-Free? Well, you wouldn’t be wrong because these are all strong indications that your skin is in good shape. In fact, there are three important questions to ask yourself when thinking about the health of your skin.
Does your skin feel fairly smooth to the touch? Does it have an all-over, even skin tone? And does it feel comfortable and well-moisturized?
These are the fundamental basics for healthy skin: smoothness, evenness and a comfy, moisturized surface. Of course, your skin doesn’t have to be perfect to be healthy (whose is?) but if it’s way off on any one of these factors, something is clearly not quite right and it might be time to take a look at some of your skincare and lifestyle habits.
4 Simple Ways To Improve The Health Of Your Skin
1. Cleanse & Moisturize Twice Daily
Keeping your skin clean and moisturized are the absolute basics of great skincare. Cleansing ensures things like sweat, makeup, oil, dirt and bacteria don’t get left around for too long at the surface of your skin where they can block up your pores, causing irritation and acne breakouts. But as awesome as cleansing is, it can compromise the skin’s protective barrier function which plays an important role in keeping irritants out and moisture in. This means that what you do following your cleansing routine is just as important as the cleansing itself. And whatever that may entail, moisturizing should be your number one priority – no matter your skin type.
To nail an effective cleansing and moisturizing routine that balances your skin and avoids harsh ingredients that can upset your barrier function, try our new Soothing Cleansing Milk morning, night and always after exercising. Skin a little on the oily side? Then Tea Tree Super Cleanser + might be better for you because this gets to work on excess oils without stripping the skin.
Cleanse with lukewarm, never hot water, rinse thoroughly and don’t over dry your skin afterwards. Simply pat it with a soft, clean towel then moisturize straight away while your skin is still damp to help lock in extra water. We love Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer in the daytime and Deep Hydration Night Cream before bed.
2. Don’t Smoke
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, smoking speeds up the aging process like nobody’s business. You see tobacco contains thousands of toxins, chemicals and harmful substances that are not only terrible for your entire body, but truly do affect the health of your skin. Smoking decreases blood flow to the surface which starves it of essential oxygen and nutrients. Furthermore, it increases inflammation, upsets your healing process and completely compromises your skin’s collagen and elastin supplies which inevitably results in premature lines, wrinkles and sagging skin.
Smoking has also been shown to worsen skin conditions like psoriasis. Plus it smells real bad, ruins your fingernails, stains your teeth and, well, there’s just no point.
3. Eat Well, Sleep More, Stress Less
Practising sensible lifestyle habits might not seem important when it comes to the health of your complexion, but far from it. Stress, for starters, can be terrible for your skin because it overloads your body with cortisol which can trigger inflammation, acne, oiliness, dehydration, irritation and all sorts of other skin woes. Poor sleep is another skin no-no because this precious time is when your skin heals and rejuvenates itself ready to face another day. And your diet? Well, sugar, salt, refined carbs, alcohol and processed meats are fine in moderation, but overload your body with too much bad stuff and not enough of the good and you’re asking for skin trouble.
Thankfully the solutions are pretty simple. Eat plenty of antioxidant-rich fresh fruit and veggies, try to get into a rhythm of seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night, and practice some daily de-stressing tricks to help clear and calm your mind. This can be anything from 10-minutes of yoga each morning to reading a book before bed. Just set out some time for yourself each day to do something you enjoy and you’ll be amazed at the difference in your mental wellness. And hopefully, your skin!
4. Shun The Sun (And Yes, That Includes Tanning Beds!)
It’s no secret that UV radiation is the single most damaging thing you can subject your skin to. So don’t. UV rays trigger erratic melanin and cause an overload of free radicals in your skin which completely screw up your collagen and elastin supplies. And all this is a one-way ticket to fine lines, wrinkles, poor texture and an uneven skin tone.
A lifetime of exposing your skin to UV radiation – whether at the beach, in the park or on a tanning bed – also increases your risk of developing skin cancer. In fact, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation having just five sunburns throughout your life doubles your risk of developing melanoma.
In bright sunshine always wear a wide-brimmed hat and a good pair of sunnies to protect your face, neck and eyes, and cover up with protective clothing – especially if you’re planning to be out in the midday sun. Most importantly, get into the habit of using a broad-spectrum sunscreen like our fabulous SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C every morning without fail.
And if you really can’t live without tanned skin? Then fake it with some self-tanning lotion. It’ll save your skin a lot of unhealthy heartache in the long run.
PS: Healthy skin is a real blessing, and good skincare and lifestyle practices aren’t always enough. Ask anyone who suffers with chronic skin conditions like acne, psoriasis, rosacea and eczema and they will firmly attest to this. So, if you’re in a real pickle with your skin right now and are experiencing excessive redness that won’t go away; inflammation; itchy skin; painful pimples and/or dry, flaky patches, these are all signs that something’s not right. Our advice? Visit a skin specialist pronto to find out what’s going on.
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![Good Or Bad? 5 TikTok Skincare Trends – Dissected]()
Are social media skincare hacks harmful or helpful? To follow, our thoughts on five of the latest beauty fads doing the rounds…
Isn’t social media awesome? Well, it is, until it isn’t. You see, the problem with giving everyone a voice and a platform on which to share their skincare routines and DIY beauty hacks is that not ‘everyone’ is an expert. In fact, most people are far from it. Of course, there are plenty of fabulous makeup artists, dermatologists, plastic surgeons and aestheticians you can follow across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok and a lot of them have incredible advice to offer. There’s also a lot to be said for things like Facebook Groups where, if you struggle with chronic skin issues, you can connect, learn and find solace from others with similar concerns.
But then there’s all the other 'stuff' from people who have so much to say… about things they don’t know that much about. And this is the kind of information that can do more harm than good. This is why we’ve sifted through some of the most recent viral skincare fads you might want to be wary of. Instead, read on for the real truth about how best to take care of your skin.
1. Slugging
What Is Slugging?
Skin slugging might sound gross, but it’s become a huge deal on TikTok, with its hashtag currently notching up around 1.5 billion views.
Not to be confused with most people’s least favorite mollusk, slugging involves smearing a thick layer of petroleum jelly all over your skin as the last step in your nightly skincare routine. Do so and you’re guaranteed to wake up with the softest, most moisturized skin ever. So they reckon, anyway.
Is Slugging Good For Your Skin?
This trend started gaining momentum almost two years ago, but it will not go away. Therefore there has to be something in it, right? Well, petroleum jelly is an occlusive ingredient that creates a seal over your skin to help lock in moisture. So, sure, it will definitely stop water from evaporating from the surface of your skin as you sleep, we’ll give you that. However, petroleum jelly has no hydrating qualities. At all. This means it doesn’t really moisturize your skin, it just stops any moisture that’s already present from escaping from the surface of your skin.
Not only that but petroleum jelly creates a barrier over your pores, completely blocking them and causing no end of problems for oily skin types. Namely, breakouts like you will never believe.
Much Better Advice?
Rather than slathering your skin with what is essentially just ‘grease,’ you’re much better off applying night cream to not only lock in moisture but to help hydrate and feed your complexion with skin-loving ingredients like antioxidants, ceramides, peptides and/or vitamins and minerals.
Our Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream is a great bet or why not try the combo of our new Rejuvenating Longevity Serum and Renewing Longevity Moisturizing Cream?
2. Potatoes For PimplesWhat's It All About?
Dealing with acne can be a real struggle. Especially when you reach adulthood when you were promised your skin would be so much clearer. But it’s not common to be plagued by breakouts as you get older. In fact, research shows that around 25 percent of American women in their 40s suffer from some kind of acne.
It’s no wonder, therefore, that there are so many short-term hacks for dealing with pimples. Back in the day it was toothpaste and nail varnish remover (gasp!). Now it’s slices of raw potatoes. The idea is that you tape a small slice over your spot to make it magically disappear. Some TikTokers have even resorted to rubbing the whole darn thing over their skin.
Are Potatoes Good For Your Skin?
Don’t get us wrong, we love a potato as much as the next person. But on our dinner plates, not taped to our faces. So, why has this acne hack become such a thing? Ha, your guess is as good as ours but the main draw is that potatoes have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which are both known to help reduce redness and unwanted pigmentation.
They also contain exfoliating and oil-reducing properties and feel nice and cool on the skin which is a big deal when you have a big, throbbing red zit on your chin. So maybe, just maybe, they might offer some short-term benefits. But little more than that.
Much Better Advice?
If you’re an acne sufferer, you’ll understand that short-term fixes are all well and good but, in truth, it’s all about the long-term. This is why we prefer to treat and control breakouts with smart skincare that’s been specifically (and safely!) formulated for the job. Products that contain science-led and dermatologically-tested ingredients like salicylic acid, tea tree oil and AHAs are going to offer your skin way better benefits than a bag of your best russets. Sorry, but they just will.
3. Sunscreen Contouring
What Is Sunscreen Contouring?
If we had to choose just one viral beauty trend that gets our blood boiling the most, it would be sunscreen contouring. Stupid at best, downright dangerous at worst, sunscreen contouring is when you apply sunscreen to select areas of your face and body only, in order to intentionally create tan lines for a contoured effect.
Some people have taken to applying a lower SPF to areas of their face they want to tan more, and a higher SPF to those they want to remain pale and ‘highlighted’ but either way, this is bad news.
Is Sunscreen Contouring Good For Your Skin?
Absolutely not. Not even slightly. The sun is responsible for almost 90 percent of skin aging, accelerating the formation of fine lines, wrinkles, sagging and dark spots. This means it’s absolutely essential to protect ALL exposed skin to the damaging effects of UV radiation. Because tan skin = damaged skin. End of story. Not only that, but c’mon people, skin cancer.
Much Better Advice?
First, in order to truly protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun, you need to apply SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen every day to all areas of exposed skin. The alternatives are just not worth it. And if you do want to create contours on your face and body such as highlighting your cheekbones, sculpting your nose or defining your abs, stick with a self-tanning lotion or makeup. Easy. And way less damaging.
4. Lemon Juice As Toner
What's It All About?
Pure lemon juice. As toner. Simple as that.
Yes, lemons are astringent, yes they’re packed with vitamin C and yes, vitamin C is awesome for the look, feel and health of your skin. But when life gives you lemons, do not squeeze out their juice and use it to tone or brighten your face.
Is Lemon Juice Good For Your Skin?
Citric acid can be an incredible ingredient in many topical skincare treatments, offering great antioxidant qualities and helping to fight environmental skin damage. However, skincare products are formulated in certain ways and use very specific concentrations of ingredients in order to help benefit your skin without causing irritation. Pure lemon juice, however? The opposite. Applying it in its pure form can seriously irritate your skin, screwing up your barrier function and causing long-term issues with hyperpigmentation and sensitivities. It can even burn your skin if you’re not careful.
Keep yours for the G&Ts and leave lemon skincare cocktailing to the pros, OK?
Much Better Advice?
Get your fix of vitamin C from a facial serum that contains sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP) which is a gentle and very effective form. Our Vitamin C Facial Serum is always a big favorite but we also have the mighty Vitamin C Super Serum + which really amps up your glow factor. We like to use it twice a week, alternating between this and the OG.
5. Face Taping
What Is Face Taping?
This cheeky little trick has been used by Hollywood’s finest for decades so sorry, TikTok-ers, but you did not invent this one. Also known as wrinkle taping, the idea behind it is that you strategically place sticky tape on your face, usually overnight, to lift the skin, reduce muscle movement and therefore reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It’s most often used under the eyes, at the edges of the cheeks, over the forehead or across the chest area.
You can also use face tape to provide an immediately lifting effect, keeping it on for an event, for example, whilst camouflaging it with heavy makeup.
Is Face Taping Good For Your Skin?
As an immediate wrinkle-reducer and skin-smoother, face taping is actually pretty effective. But it’s a very short-term fix and takes a lot of clever makeup artistry to cover the tape and make it look natural.
As an overnight solution however? Yeah, we’re not convinced. For one thing, the glue that’s used on the tape can be super irritating for some skin types, especially if it’s used under the eyes where your skin is thin and extremely delicate. And for another, leaving the tape on for long periods of time can clog your pores and encourage breakouts. The phrase, ‘out of the frying pan, into the fire,’ comes to mind.
Much Better Advice?
Two words: effective skincare. Cleansing and exfoliating regularly, treating your skin with daily antioxidants, applying sunscreen daily and using age-defying ingredients like retinol, bakuchiol, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C? So much better than silly old face tape that might be OK for ten minutes but will do no good in the long-term.
Try our new Smoothing Collagen Serum, Firming Collagen Day Lotion and Collagen Boosting Skin Supplement which are great for healthily preventing premature aging.
Good Or Bad? 5 TikTok Skincare Trends – Dissected
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