If you are like me and currently sporting a more natural, no make up, somewhat walking dead look, then your skin must be absolutely glowing, that lovely clean skin with all the fresh air and no make up getting in the way to clog up your pores, you must look better than you have looked in years, correct? Yeah me neither. I know I've taken on the sleeping habits of a moody teenager, but getting skin like a teen is just a step to far. So what is heck has happened to our skin.
Chances are there are few things happening in our day that has now become the norm, as opposed to a weekend treat. Chances are we drinking a little more alcohol at the moment, our diet is perhaps more about comfort food than nutrition. We are spending more time in doors, and its a bloody stressful time. Just one of the above will effect your skin, so as you can imagine all of those changes happening at once is going to have a pretty dramatic effect.
Alcohol
Dehydration - Alcohol is a diuretic (makes the body get rid of water) That's why you have pee loads when you drink alcohol. You're not just visiting the bathroom more often, but the alcohol is basically drying out your body. This means its becoming dehydrated, which leads to wrinkles and your pores becoming more visible. As your skin gets drier it will lose it's natural plumpness, your eyes may look puffy and your skin will look dull.
Inflammation - The alcohol brings the blood up to the tissues so likely to cause some redness, blotchiness and inflammation, over time this can result in broken capillaries.
lack of nutrients - I think we know this one, there is very little, if anything good in alcohol that our body actually needs, but if we are substituting alcohol a little more over healthier choices it will contribute to the body being malnourished; leading to poor liver function, reduced immunity, hormone disruption and cell damage.
Stress
Stress increases the production of cortisol, this increases sugar levels in the bloodstream and an increased production of sebum, this also is likely to inflame the skin.
Lack of Vitamin D
The sun doesn't give your body Vitamin D, the body actually produces it itself, but it can only do so when we have received enough sunlight. It has an extremely important role to your skin because its helps with cell renewal and repair.
Detoxifying
Maybe you are using your time in lockdown to look after yourself more, maybe you now have the time to spend on yourself or just using less make up. In which case your skin might just be going through a detox, and your pores are starting to purge any build up, now that your skin can breathe. Your skin should start to naturally settle once it has been through this process.
Diet
The body breaks down food into protein, fat, carbohydrates etc and circulates it to the organs that need them. These nutrients also make it to the skin too, so inflammatory foods such as sweets, some dairy, processed meat and refined carbs are likely to cause the skin to flare up too.
Skin care routine
Maybe using less products such as make up, is making us think we don't need to cleanse our skin as often, but our skin is coming into contact with so much more than just make up. I know we are trying to not touch our faces as much, but even the most vigilant person is still going to be touching their skin, and everything on your hands is now on your face. Not to mention pollution and other dirt and debris we come across on a daily basis. So making sure this is off your skin when you go to bed is great step to improving your complexion.
Is there anything we can do?
If your skin is suddenly spotty, then its important to cleanse twice a day, keeping it clean will help your skin feel fresher, try not to exfoliate too often; once a week or even once a fortnight will stop your skin becoming over stimulated and stop producing even more sebum. A lighter moisturiser or even just a serum might feel more comfortable during this time.
If you have noticed your skin is usually a little dry in the morning but by the afternoon, your skin is starting to feel greasy. Chances are your skin is over producing oil to combat dryness, try adding a facial oil to your routine or trying a slighter richer moisturiser.
If your skin is drier than normal, switch to a creamy cleanser if you have one, and exfoliate twice a week to help remove the build up of dry skin, to allow your moisturiser to penetrate into the skin, and be more effective.
Unless you love to give yourself a full pampering skincare routine on a regular basis; in which case keep it up, but if you don't and your skin is a little fussy at the moment, keep it simple and just do the basics. Cleanse and tone your skin twice a day and pop on a moisturiser.
If you are drinking more alcohol and the moment, and drinking less volume or less frequently isn't an option, then make sure you are getting through the following day by drinking water to combat the drying effects of the booze.
Add a few more veggies and fruit to your diet to improve your overall nutrition intake.
Also try not to worry, practice some relaxing behaviours to bring stress levels down, maybe take a bath and stick a face mask on, get a good nights sleep if you can, and your skin will get over this just like we all will.
Having problems with your skin and need more specific advise then just message me at serenity@jenniecross.com and I'll be happy to help.
Thanks for reading and stay safe
Jennie
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