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How to Detox Your Skin After Christmas
The big question, ‘how to detox your skin after Christmas’. In this blog, we will look at different approaches you can take to detox your skin.
Firstly, Happy New Year – or should that be Tier? I don’t know what the right thing to say is!? I’m sure that, if you’re anything like me, this was not the start to the new year you had planned. ‘Closed for treatments until further notice’ was not one of my 2021 goals!
But, despite the chaos and uncertainty, I really hope that you managed to enjoy Christmas and all the festivities. I’m a sucker for a slice of Christmas cake and there’s not much I wouldn’t do to get my hands on chocolate – so I certainly tucked into the festive treats.
Whilst the sausage rolls, fizz and sweet stuff is oh so enjoyable at the time – it tends to leave us feeling sluggish, bloated, and puffy afterwards. As for your skin, well that’s a tell-tale sign that things are out of balance within your body. This can leave us with increased breakouts, puffiness, dark circles, redness and can even trigger eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea flare ups. Sound familiar?
What causes festive breakouts?
- Increase in sugar and salt.
- Increase in alcohol.
- Lack of sleep / late nights.
- Increase in processed foods.
- Eating foods that cause intolerances, such as dairy.
- Stress levels rising!
All these things increase the inflammation levels within your body, which increases production of your stress hormone, cortisol. If you’ve read any of my blogs on the topic of stress, you’ll know that too much cortisol wreaks havoc with your entire body. It can cause brain fog, weight gain, digestive problems, lethargy, and irritability. It’s important to get this little monster in check! For tips on stress management, check my other blog posts.
How to detox your skin with food
WATER: I know you’ve heard it before, but that’s because it’s super important. Your body is almost 70% water and every single process in your body needs it. Aim for 2-3 litres per day, more if you’re exercising.
LEAFY GREENS: Increase your intake of green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale broccoli and cabbage. These are super cleansing and nutritious.
BERRY GOODNESS: Increase your intake of low sugar fruits, such as blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Full of antioxidants and help to balance those blood sugar levels.
PROTEIN: Make sure you’re eating good sources of protein at every meal. Protein is important for the health of your skin and collagen production. If you’re struggling to find protein sources, then there are some great protein powders available.
VITAMIN C: Eat foods that are rich in Vitamin C, such as berries, oranges, sweet potato, papaya, and pumpkins/squashes. Essential to produce healthy collagen, and it’s a powerful antioxidant.
VITAMIN E: This is essential to healthy skin growth and protects your skin. Avocado, pine nuts and hazelnuts are great sources.
SELENIUM: Great for your immune system and skin health. Find it in eggs, tomatoes, wheatgerm, shellfish, broccoli, and brazil nuts
ZINC: Helps your skin to repair and keeps it supple. Find it in lean meat, poultry, whole grains, fish, shellfish, nuts & seeds.
SPICES: Turmeric is a wonderful anti-inflammatory. Cinnamon is great for balancing blood sugar levels. Ginger is amazing for its ability to flush out toxins and aid blood circulation – it’s also said to increase collagen production and reduce inflammation. Add these little powerhouses to your cooking or soups!
I don’t think I REALLY need to say this, but cut back on processed foods, starchy carbohydrates, and alcohol. I’m not going to teach you to ‘suck eggs’ – you know the drill! When you’re thinking about how to detox your skin, it’s really important to look at the inside out, as well as the outside in. Your skin responds to everything you put into it, it’s the largest organ in your body – so if your body is stressed internally, it’s going to show up on your skin.
Get your beauty sleep!
It’s called ‘beauty sleep’ for a reason. This is your body’s opportunity to repair, regenerate and remove toxins. Your body is producing collagen and focusing on repairing itself, and producing fresh, healthy tissue and hormones whilst you sleep. Not getting enough sleep can result in breakouts, brain fog, weight gain and most certainly increases inflammation in your body. It can also affect your hormone balances in your body, due to the increased stress lack of sleep causes.
TOP TIP: To find out how many hours you naturally need (somewhere between 6-9 hours), pick a time when you’re not overly tired and where you don’t need to set an alarm. It’s best to do this when you have at least two days clear. Go to bed and see what time you wake up naturally. Then you’ll know how many hours you need. So, if you naturally need 8 hours sleep and need to get up at 6am, you’ll need to be in bed by 10pm.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – RENPHO EYE MASK: I have struggled with insomnia and restless sleep patterns for years. It’s usually stress related for me, that and an overactive creative brain! This little eye gadget changed my sleep forever! It is incredible. Personally, I use every feature on it – the air pressure, sound, vibrations and heat. I fall asleep quickly and easily afterwards, and manage to sleep through the night – nearly every time. Even if I do wake up, I fall back asleep very quickly. After a week of using this, I felt refreshed and as though I’d caught up on my sleep – ready to face anything. It is an investment, I know. I was fortunate enough to receive it as a gift. Granted, it’s no the sexiest of bedtime wear – but frankly, I don’t care – I need my beauty sleep! https://amzn.to/3odjXTP
Reduce your stress levels
It might seem a little of the track to look at stress when we’re talking about how to detox your skin, but it’s important – trust me! I know this might get a lot of eye rolling and ‘easier said than done’ thoughts. I used to have this response too, always thinking I was too busy and rushing around like a lunatic. Until I burned out that was! Then I had to take stress very seriously. It took me over a year to recover from my burn out, back in 2011 – whilst my body struggled to reset itself. Now I make time to meditate, take walks outside in the fresh air and I have a great morning and bedtime routine. I practice gratitude daily and remind myself to live in the moment.
Exercise is also a big part of my life, not the crazy cardio kind from my 20’s and 30’s, but strength training and yoga. At 45 years old, I am focused on protecting my bone health and flexibility. Finding a form of exercise that you enjoy, and makes you feel strong and healthy is incredible. Exercise is also a great way to beat stress, so get those steps and reps in!
If you’re lucky enough to have little people in your life ( by ‘little’ I mean kids!), then follow their lead. Did you know that a 6 year old laughs approximately 300 times a day?? Laughter is the ultimate stress reliever and makes us feel happy. Embrace your inner 6 year old!
How to Detox your skin with products - Keep it Simple!
As a Skin Specialist I simply must include advice on skincare when we are looking at how to detox your skin after Christmas (or at any other time). Less is most definitely more when it comes to treating skin that has been under stress, festive or not. One of the mistakes many people make is to throw as many products as possible at your skin, in a bid to regain control of it. Often, the overload of products contributes to the problem and really, it’s more about what you’re doing on the inside during your Skin Detox.
Here’s my top tips on skincare:
CLEANSERS: Ingredients such as glycolic acid and salicylic can help cell turnover – great if you have breakouts, but don’t go for the strongest you can find! If your skin is sensitive then stick to a product with calming ingredients, such as rice bran oil, peppermint, or lemon balm oil.
SERUMS: Use a Serum that calms the skin and helps to improve and repair the skins natural barrier function. Avoid strong, harsh products whilst your skin is recovering. If you usually use strong retinols (vitamin A), consider something gentler during your detox. You can still use retinol, but if you’re using very strong versions, consider trying something a little gentler. Cosmedix Serum 16 is a great choice. I have some starter kits in my clinic, get in touch to find out more.
VITAMIN C is a powerful antioxidant for your skin, including products that contain this will help to boost your skin and aid healthy collagen production. I personally love Cosmedix Pure C Mixing Crystals, I add it to my favourite serum for a powerful daily boost.
MOISTURISER: Use a moisturiser that addresses your skins needs, pumpkin and seaweed extract are great for sensitive skins, as they reduce the inflammation and help the skin to repair.
SUNSCREEN! I’ll scream it from the rooftops! Please protect your skin with a minimum factor 30spf on your face.
Oh, and if you’re over 30 – an eye-cream is a must. Not just your normal moisturiser, you’ll need a specific eye cream for that delicate skin. There are lots on the market, and which one is right for you will depend on your concerns in this area. Gels are great for puffiness, whilst a cream is better for lines & wrinkles.
Skincare products are very personal to you, so I can’t offer ‘one size fits all’ in this article. If you’d like some advice on specific products that I’d recommend for you, then you can book a free skin consultation. I can then make personal recommendations for you.
How to detox your skin with Advanced Clinic Treatments
Advanced clinical treatments can fast track your results, helping you gain control of your skin and achieve the clear, beautiful skin you desire. Treatments such as the illumiFacial are great for treating multiple concerns – this is one of my most popular (and favourite) treatments, as it tackles aging concerns head on, helping to boost your natural collagen production, reduces inflammation and outbreaks and improves your skin tone. A real ‘WOW’ treatment. Other treatments such as Chemical Skin Peels and Microneedling Facials are also fantastic treats for your skin too.
There are many wonderful treatments that can help you with your skin concerns. The right one will depend on your skin condition and your goals. Once I have assessed your skin, I will be able to recommend bespoke products and a treatment program that will help you achieve your goal of beautiful, glowing skin.
How long does it take to detox ?
The wonderful thing is that this detox will help you look and feel so much better, it’s not exclusive to your skin. You will need to be patient though.
It can take 4-6 weeks to fully detox your skin. Your skin takes this long to renew and regenerate, so you will have to be patient before seeing the full results. But as they say – patience is a virtue! You’ll be rewarded to beautiful, glowing skin!
I hope that you have found my blog on how to detox your skin useful. Please get in touch if you have any questions at all.
Are you ready to take the next steps to achieve beautiful, clear, glowing skin? Then book your free consultation today, and start your transformation!
