Bad skin days are normal, and we all go through them, especially when the seasons start to change. But when we see our skin start to lose its glow, it can be frustrating, and it makes us lose our confidence. If this happens, don’t panic. Our skin is a window to our lives, showing our age and the way we treat our bodies.
Among the things that affect your skin include genetics, age, health condition, and hormones, and while you can’t change these things, you can change your lifestyle. When we have unhealthy living habits, it not only affects us physically and mentally, but it also shows in our skin.
Give Your Skin a Break
If you find yourself needing to apply an extra layer of powder and or foundation to cover up zits and spots before every Zoom meeting, it’s your skin’s way of saying that it needs some time to breathe. Just like wearing tight clothes in the summer, wearing heavy makeup all the time without washing them off properly can not only make you feel uncomfortable, but it can also clog your pores. This can cause your skin to break out, increase the chances of fine lines and wrinkles, and even cause allergies.
Oftentimes, these reactions come from the makeup ingredients themselves, especially comedogenic ingredients. However, it can also be the result of not cleaning your makeup tools properly after using them and not cleaning your makeup off completely at the end of the night.
The same goes for skincare. While having a suitable skincare routine for your skin type is important, your skin can sometimes want a break from any and all products that touch it. In other cases, the simpler the routine, the better. For instance, if you’ve been using a 12-step skincare routine for a while now and have stopped seeing results, try cutting down your routine by sticking with the basics. Use your facial wash, toner, serum, and moisturizer with SPF for that clean look if you’re going out for the day.
Manage Stress
Stress is one of the most common causes of breakouts. While it’s impossible to avoid being stressed completely, you can still manage it. After all, you don’t want to attend your virtual meeting or get-together with a huge zit on your face. Extreme stress can cause our skin to become more sensitive and prone to breakouts, also making it more difficult for skin problems like rashes, itchy skin, and acne to heal.
When we experience stress, our bodies create cortisol, otherwise known as the stress hormone, which signals our skin to produce more sebum, leading to acne and other skin problems.
Get Some Exercise
Ever notice that glow you get after a good workout? This post-workout glow shows just how effective a good workout is for your overall health. Not only does it help improve your cardiovascular and even mental health, but it also helps your body produce more collagen and improve blood circulation.
Stay Hydrated Inside and Out
With the summer months approaching, keeping yourself hydrated is as important as ever. In fact, the root of our skin problems sometimes stems from just being dehydrated—and it shows. When we’re dehydrated, our skin may appear dull, oily, red, and even spotty. Try to avoid drinks that can make you dehydrated, including coffee, tea, soda, and alcohol. Focus on drinking water for a week and see how much of a difference it can make.
Mind What You Eat
As cliche as it may sound, the phrase “you are what you eat” still rings true to this day. The food we eat plays a significant role in our skin health and is just as important as our skincare routines. Eating healthier and adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet can help keep your skin look great and keep your overall health in check. Foods such as avocados, tomatoes, broccoli, and soy contain different vitamins and nutrients that can help improve skin elasticity, relieve dryness, and protect you from UV rays, among other things.
Give Up Your Vices
At such a stressful time in our lives, there are moments when we can’t help but fall into bad habits that aren’t good for our general well-being. However, if you want to get your glow back, there’s no better time than now to quit those bad habits. Vices, like smoking, severely impact your skin, breaking down and reducing collagen production and increasing the chance of wrinkles due to the repetitive actions caused by smoking, such as pursing your lips.
Get Your Beauty Sleep
One of the best (and easiest) ways to rejuvenate and maintain healthier skin is by getting the recommended amount of sleep every night. Being sleep deprived can not only speed up the aging process but can also cause other health problems for you in the long run, such as obesity, cancer, and diabetes.
However, just getting enough sleep isn’t enough. You also have to be getting good quality sleep, meaning that you’re able to enter the deep sleep stage. When you enter this part of the sleeping process, your body regenerates muscles, cells, and most importantly, your skin, allowing it to produce new collagen.
Getting healthy skin shouldn’t have to burn a hole in your wallet, but it does mean having to practice a healthier lifestyle. Eating healthy, getting good quality sleep, staying hydrated, and staying away from vices can help you get that healthy and youthful glow that you’ve always wanted.
