LIFESTYLE - THE holidays, and related festivities with family and friends, have likely been a period of late nights and over-indulgence for most of us.
When it’s over, we have to pay the price for what may seem like the little things. This includes not properly removing your make-up, spending extra time in the sun and sipping on sugar-filled cocktails.
By this time, our skin is not celebrating.
It needs to recover with a post-holiday skincare regime.
Let’s look at some of the holiday festivity effects on our skin, and solutions:
Late night:
Sleep deprivation causes a decrease in blood flow to the skin surrounding your face, and leaves the skin drier. This can make the lines and dark circles or bags under your eyes more visible. A good night’s sleep can mean good skin health because when you are sleep-deprived, your body makes more of the stress hormone, cortisol.
Skin detox solution: The key is to get seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night. During this time, our body repairs and makes collagen. This prevents sagging skin and boosts the blood flow to the skin, which means you wake up to a healthy glow. Ensure you get enough sleep.
Overindulgence - smoking and drinking: Alcohol causes the body to be dehydrated, leaving the skin parched. If you are drinking night after night, eventually the production of new skin cells will become compromised. The skin will then become irritated, blotchy and dry. Alcohol is high in sugar. Sugar causes inflammation in the body and the skin. Inflammation causes collagen to then break down, resulting in premature wrinkles and dull skin.
Skin detox solution:
Exfoliate the build-up of dead skin cells.
Have a professional facial to rejuvenate your skin.
Introduce serums with hyaluronic acid to boost moisture and add anti-oxidants, such as vitamin C, to brighten the skin.
Drink water infused with berries and fruit rich in anti-oxidants.
Water intake:
Water plays an important role in digestion and circulation, but it’s also vital for your skin’s health and suppleness.
It helps your digestive system flush out toxins from the body, which will improve your complexion for healthy and glowing skin.
Water helps your skin maintain moisture.
This increases the elasticity, resulting in fewer wrinkles and can help balance your pH level to give you healthy skin.
Water can help speed up the healing process, as it provides oxygen to the blood cells.
The more water you drink, the better the balance of oil and water on the surface of your skin.
This can help reduce your pore size, decrease acne breakouts, and reduce blemishes.
When you stay hydrated, your skin is less likely to crack and become itchy.
Skin detox solution:
The amount of water you need is based on several factors, such as age, gender and activity level. A total daily intake of around 2.7 litres for women and 3.7 litres for men can meet our needs.
Stress over year-end is higher from last-minute shopping, entertaining:
The increase of the stress hormone, cortisol, damages the collagen in your skin. It also accelerates the ageing process.
Skin detox solution:
Catch up with sleep and place slices of cucumber over the eye area. It has an anti-inflammatory effect that will help reduce puffiness and reduces discolouration.
Boost your happy hormones dopamine and serotonin levels by increasing regular physical activities.
Sleeping in your make-up:
Sleeping in make-up is one of the worst things you can do for your skin.
It promotes bacterial infections, which leads to clogged pores and breakouts. It also dries out the skin, causing redness and sensitivity. It speeds up the ageing process.
Skin detox solution:
Use a good cleanser.
Tone regularly.
Do not pinch and pop pimples.
Use an exfoliator two times weekly to unclog pores.
Have a professional deep cleansing facial, that includes extraction.
Sun exposure:
Increased exposure to the sun can draw pigmentation of the skin’s surface and create dark circles. Long sun exposure produces more melanin around the eyes than usual, giving them a darker colour.
Skin detox solution:
Use a sunscreen with a broad-spectrum SPF, refer to sunscreens that protect the skin from UVA and UVB rays.
Limit sun exposure when the sun’s rays are the most intense. Reduce sun exposure is between 10am and 2pm.
Use sunscreen daily, with an SPF of 30, to protect the skin and stop hyperpigmentation from becoming darker. Reapply frequently.
Use post-care products to treat sun damage (containing vitamin C).
Visit a professional skincare expert to assess your skin and advise of a good skincare plan.
Ramlakan is an internationally-qualified and trained beauty therapist, and the founder of NB Skin Science skincare. You can visit her in Malvern or Musgrave. Facebook and Instagram @nbskinscience or visit www.nbskinscience.com
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