I'd just like to start this by saying, I DO NOT have perfect skin, not in the slightest. My skin is oily, acne prone, dull and sensitive. I was dealt a relatively bad hand by the skin gods. This has lead to years of experimenting with toothpaste as a spot cream, charcoal cleansers, peel off masks and somewhere in all of that a trip to the hospital after I burnt my skin using a cheap witch hazel scrub. My relationship with my skin is really messed up at this point BUT I'm here to change that for myself. I want skin so polished and glowing that I never have to buy a bottle of foundation ever again. And hopefully by bringing you along on my skin journey you can learn from all my mistakes!
I've decided to go back to basics, try my hardest to ignore all the flashy "miracle cure" cleansers next time I'm in Boots and learn about the science behind skin health. Skin is our bodies largest organ and just like the rest of our organs we need to keep it healthy in order for it to protect us and just like our other organs it sends us signals when it's not feeling it's best. Rather than a stabbing pain in a kidney that might indicate (yet another) UTI, our skin will look dull, break out in spots, become oily or dry. We all know it can do any number of things to frustrate us but this is our skin signalling to us that it's not feeling too good. Our health is reflected in our skin.
"Skin regulates body temperature, maintains fluid balance, and controls moisture loss. It also acts as a barrier and shock absorber, recognizes pain sensations to alert us to danger, and protects us against the sun's harmful ultaviolet (UV) rays."
So I think we've established that keeping our skin healthy, is pretty damn important. (I may do a follow up post to this when I feel like I've nailed my basic skin health with products I find help enhance my skin and give me that nice healthy glow that we're all looking for but I'm getting ahead of myself.) First, the basics.
A Gentle Touch: Being gentle to your skin to keep is healthy is so obvious but I think it's something we often forget to do. Stay away from super hot showers and rubbing your skin with rough towels, warm water and patting dry is the way forward from here on!
Deal with your Stress: So this is a big one, that I am very much yet to master. Stress does nothing good for you or your skin. Being stressed can actually trigger breakouts and generally make your skin more sensitive. I suffer with hormonal acne and my spots are always most prevalent just before I start my period and recently I've began to wonder if these breakouts may also be triggered by my PMS (and not just my fluctuating hormones) because boy do I get it bad. So keep calm, do some yoga, smell some lavender, all those things that are supposed to work (more on this in another post).
Stay Hydrated: Dehydration will increase oiliness and the visibility of wrinkles. 'Nuff said.
Eat right: Alongside drinking all that good H20 you need a healthy diet! This is a really massive task for some people but convenience should never come before our health. I'm currently looking in to Intuitive Eating, an incredibly interesting concept that looks to break our entirely normalized culture of disordered eating in the western world. Diet culture is not good for any of us, so learn to eat right, the right way. But back to skin, alongside generally eating right here's some foods that your skin loves and why:
Oranges - Any food rich in vitamin C is going to do wonders for your skin as it will support your immune system and help to heal any blemishes!
"Skin regulates body temperature, maintains fluid balance, and controls moisture loss. It also acts as a barrier and shock absorber, recognizes pain sensations to alert us to danger, and protects us against the sun's harmful ultaviolet (UV) rays."
So I think we've established that keeping our skin healthy, is pretty damn important. (I may do a follow up post to this when I feel like I've nailed my basic skin health with products I find help enhance my skin and give me that nice healthy glow that we're all looking for but I'm getting ahead of myself.) First, the basics.
A Gentle Touch: Being gentle to your skin to keep is healthy is so obvious but I think it's something we often forget to do. Stay away from super hot showers and rubbing your skin with rough towels, warm water and patting dry is the way forward from here on!
Don't Smoke: I don't personally smoke but I'm not here to get up on my pedestal about it, if you do and quitting sounds like the worst thing in the world then cut down. Smoking will age your skin and increase wrinkles. It will make you look paler as it narrows the blood vessels in your face, damage collagen (responsible for our skins elasticity) and can also increase your risk of skin cancer. If you're looking for healthy skin then regular smoking is a big no no.
Wear Sunscreen: Wear sunscreen. Every. Day. No matter how grey and miserable it is outside your skin is always vulnerable to the sun's UV rays so you need to protect it! I personally like to use a moisturizer with a minimum of SPF 30 added and apply it every morning before I do my makeup. As a part of this quest for perfect skin I'm actually ditching all foundation and concealer so that I can reapply sunscreen/moisturizer throughout the day to really make sure my skin is hydrated and protected 9 til 5.
Stay Hydrated: Dehydration will increase oiliness and the visibility of wrinkles. 'Nuff said.
Eat right: Alongside drinking all that good H20 you need a healthy diet! This is a really massive task for some people but convenience should never come before our health. I'm currently looking in to Intuitive Eating, an incredibly interesting concept that looks to break our entirely normalized culture of disordered eating in the western world. Diet culture is not good for any of us, so learn to eat right, the right way. But back to skin, alongside generally eating right here's some foods that your skin loves and why:
Avocados - Healthy fats = healthy skin. The fatty acids found in avocados work to moisturize your skin from the inside out! (I know that sounds horrible but trust me, it's a good thing)
Sweet Potatoes - Antioxidant and full of magnesium, both of which work as anti-inflammatories creating the blemish free complexion you've always dreamed of.
Carrots - Any foods high in Vitamin A such as carrots will massively contribute to collagen production, keeping us all looking younger.
I could go on and on all day about what foods are good for your skin and why (comment down below if that's something you'd like me to do a separate post on) but there are just so many, it's quite overwhelming. Like I said previously, as long as you're eating right (a monumental task in itself) your skin should feel the benefit.
Sleep: Our eight hours is important for all bodily function, skin gets tired to ya know. Practice good sleep hygiene, wash your sheets regularly and make sure you aren't sacrificing one precious hour of sleep for one more not-so-precious hour of Netflix.
Makeup Removal: Before you even think about sleep however, all that makeup needs to come OFF. Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever (have I made myself clear yet?) go to sleep with your makeup on. You will cause problems for your skin. Our skin needs time to breathe and it can't do that if it's caked in foundation, this will clog your pores and lead to nasty spots. No bueno.
So there we have it, this is all the stuff I'm trying to start to boost my skin health sans (but eventually alongside) fancy products. I'm laying the foundations (no pun intended) for what should be some super healthy skin and I will be keeping you all updated on my skin journey via my Instagram (@milkthistleblog). And that, in the biz, is what we call... a shameless plug.
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