Skin Clearing Series: Part 3 – Lifestyle adjustments
There are factors other than diet and skincare that impact your skin health – you may have figured my obsession with reducing sun exposure already – and below are some key essentials for clear skin.
Sweating
Sweating every day will change your skin like almost nothing else – it improves circulation to the skin and speeds up detoxification – too things that are fundamental for clear, glowing skin. Finding the way to sweat that works for you is key to this actually working for you – I lo
ve running as it clears my head, but even still, there are times I just can’t make myself put on my runners. A nice hot bath is a lovely substitute, as is a 20 minute yoga session ending in a headstand (this increases blood flow to the face in particular, and you can definitely work up a sweat doing it). A hike with some friends or even just a skipping rope at home if you’re caught for time (skipping is deceptively exhausting…don’t say I didn’t warn you), sweating for 15-20 minutes will make a huge difference to your skin.
Dry Body Brushing
Dry body brushing has been lauded as the cure to cellulite, and although I’m not sure that this is absolute gospel, it does improve circulation and detoxification (two factors that influence cellulite), while gently exfoliating the skin. Not suitable for your face and delicate décolletage area, it can work wonders on the rest of the body – and heading into winter, daily use could mean confidence (if not comfort!) baring your legs over the festive season. It can be quite useful for treating keratosis pilaris (the bumps that tend to appear on the backs of the upper arms in some people, particularly in winter when skin becomes drier). The Body Shop do them (old school, I know – I’m assuming even the thought of mango body butter reminds everyone else of Gloria Jeans and half days on Wednesdays too?!), but this one also looks pretty good if you’re more of an online shopper – and have no idea where your nearest Body Shop is (I’m pretty sure last time I was in one was 2005), it also has a longer handle to make it easier to reach your back. 2-3 minutes of brushing in circular motions before hopping in the shower is all it takes.
image via areyouami.com
Hygiene
Skin hygiene is another facet to an acne-free lifestyle. Make up brushes, mobile phones and pillow cases can all be breeding grounds for bacteria – which then can be easily transported to your face – which is actually totally rank if you stop and think about it for long enough. All the skin care products and dietary supplements in the world are not going to help if you are swirling yesterdays grime onto your face with your foundation every morning! Once a week should be often enough for a deep clean (washing your brushes with baby shampoo or like this) but, especially for anyone suffering from breakouts, a quick spray with brush cleaner every day is the best solution. Cinema secrets is a favourite amongst Irish make up artists and very reasonably priced. Changing your pillow case every week is the minimum and I try and clean my phone with these handy wipes whenever I think of it.
image via urbanoutfitters.com
Does anyone have any other tips for clear skin? And have your tried any of the above?