Spring has arrived! I see tulips and crocuses beginning to bloom and the days are longer. Everyone is beginning to transition from heavy coats, mittens and boots to wearing lighter clothing. Bathing suit season is right around the corner and we are all looking forward to enjoying the nice weather with our family and friends and to have our skin looking its best.
Your skin is the largest organ of the human body and plays an essential role in keeping you healthy. It is your protective barrier against the elements and very important to your overall health. As a makeup artist, I realize not everyone chooses to wear makeup. However, everyone benefits from taking proper care of their skin in promoting overall health and wellness. If you treat your skin well, it will take care of you and keep aging well for a long time. Many factors contribute to skin health. These include: seasonal changes, hormonal changes, environment, lifestyle habits (e.g. hygiene, sun, smoking, sleep, nutrition, exercise). A combination of healthy lifestyle habits can produce amazing results for your skin! Spring is the perfect time to revisit your skin goals and implement healthy habits to achieve the results you desire.
A good way to begin spring skin renewal is with detoxification and exfoliation. Many people eat heavy foods during the winter months. Now that it's Spring you can begin to lighten things up and choose to eat more in-season fruits and vegetables. The water content from eating fruits and vegetables is just as important as the water you consume through drinking water. It will keep your skin hydrated and hydration is an important aspect to achieving a healthy & glowing complexion.
It is important not to be overly harsh when exfoliating and not to use products that are too abrasive for skin. Many over-the-counter drugstore exfoliating products can contain harsh, abrasive exfoliating products. The best exfoliation products are gentle in nature and often contain some type of a moisturizing element to them while they are working to exfoliate dead skin cells. You can achieve excellent results through gentle skincare habits combined with basic, healthy lifestyle habits.
Skin type also plays a big factor. People with dry skin will not want to be exfoliating much, if at all. Your skin type will determine how often you want to exfoliate. Also, the skin on your whole body benefits from regular exfoliation. This can either be by a sugar or salt scrub spa exfoliation treatment or it can also be a dry brush exfoliation. Dry brush exfoliation helps to slough off dead skin cells and kick-start new skin cells coming to the surface as well as increases circulation.
Exercise is also a great way to detox the skin since when you sweat, toxins are being released from your skin and circulation is increased. As you age your skin cells have to work harder to renew themselves on their own. In younger years this happens more frequently and without much concentrated effort. The extra effort you put in to help your cells renew will be worth the work.
Also, if you have mistreated your skin with negative lifestyle habits such as sunburns, smoking, poor diet and lack of sleep you will notice that your skin reflects these choices. Beauty really does begin on the inside and it is based in health. The good news is that there are many things you can do to preserve, protect and improve your skin as you age. Through every year and season your skin will change and the more in tune you are to your skin and how it is reacting to these changes the better you can manage your skin health.
XOXO,
