Skin Confidence ‘Five a Day’

As regular readers will know – for me, truly radiant skin is about more than just great products. The key lies in embracing a ‘healthy skin’ lifestyle – that takes all determining factors behind skin health into account.

I’ve broken these down into five simple categories. If your skin is ever playing up then it is definitely worth addressing each before you take more serious measures – chances are it will sort itself out.

These are simple tips and ideas to live by – I like to think of them as your skin confidence ‘five a day’ – staying on top of each as part of a balanced lifestyle really will help you achieve amazing skin at any age.

Diet

As the body’s largest organ, the clarity and condition of the skin is a reflection of our wider health. Just as nutrients are essential to keep the body at its best, they are also essential for feeding the skin from the inside out.

Up your intake of Essential Fatty Acids, Antioxidants, Vitamins and Fibre – these wonder foods help plump, protect and brighten the skin.

Avoid refined sugars, saturated fats, caffeine and acidic foods – all these foods can lead to dull, irritated and problem skin, whilst actively damaging skin cells.

Sleep & Stress

A lack of sleep and high stress levels take their toll on the body and prevent it from performing its essential functions.

Sleep is particularly important for skin health, as the cell’s repair and regeneration rate almost doubles at night.

Many skin sensitivities flare up in tandem with heightened emotion – it is not uncommon for conditions to develop of the first time after periods of trauma or grief. 

Oil & pH Balance

Achieving skin balance is the key to taking control of problem skin. Skin balance refers to an even pH and oil production, and is affected by products, diet, stress and lifestyle.

Paring back your skin regime, maintaining your pH balance, avoiding detergents and refined sugar will all help to rebalance and calm your skin. 

Toxins & Damage

A toxin is a general term for a substance or chemical the body has no positive use for. They can be introduced to the body through our own actions, or imposed on us by our environments.

To limit the damaging effects that Toxins have on the skin is to avoid them as best you can, and embrace antioxidants both internally and topically. 

Emotional Wellbeing

• Everyday our bodies physically react to mental triggers, and as the body’s biggest organ, the skin is also a surface on which our emotional peaks and troughs play out.
• Being happy shows on your skin, so invest in some ‘me-time’, embrace endorphins and think positive!

I’ll be looking into each of these Five a Day factors on the blog over the next few days – if you’d like more info in the mean time you can download a really handy pdf guide here.