Natural Skin Care Support & Advice

Natural Skin Care Support & Advice 

Natural skin care support starts with an understanding that too much work and too little relaxation can have a detrimental effect on the body’s largest organ – the skin.

Lifestyle 

Set aside time for yourself, whether for meditation, reading, or another hobby you enjoy. You can also supplement your diet with antioxidants such as vitamin C that may help protect the skin cells from internal and external stress.

Skin Care 

There are many products designed to help the skin cope with symptoms of stress, ranging from redness and irritation to breakouts and dullness. Free radicals cause damage to the surface as well as the supportive layers of the skin. Topical antioxidants used in the morning (in addition to sunscreen) can help ward off free radicals. Free radical quenchers include products containing vitamin C, green tea, or coenzyme Q10 (a significant antioxidant). If your skin can tolerate retinoids, Retin-A or products containing retinol can help skin turn over faster and increase blood flow to the skin.

Treatments 

Your natural skin care provider can help alleviate the visible effects of stress with a series of low-risk, downtime-free treatments to rejuvenate the skin and stimulate collagen production. If stress has you scowling,

Stop Skin Damage

 Natural skin care advice starts with understanding overactive sebaceous glands (which lead to breakouts), dullness, and pale skin.

Stress 

Our bodies react to stress by releasing adrenaline, which redirects blood flow away from the skin and sends it to the muscles. Tension also slows the skin’s rate of cell turnover, so it takes longer for fresh, new cells to reach the skin’s surface

Lack of Sleep 

Ever wonder why you get dark circles under your eyes when you don’t get enough sleep? Fatigue leads to pallor that makes blood flow beneath the skin more visible, and this is most apparent under the eyes. A 2001 article in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that the stress placed on the body from lack of sleep can lead to skin issues, including acne.

Alcohol

Anyone who’s ever had a hangover knows that alcohol dehydrates the body, and that includes the skin. Alcohol also depletes the body’s supply of vitamin A, which not only lowers skin’s defense against bacteria and infections, but also plays a role in skin-cell turnover by maintaining collagen production. Alcohol also makes the skin more prone to redness and blotchiness, and overindulging may even trigger psoriasis.

Smoking 

First and foremost, smoking constricts the blood vessels, reducing blood flow (and the supply of oxygen and nutrients) to the skin. Research has also shown that nicotine may increase production of the enzyme that breaks down collagen, thus, accelerating the formation of wrinkles. When collagen breakdown is coupled with repetitive lip pursing and the squinting associated with shielding the eyes from smoke, fine lines and wrinkles become even more apparent. Even secondhand smoke exposure has a detrimental effect on the skin since a smoky environment has a drying effect on the skin’s surface. Food for thought: Smokers in their 40s often have skin as wrinkled as nonsmokers in their 60s, and smokers are twice as likely to develop skin cancer as nonsmokers.