3 WAYS YOU MAY BE SABOTAGING YOUR SKIN
You’ve tried many skincare products, stick religiously to your daily skincare routine, go for regular facials and still experience frequent breakouts? Or perhaps you aren’t plagued by acne, you just want your skin to look bright and radiant instead of dull and puffy?
The solutions to your skin woes may be simpler than you think! Here are 3 common ways people sabotage their skin and how to fix them.
You’re Not Drinking Enough Water
Is your skin flaky, dull, sensitive, itchy or inflamed? If so, your skin may be dehydrated. Dehydration is not limited to dry skin types — even oily skin may be dehydrated. This is because dehydration is a lack of water in the skin, not oil (dermalinstitute.com).
Dehydrated skin may be caused by weather (e.g. sun exposure), unhealthy diet (e.g. lack of fresh produce and alcohol or caffeine intake), or using overly harsh exfoliators or cleansers. In fact, UV rays/ photo-aging contribute 80% to what our skin eventually becomes.
The good news? Dehydration is easily reversible.
To rehydrate and rejuvenate your complexion, make sure to drink sufficient water daily and eat water-rich foods like watermelon, cucumber, or grapefruit. Also switch out your harsh exfoliators with gentler, water-based skincare products. Try our Suki exfoliate foaming cleanser, which is gentle and toxin-free, or our VMV Hypoallergenics Cream Cleansers that help your skin to retain its natural moisture barrier. Additionally, always remember that dead skin holds just 10% water, hence lack of exfoliation would give you a dull skin as your cells lose its ability to retain and hold moisture.
You’re Not Stimulating Your Lymphatic System
Does your skin look dull, tired or puffy? Are there spots, dry patches or blackheads? These are signs that your lymphatic drainage system is in need of some tender loving care!
Your lymphatic system works hard to detoxify your body, by removing toxins and waste products via lymph nodes located throughout your body. Unlike our circulatory system, our lymphatic system does not have a pump. Instead, it relies on muscle movement to propel lymphatic flow.
If your lymphatic drainage system is working well, your skin will appear clear and bright. If lymphatic drainage becomes sluggish, you may experience dullness, puffiness, and blackheads.
The most common causes of a sluggish lymphatic flow are lack of exercise and poor diet. So stimulating your lymphatic system is as simple as exercising regularly and eating healthier foods! Exercises involving bouncing are particularly good for stimulating the lymphatic system. To further enhance lymphatic drainage, you can also try these simple facial massages or our Lymphatic Drainage Therapy.
You’re Eating Too Much Sugar
If you’ve read this far, you’ll have realized that diet heavily influences skin condition. What you may not yet have realised is that a single ingredient is responsible for a whole host of skin (and health) problems — Sugar.
Eating a high amount of sugar, or high-glycemic foods which quickly convert to sugar, causes insulin spikes and activates inflammation in our body. This produces enzymes which break down collagen and elastin, giving you sagging skin and wrinkles. Sugar can also exacerbate acne.
Choose complex carbohydrates like brown rice and vegetables over white bread, candy and fruit juice (yes, fruit juice has too much sugar!). If cutting sugar completely seems intimidating, try quitting sugar for just a week. The results will motivate you to revamp your diet for a healthier, glowing complexion!
Stop sabotaging your skin. Drink more water, stimulate your lymphatic system and eat less sugar for healthy, radiant skin!