Spring is finally here and I bet you’re already thinking about summer holidays. This is the time to shake off the winter build up of dried skin to reveal soft, hydrated, glowing skin ready for the new season’s colours and sunny summers.
In this week’s blog, I wanted to help you do just that!
For this season, I want you to focus on this key word – HYDRATION! HYDRATION! HYDRATION!
Hydrated skin looks more plump, less lined, soft, dewy and just beautiful!
First things first, how do you check your skin’s hydration levels?
I created the Snap, Pinch, Pout test whenever I access the quality of someone’s skin. I’ve been sharing this with the journalist and bloggers I meet during my market tours with The Body Shop® and they love it. You can use this test when you’re trying out a new product to see if it works or to see if your skin is ageing well.
The Snap Test:
Using your thumb and forefinger, gently pinch the skin underneath your eyes and let go. Depending on how quickly it “snaps” back will indicate how hydrated and elastic your skin. Faster snap back means healthier skin quality.
The Pinch Test:
Like how our aunties used to pinch our cheeks, pinch the apples of your cheeks to feel how much “meat” or collagen your skin has. Observe if there are any fine lines on the surface of the skin when you pinch it. If there are fine lines, your skin may be dehydrated or have reduced elasticity.
The Pout Test:
“Pout” and give a kiss to check the skin around your mouth. As you release the pout, you’ll want to see if fine lines remain. Lines mean less skin hydration.
So what can you do improve your skin’s hydration? Here are my 5 top tips!
1. Increase your healthy fats and Omega 3 supplements.
Omega 3 and healthy fats are great ingredients to maintain the epidermal barrier which is so vital for keeping the skin’s moisture locked in. If your skin is sensitive and dry, this is a must.
Omega’s can be found in flaxseed oil, walnut oil, marine plankton, krill and fatty fish e.g. salmon, tuna and mackerel. If you like meat, grass-fed beef has higher Omega 3 than fish.
You can also supplement with Eskimo Fish Oil or Udo’s Choice Ultimate Oil Blend. Minimum dose 1000mg/ day.
2. Regular, consistent gentle exfoliation.
Time to slough off the dead skin and encourage new cells to surface. Dead skin build up will only soak up the lotions and potions you apply on your skin, rendering the active ingredients useless if it cannot reach the important layers of the skin.
If you have oily skin, I would recommend exfoliating 2-3 times a week. The best exfoliator I have found is the ZO Exfoliating Polish.
If you have sensitive or dry skin, I would recommend exfoliating 1-2 times a week. A gentle exfoliator I would recommend is The Body Shop® Aloe Gentle Exfoliator.
3. Anti-oxidants in the morning
Our environment is getting more toxic and polluted. Free radicals from pollution, chemicals, smoke, smog and fumes attack the skin on a continuous basis which causes premature ageing, DNA damage and pigmentation.Topical anti-oxidants give our skin a fighting chance to repair and regenerate.
Look for ingredients e.g. Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Grape Seed extract, Green Tea extract, and botanicals.
Apply this every morning after cleansing before you apply your sunscreen.
My favourite anti-oxidant products are Exuviance Antioxidant Perfect 10 Serum, Skinceuticals CE Ferulic serum , The Body Shop® Vitamin E Aqua Boost Sorbet and Vitamin C range.
4. Hyaluronic Acid (HA)
HA is a gel-like water holding molecule that is the space filler and cushioning agent in all mammals. HA cushions joints, nerves, hydrates skin and hair, and fills the eye.
As we age, we lose HA from our skin resulting in dryness, laxity, fine lines and wrinkles.
HA is what dermal fillers are made of, hence it’s popularity to improving the appearance of lines, correcting volume loss and hydrating the skin through skin boosters. There are many products that claim to have hyaluronic acid and the formulation is very important to be able to absorb in the skin and work it’s magic.
My favourite product that has HA are Teoxane RHA Serum which you can use day and night and The Body Shop® Drops of Youth™ Bouncy Sleeping Mask. These 2 products lock moisture in while delivering HA into the skin, restoring and maintaining it’s hydration. The Bouncy Sleeping Mask also has Edelweiss stem cells which supports the regeneration of the skin while you sleep overnight. So it’s a double win!
An added boost would be taking a “collagen” drink internally. There are plenty of “collagen” drinks in the market… some have more sugar than anything so read the label carefully before gulping it down. A “collagen” drink that I would recommend is Aneva Derma.
Aneva Derma is a Nutritional Skin Beverage containing enzymatically hydrolysed collagen and HA produced by uniqueprocesses to reduce their molecular weight to the smallest size possible for optimum bio-absorption. Drink 1 scoop each night mixed with water and you’ll start noticing stronger hair, bones and skin after 3 months. And it taste pretty yummy too.
5. Get a Humidifier for your room
Central heating, air conditioning, extreme weather – they are very drying to the skin. If you’re working indoors all door, it’s good to get a humidifier to be placed in each room.
Humidifiers help to keep the moisture in the air, helping your skin stay hydrated and supple. When the air is very dry, the moisture on the skin evaporates into the air. Humidifiers also helps breathing, reducing sinuses which is handy when you don’t have to keep blowing your nose and drying out the skin around the delicate areas even further.
Need an extra hydration boost?
If you feel your skin needs an extra hydration boost especially when you’re travelling or working a lot, not getting enough sleep or would like a skin makeover, then the clinic treatments below may be able to help.
1. Refresh & Revive Hydrating Facial –
A luxurious treat for the skin involving exfoliation, intense hydration and antioxidant infusion. I always have this treatment before and after I fly. Click for more details
2. Skin Boosting / Mesotherapy –
A gentle procedure using tiny needles to inject vitamins, hyaluronic acid and antioxidants directly into the skin for an intense targeted treatment. Can be combined with micro needling which helps to resurface the skin and encourage collagen production, reducing fine lines and further plumping the skin. Click for more details
And that’s a wrap!
I hope you found this blog useful. If you have any comments or questions, please leave it in the comment section below.
If you would like to find out more about any of the treatments above, please email us on [email protected].
Until next time, happy Spring and here’s to many months of beautiful, hydrated skin!