When skin doesn’t look perfect our natural first reaction is to reach for products to treat or cover whatever problems we are facing. Be it wrinkles, pigmentation or breakouts. Not only can these products be expensive and harsh on the skin but not always does what we try work.
It’s natural to act reactively instead of proactively, if it isn’t broke why fix it right? But what if we could have great skin without forking out large sums for expensive products? Would our approach to skincare be preventative?
It turns out you can control certain elements (with tools that are freely at your disposal) to ensure your skin is the healthiest it can be.
The perfect skincare routine could go a long way in determining the health of your skin. Last month, when we chatted to Cherie Cochrane, owner of Dermology Sandton, we spoke about how your lifestyle plays a role in your skin too.
Sleep and Diet are huge contributing factors to how your skin looks
Whether you’re getting 8 hours or not, getting sleep at night is critical for your skin (and body too).
“If you’re not sleeping, your stress levels go up and your skin can’t repair. Night time is when your skin cells and everything in your body repairs so if you’re not getting sleep everything takes its toll.”
Diet is another game changer. It takes much more discipline to control what you consume, but in general we all know what we should or shouldn’t be eating. What price are we willing to pay to ignore this? It is recommended that we only have 4-6 teaspoons of sugar daily but do we stop to check how much sugar is in the food and drinks we consume?
“If you’re eating lots of processed foods and fizzy drinks it’s going to affect your skin. We know what we should be doing and excess of anything is bad. I don’t believe in taking out anything, but a balanced diet of carbs, protein and fresh fruit and vegetables is best.”
