What is Winter doing to your skin?

Environmentally Sensitized Skins

You would have noticed that your face and body skin needs have changed significantly over this winter period. Environmentally stressed skin is one of the world’s fastest increasing skin phenomena’s and the chances are you are experiencing some or all of the following symptoms:

• Increased sensitivity especially on the cheek area
• Dehydration
• Accelerated ageing lines
• Itchy skin or a skin that suddenly reacts to anything or everything
• On your body: fine rash or ever thirsty skin that no moisturizer seems to quench
• Eczema sufferers are probably at their worst

Did you know

With decreased temperatures your skin will produce 10% less oil for each degree drop in temperature. (The opposite in summer months.) So this will leave your skin feeling drier and tighter.

As we’re surrounded by building construction, you are inhaling polluted air (Reactive oxygen + polluted air= Ozone) which is responsible for destroying your skins natural immune response. Interestingly, Oriental Diagnosis suggests that there is link between lung stress and skin stress (especially visible in your cheek area) Asthmatic sufferers/ hay fever sufferers will know all about the redness and broken capillaries around the cheek and nose areas of their face, let alone the flare up of eczema. Often we refer to these sufferers as Atopic.

By ingesting foods that are toxin ridden with preservatives and artificial additives etc. we pollute our bodies.
And if that is not enough we are more stressed and pressured than ever before.

So what does this mean?

We are living, walking toxic waste dumps. Your body has every right to show you that it’s not happy; however it chooses to manifest itself. And this has everything to do with why your skin is not coping with the environmental changes: it’s too busy dealing with its own internal attack.

So what can you do about it?

Start off with looking at where you’re at in terms of your lifestyle and how your body is coping with its demands.

Balance is key and what you put in, is what you’re going to get out!
Live by the 80 / 20 principle. 80% good, 20% bad! This applies to diet and exercise.
Are you creating your balance between work and play? And when you play, are you doing activities that are also contributing to bringing about your balance?

Are you an Adrenalin Junkie?

If you’re in a high, fast paced career or spinning class everyday is not going to bring balance to your already high adrenaline life. Playing golf, practicing yoga or Pilates class will do your body far more good.

Do you see a Skin Care Expert?

Are you in the care of a professional skin expert that is discussing and monitoring your skin changes from month to month, and customizing your treatment? It’s not good enough to have the same treatment month in and month out, when your skin is presenting changes.

Less is more

Less is often more in your routine. Your body’s histamine levels increase due to internal and external stressors and thus is more reactive.

Avoid

• Trying too many new products, stick with what has worked in the past
• Excessive fragranced products at all costs
• Temperature extremes, it simply compromises your skins natural moisture control mechanism and also increases broken capillaries
• Smoking and alcohol
• Once the sensitivity has calmed, one can increase Micro exfoliation and active products
• Weekly mechanical exfoliation (body scrubs, buffing cloths) is key to insure optimum maintained body moisture

In essence there is no need to worry, all you need to do is take stock and make some lifestyle changes.