I’ve been going through probably one of the hardest issues of my life. I’m not able to give any details for now because other people are involved but basically life has switched to survival mode for the last month. While I’m trying hard to keep life normal for my girls, I have really slacked on several healthy habits and as a result, my skin is not good. I thought it might be a very helpful post to tell you what I’ve learned about maintaining healthy skin and what happens when you don’t…..
First, and I believe most importantly, I started slacking on my night time skin ritual. In the evenings, I like to oil cleanse whether I wore makeup that day or not. I use THIS OIL, then follow up with THIS TONER, and THIS NIGHT REPAIR and THIS EYE GEL. Sometimes, if I make the time, I use THIS EXFOLIATOR for 10 minutes before toning and moisturizing. Mind you, I always take my makeup off no matter what. I literally can’t sleep with makeup, especially mascara on but I haven’t worn makeup for a while and so my face has been greatly neglected in the evenings. So TIP # 1, Cleanse & Moisturize your skin regardless of if you wore makeup that day!
Second, my exercising has gone down to nothing for about 2-3 weeks. Exercising does wonders for the skin. Not only does it get blood flowing to the face, it also helps you sweat, which detoxes the body. TIP # 2, Raise your heart rate and sweat to support healthy , glowing skin!
Third, I pretty much stopped eating. You really can see how good green smoothies are for you skin when you stop drinking them. Not to mention food in general is kind of important! TIP #3, Great skin starts from the inside out, don’t skip meals and especially nutrition packed smoothies!
Fourth, SLEEP. My sleep has been greatly compromised and it shows in my eyes. I look worn out. Bags are huge right now! Sometimes sleep is hard to control and not as easy as just going to bed at a certain time and waking up at a certain time but if you do have the ability to sleep, do it. Get on a schedule and get at least 7-8 hours a night! One sleep aid that I have found is helpful is using essential oils. Lavender essential oil is a GOD-SEND. I apply it to my temples, pillow and wrists. I breath it in deeply while laying in bed and diffuse it.
The results of falling back on my healthy habits were probably only obvious to me. If I had continued down this destructive path there’s no telling how out of balance my skin might have got. One thing I noticed is, I started experiencing mystery bumps. I think they are allergy bumps or even stress bumps but they don’t result in anything, they are itchy and they come on super fast and then linger for a while. I also started to feel really dry again. My skin looked super dull and blackheads were coming back.
I know this is a Debbie-Downer of a post but I found it pretty helpful to understand how important certain healthy habits are to your skin’s health. I found it especially interesting that while everyone knows it’s a HUGE no-no to not take your makeup off at night, it is also a HUGE must to cleanse and treat your skin on a nightly basis whether you wear makeup that day or not. Exercise is also something most people don’t realize is so important to healthy skin. Getting blood pumping promotes healing, collagen growth and cell turnover. Without it, we can start to appear dull. Sweating is also so important as well as drinking loads of water (which is a healthy bi-product of working out) because it encourages toxins to GET OUT! Sleep is just a no-brainer. No sleep will wreak havoc on your skin.
I’m cooking up a really fun DIY for this week so stay tuned and once all the dust clears, I will share my story. God is so good and my faith is so much deeper going through this dark time. I have had a couple of people reach out to me who are going through the same thing and it feels so good to know I am not alone. By sharing my story, maybe I can help someone feel a bit better.
xx, Jenni
