Spring and Your Skin
The days are getting longer, the sun is getting stronger and all around us we can see the evidence that Nature is awakining from her long winter slumber.
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Plants and animals are responding to the return of warmer days, becoming more active, producing new growth, building new nests and preparing for the arrival of new life.
Although we may not be as obviously responsive as the plants and animals to the changing seasons, we are also awakening from the hibernation of winter and preparing for increased activity in the coming months.
This is the time of renewal and revitalisation. Now is the time to make changes, to break old habits and patterns that we would like to be rid of and to make a new start.
Now is also a good time to start ‘spring cleaning’ the body. This can be achieved by drinking herbal teas, fresh juices and lots of clean, pure water that rejuvenate and cleanse the blood. Get out into the garden and start that home vegie garden you’ve been dreaming about all winter – just think of those fresh green salads!!!
The approaching longer daylight hours means we need to think about getting prepared for the ‘big reveal’ – exposing our winter skin to the ‘world’ and about how we are going to take good care of our skin when we are out and about, enjoying the sun and the fresh air.
Now is a good time to rejuvenate your skin by following these basic steps: exfoliate, cleanse, nourish, tone and moisturise.
1. Exfoliation
Exfoliation in itself is a great way to not only remove layers of old dead skin that have accumulated during winter but to also stimulate the circulation in the skin and the production of new skin cells.
Exfoliation can be done in a variety of ways: dry or moist, using a luffah mitt or a natural scrub of some kind or a combination of these approaches. When choosing your exfoliation method, you need to consider the part of your body you are working on: facial skin and skin in more ‘sensitive’ areas should not be too vigorously exfoliated, especially if you have a sensitive or delicate skin type; skin on the soles of the feet, knees and elbows on the other hand is thicker and can withstand relatively abrasive exfoliation. Skin of the arms, legs, back and trunk will respond well to a moderate exfoliating approach.
Exfoliating scrubs that contain natural abrasives, such as fine ground rice, oatmeal, tea tree bark and pumice have been found to give good results, although pumice is probably not recommended for the face, neck and delicate skin areas.
Your scrub can be of a foaming type with a ‘soapy’ base or a creamy base type – in either case, the base provides lubrication to make use of the scrub more easily.
Exfoliation can be done daily if a very gentle scrub is used but generally it is recommended that exfoliation be done every second or third day to avoid irritating the skin. Also, exfoliation is best done BEFORE applying your toner, nourishing cream or moisturiser.
2. Cleansing/Detox
Cleansing and detoxifying the skin can be approached from both the inside and the outside, for example, a 24 hour fast from food every week or two combined with drinking plenty of juices, herbal teas and water, flushes the kidneys and bowels and ‘cleanses’ the blood of impurities. This enables the eliminative organs to work more effectively and the benefits to skin tone and texture are very noticeable after this regime has been repeated a few times. (NB people with existing health problems should consult their health practitioner before embarking on fasting regimes).
A diet high in fibre-rich foods and fresh fruit and vegetables is also a good way to help keep the skin looking good and healthy.
From the outside, skin detoxing and cleansing can be done using gel or cream-based masks. Masks are versatile and provide a means to draw impurities out of the skin and to apply nutrient clays, seaweed products, fruit extracts and healing herbs and oils to the skin.
Clay Masks that are formulated for drawing out impurities are applied to the skin and then allowed to dry-off to some extent, then washed off in water. Masks that are primarily formulated for the application of nutrients and healing botanicals often do not have a drying-off phase and can be removed using water or toner.
As masks can have quite strong effects on the skin, it is recommended that these be used once or twice a week to avoid skin irritation.
Cleansing lotions are gentle but effective and can be used daily to remove make-up and the grime that accumulates on the skin during the course of the day.
3. Tone and Calm
After you have completed your exfoliating and cleansing steps, it is time to tone and nourish your skin. Toning used to be done with alcohol-based toners but this practice has largely been discarded due to the drying effect that alcohol has on the skin. It is now more usual to use botanicals, like witchhazel, aloe vera or rosemary extracts and apple cider vinegar that have tonifying effects but do not dry the skin out. Essential oils like chamomile can also be used in toning preparations for an anti-inflammatory effect.
Toning helps to ‘calm the skin down’ and restores the acid mantle to the skin after exfoliating and cleansing.
4. Moisturise and Nourish
The final step to your ‘New Spring Skin’ is the application of nourishing and moisturising creams, lotions or serums to the skin.
These products are formulated to retain moisture in the skin and to protect the skin from the effects of external factors.
Nut and seed butters and oils are commonly used as bases or carriers of other ingredients such as essential oils and have the added benefit of providing a protective waterproof layer to the skin surface. Inclusion of fruit extracts, botanicals and micellised vitamin preparations provide the nourishing component in this important step and also address the needs of particular skin types or skin problems.
Moisturisers should be used daily after cleansing and toning and especially after exposure to the sun, bathing or showering, to replace the natural protective oily surface layer to the skin.
The use of moisturisers in this way helps to prevent premature skin ageing and other types of skin damage.
Start your ‘New Spring Skin’ regime about 6-8 weeks before you plan on ‘exposing all’ to the world to give your skin a chance to renew itself…in the process, you’ll feel fresh and revitalised within and without.