BEAUTIFUL SKIN AND HOW TO GET IT
Glowing smooth skin has been at the top of the list as a signifier of health as well as beauty for many thousands of years. Beauty routines have been documented in the written and pictorial histories of many older civilisations and the Romans, Egyptians and Chinese are all notable for skin rituals that were practised by men as well as women. Human beings appear to be hard-wired to select mates with sleek shiny hair and soft skin, as subliminally these traits convey the message of health and therefore good genes suitable for passing onto the next generation.
Modern science offers us much more than ever before in terms of beautifying ourselves and skin-care is now a multi-billion dollar industry offering a plethora of products promising to hydrate, luminize, restore and rejuvenate our epidermis. In addition the aesthetic medicine industry has a wealth of options to plump, fill and even hydrate at a deeper level, as well as lasers and other devices designed to stimulate the skin’s own collagen to restore a youthful freshness.
Something I learned over time however was that if the underlying skin wasn’t in peak condition then the results of injectables could be less than expected. And even the best skin-care products in the world won’t do their job if your lifestyle is at odds with skin health. While most of us are familiar with the old adage “beauty comes from within”, many people don’t really know where to start in terms of optimising skin health, and in particular don’t really appreciate the complex interplay between general health and skin health.
So while we all know we don’t look our best after a big night out, not enough sleep, too much alcohol, poor diet and too much stress, it’s often hard to make that next step to actually improve our lifestyle when yet another miracle cream launches and we naturally hope we can cheat and have the best of both worlds - an indulgent lifestyle and gorgeous skin! Unfortunately for most of us this isn’t a sustainable long-term strategy and as we age our bad habits do catch up with us, so by the time we think it’s time to do something it can be very hard to reverse the damage caused by sun, pollution, smoking and other poor lifestyle choices.
Fortunately the skin can be quite forgiving and if the damage isn’t severe, with some judicious lifestyle changes and even just a simple tweak, you can make a difference. Research in the past has shown that wearing sunscreen regularly can actually reverse photo-ageing, and even simple nutrition changes can have a big impact as our understanding grows of the effect of the gut microbiome on our skin. Several very good-quality products exist in the market these days which do their magic from within, and while most of us are probably familiar with oral collagen powders, there are even more interesting products targeted specifically at the microbiota using fermented fruits and vegetables to correct the microbiome and by extension, the skin. In addition there are exciting new developments in the anti-ageing/longeveity sphere with new types of supplements showing promise for improving skin texture and tone and even it’s claimed, reversing the signs of ageing.
In the meantime we can all reap the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and improve not only how we feel on the inside, but also how we look on the outside by paying attention to the four basic pillars of wellness: nutrition, movement, sleep and spiritual well-being 💛