13 Micro Habits for Happy and Healthy Skin
Not enough time for a full-scale routine? You can adopt micro-habits that take very little time each day and are easily doable for a healthy skin.
Taken individually, none of them will trigger an instant wow factor, but practiced in the context of other activities, these micro-habits will help your skin dealing with daily stressors a little bit every day, and this will add up over time.
- Splash cold water on your skin when rinsing-off cleansing products in the morning
Wash your face with lukewarm water first to remove any makeup and pollutants from the day, then end with a cold-water rinse to tighten pores and promote blood circulation. Rinsing with cold water affects the skin in many positive ways. Acne prevention, for instance, is one of those potential benefits. That’s because hot water strips the oils from your skin triggering your oil glands to produce even more sebum. In this case, cold water can do a great job of regulating oil levels.
Cold water may also be better for specific skin conditions, such as rosacea (make sure the water is not freezing cold). Hot water causes blood vessels to dilate more, making your skin appear redder. Cold water is also great at closing pores and reducing puffiness.
- Feed your skin with healthy food
Every time you go shopping, buy a fruit or vegetable you haven’t tried before. Your skin is your largest organ. Skincare protects it from external factors, but what feeds your skin cells comes from the food you eat. The human body is designed for various nutritional sources, and your skin needs various sources to obtain the nutritional elements it requires to stay healthy. Modern supermarkets have a wide variety of fresh food available, so it’s easy to grab a new one on top of your usual shop each time.
- Add the cost of process food you buy to your beauty products expenses
Work out how many ingredients, additives, artificial colouring, or flavouring ingredients will end up as blemishes; replace this processed food with spray-free or whole organic food if you decide to buy.
- Turn down the blue light on your computer.
If you’re serious about preventing premature ageing, experts say protection from UVA and UVB rays is no longer enough. Blue light emitted from our digital devices can penetrate deeper into the skin than UVA and UVB light. Blue light can penetrate our dermis to the level where you find collagen and elastin. The results are a loss of firmness and an increase in visible lines.
- Put your phone on airplane mode in another room before going to sleep
Notifications and an endless stream of messages at night mess with our body clock, plus waking up with a need to check your phone instantly screams addiction. A messed-up body clocked soon becomes a messed-up skin. Taking care of your skin can start as simply as putting your phone on airplane mode in another room.
- Discard products that are out of date or those with expiry date far away in the future
If they are manufactured to last so long, what can be in them? Chemical preservative of course! Best to leave them where they are, in the jar rather than on your skin.
On your product packaging, you should see a little logo representing a jar and a number. The number will tell you the ideal time frame under which your product needs to be used. The higher the number, the more preservative ingredients would be found in the formula. The lower the number, the less preservatives it contains and the better for a healthy skin.
- Eat mindfully
Beauty comes from the inside. The connection between nutrition and skin condition, or rather, the effect of nutrition on skin ageing, has been an exciting research field. Not only for scientists but also a common field of interest for humans throughout the years, from ancient times to nowadays.
What we know today is that digestion begins in the mouth, where food is mashed by chewing and chemically softened by the enzymes present in the saliva. The food then passes down the oesophagus to the stomach, where it is broken down by acidic gastric juices. The resulting mixture then moves into the small intestine, combined with bile acids and enzymes. About 75% of nutrient absorption happens at this stage. Eating mindfully will help you maintain your skin’s health and integrity, and there is no cost involved in that habit.
- Drink water before you eat and in between meals
The adult human body is 60% water, and your blood is 90% water. Drinking water benefits the whole body in a million ways.
From flushing out toxins to preventing acne and giving you glowing skin, water is a miracle drink! When you drink enough water, the cells in every part of your body get hydrated through the blood.
Increasing your water intake during the day guarantees your skin gets hydrated while impurities and toxins get flushed out at the cellular level.
9. Wear sunscreen whenever in the sun for long periods.
Even when it’s cold or cloudy, UV rays from the sun can still do their damage. The easiest way might seem to be picking up a moisturiser that includes a sun protection factor of at least 30, but this is one instance where the easiest solution might not be the best. Please refer to our blog on a particular ingredient that proves to be harmful (put the link here) and decide for yourself.
- Take vitamin D in winter
Vitamin D comes from sunlight naturally and helps regulate the immune system.
If you live in a country with a cold and dark winter, you are probably vitamin D deficient. You might also be deficient if you spend your life avoiding the sun following cosmetic procedures, injectables etc. Take vitamin D supplements.
- Make the time spent looking after your skin mindful rituals
Give yourself the time to enjoy your daily skincare and makeup routine and make them mindful rituals. Spend some time reflecting on what your skin is beyond its outer appearances. When you think about it, the role and influence of your skin on our overall health are mind-boggling. This micro-habit is to acknowledge skin as mindfully as you can.
- Breathe and exhale your way to glowing skin
We rarely breathe as deeply as we should. Just as the mind and gut are connected, the mind and skin also share a deep link.
Our breath is a powerful (and underrated) tool when it comes to changing your physical, emotional and mental state. The benefits of breathing correctly can help promote calmness, detoxify the body, stimulate the lymphatic system, foster happiness and more.
It should come as no surprise, then, that good breathing habits will also nurture beautiful skin.
- Bedtime
Lie on your back and let your head and shoulders hang off the bed for a couple of minutes (don’t do it if you have neck issues). This slight stretch before going to sleep helps open up the chest and get the blood flowing to the heart and brain. It feels good too!
Choose the habits you are confident you can adopt easily, and it will work for you. By doing so, your skin will reflect their combined benefits quite quickly. Expect to be surprised!
