Top five ways to look after winter skin
Increase intake of good fats
- INCREASE YOUR GOOD FATS: Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are like an internal moisturiser, keeping your skin hydrated from the inside out. Olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables – are all jam packed with omega oils, which help to keep your skin looking radiant and nourished. A diet rich in omegas are key for healthy brains, hearts and immune systems, too, so don’t hold back on getting the good stuff, like flax seeds, linseeds, chia seeds and oily fish (salmon, mackeral and sardines) to keep your body working optimally and your skin supple.
- STEER CLEAR OF LOW FAT ANYTHING: Low-fat products are your skin’s enemy, as they’re usually low on the good fats your skin craves and may contain other fillers and sugars. While we are on the subject of unfriendly fats, avoid inflammatory refined vegetable oils and re-heated oils which we really don’t like as they cause premature ageing of the body and skin.
- DRINK MORE WATER: Often, in the colder months, we’re not as thirsty so go for hot drinks like tea or coffee instead of water which are diuretics so they end up dehydrating the body. Indoor heating just adds to the problem and leaves your skin dry and unloved. Aim for eight glasses of filtered water everyday and this includes lovely herbal teas and home made soups and broths which are a better alternative to tea and coffee. But if you can’t shake your caffeine fix, then try to drink one glass of water for every coffee, tea green tea or alcoholic drink to balance the dehydration out.
- EAT MORE FERMENTED FOODS: This appears a lot in my tips, because I am so sold on all the ways fermented foods help our bodies. We know that fermented foods and drinks like keffir, kombucha, bio live plain yoghurt and sauerkraut encourage good digestion which naturally helps us absorb more nutrients from the food we eat and keeps our livers working well. This filters through to your skin because when you take more nutrients from the essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, it helps your skin glow and can help reduce spots and acne. Beauty really does start from the inside out.
- DOSE UP ON VITAMIN A & D: It’s been shown that low vitamin D levels can cause scaly skin, dry eyes and dry mucous membranes whcih all equal dry and lacklustre skin. Another excuse for getting some winter sun, or if you should be so lucky, increase your oily fish, eggs and portobello mushrooms to get more vitamin D naturally. Vitamin A helps regualre the rate of keratin stored up in the skin and a lack of vitamin A can result in over-keratinisation, leaving you with dry and rough skin. Take in some more cod-liver oil and organic dairy products, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, kale and collard greens which are all rich in natural vitamin A.
I hope you’ve found these tips useful, but if you need further in depth professional advice about this or any other topic, then please get in touch to book an appointment today. I look forward to meeting with you soon!