Let’s face it, you don’t wake up with dull, dehydrated, and inflamed skin. A fast-paced lifestyle, unhealthy habits, and exposure to harmful factors can cause skin problems. The skin is exposed to many damaging environmental impurities daily and deals with the problems arising from these factors. Some internal dietary and lifestyle choices can also be damaging to the skin. These agents can strip the skin of its essential moisture, clog the pores, and damage the skin cells, making your skin dull, rough, and lifeless.
It’s essential to take good care of your skin and protect it from harmful factors to ensure a healthy, supple, and radiant complexion. One of the popular methods of drawing out impurities, cleansing pores, hydrating, and soothing the skin is a skin detox. But, if you think detox is only meant for your body, think again. Keep on reading to learn what a skin detox is and how it can help your skin.
What is a Skin Detox?
Detox is commonly known as the process of removing toxins from the body. Skin (the body's largest organ) plays a vital role in this process, along with many other functions. Like toxic buildup inside the body, many elements can accumulate inside and on the skin's outer surface. Therefore, it’s crucial to eliminate these damaging agents to keep the skin in its optimal appearance and health.
A skin detox is a process of removing toxins from the skin, unlike a body detox. Skincare products with detoxifying abilities are used at least once a week to clear out what’s inside the pores and protect the skin from external elements. Skin detox removes impurities from the pores, restores the skin’s pH, and improves the hydration and nourishment of the skin. As a result, a detoxifying skincare routine can help to reverse and prevent skin issues like redness, puffiness, blemishes, dullness, and premature signs of aging. Moreover, it can boost your skin’s glow and hydration.
What Causes Toxin Buildup in the Skin?
It’s important to understand what’s causing your skin to become red, inflamed, dull, and dehydrated to avoid those factors and prevent further skin damage. Some of the commonly known causes behind the toxin buildup in the skin are:
- Environmental pollutants
- Stress
- Hormonal changes
- Congestion
- Sugar-packed diet
- Smoking
- Lack of hydration
- Makeup residue
Why Your Skin Needs a Detox?
As mentioned earlier, the skin comes in contact with plenty of detrimental factors that can adversely affect how it appears and feels. Some of the damaging agents in our surroundings include UV rays, toxic chemicals, gases, free radicals, dirt, germs, and other pollutants. In addition, dead skin buildup and excess oil production can also pave the way to various skin issues by clogging pores and affecting the skin’s health and natural processes.
Some common skin problems resulting from these harmful factors are premature wrinkles, discoloration, dullness, acne breakouts, dryness, fine lines, inflammation, and uneven skin texture.
Detoxing the skin is crucial for neutralizing the adverse effects of oxidative stressors, makeup residue, grime, excess oil, and other impurities piled in the pores, which set the ground for numerous skin issues. In addition, skin detoxing is imperative for encouraging the skin’s natural recovery process, which helps to repair and renew damaged skin cells.
How to Do a Skin Detox?
Now that we have discussed what a skin detox is and why you should consider adding it to your skincare habits, let’s move on to how to do a skin detox. Depending on your skin’s needs and your schedule, you can allocate one day per week for a skin detox. A skin detox can include a skincare routine, dietary changes, exercise, lifestyle changes, and much more. Here’s how a skin detox can help you get on the track to a healthy and glowing complexion:
· Double Cleanse
Even if you’re not using the double-cleansing method as a part of your daily skincare regimen, it’s recommended while following a detox skincare regimen. No matter your skin issues, condition, or type, double cleansing can be helpful in thoroughly removing toxins from the surface of the skin.
The method involves using a pre-cleanser or an oil-based cleanser first and then following with a cleanser or a foam/gel/cream-based cleanser, according to your skin type.¹ You can use both cleansers twice a day or use your pre-cleanser in the morning and before bed. In addition, double cleansing can help to lift off dirt, grime, makeup, and other impurities that gather in the pores throughout the day.
· Gently Exfoliate
Exfoliation is the key to keeping the cell turnover process running smoothly, helping the skin to renew and heal faster. It also helps to reveal smoother, softer, and brighter skin underneath, along with improving the permeability of the skincare products. Gently exfoliating the skin sloughs off the buildup of dead skin, dirt, bacteria, excess oil, makeup, and other toxic agents from the pores.
If you have dry, sensitive, or easily irritatable skin, choose a chemical-based exfoliating formula, such as salicylic acid, lactic acid, and glycolic acid exfoliator. Harsh and abrasive exfoliating scrubs can damage the skin’s outer protective layer, leading to cell damage, dryness, scaling, and inflammation.² So, use a chemical exfoliator to remove pore-congesting debris from the skin and to achieve a clearer and plumper complexion.
· Apply a Detox Facial Mask
What could be a better way of instantly soothing and detoxifying a tired, rough, inflamed, and dehydrated complexion than a detox facial mask? Facial masks are one of the most potent and deeply revitalizing, soothing, and detoxifying skincare products that can yield instant results.
You can opt for a clay, sheet, charcoal, or hydrogel mask or apply an overnight mask to deliver your skin with detoxifying ingredients throughout the night. You can reap additional benefits from your leave-on mask by massaging it into the skin and around the eye area to promote detoxification in specific areas.
· Get Moving
Physical activity or workout is another integral step toward healthy and glowing skin. Exercise helps to improve blood circulation to the skin and speeds up the removal of toxic wastes through lymphatic drainage, aiding in removing excess water and toxins from the skin.
Besides flushing out toxic wastes from the skin, exercise can also effectively reduce the stress level in the body and enhance the body’s natural healing ability. So, save time for a regular workout and sweat it out to maintain the skin of your dreams.
· Drink More Water
You might be familiar with how drinking plenty of water can help draw out toxins from the body. But you might not know that it can be equally beneficial for a skin detox. Drinking plenty of water can help eliminate toxins from the cells, promoting clearer, smoother, and healthier skin.
Moreover, carbonated beverages, coffee, juices, alcohol, and other dehydrating drinks can cause inflammation in the body and skin. Swap these unhealthy drinks with water if your skin needs a detox. Don’t forget to drink a glass of water when you wake up, as it helps to encourage digestion and detoxification in the body.
· Eat a Balanced Diet
Whatever you feed your body significantly impacts how your skin feels and looks. Unfortunately, numerous foods contain harmful ingredients which can cause inflammation and cell damage.³ Some foods to avoid while doing a skin detox include fried foods, excessive sugar, dairy products, and foods with high sodium content. Foods that can help to accelerate the process of skin detox are fresh fruits and vegetables, such as leafy greens, watermelon, avocados, pears, bananas, cauliflower, and berries. These are alkaline-rich foods that offer antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Alkaline minerals in nuts are also excellent detox foods for your diet.
· Hydrate Your Skin
Your skin detox is incomplete without restoring the skin’s moisture level. A balanced hydration level is essential for protecting and strengthening the skin’s lipid barrier, which protects against harmful outside elements. So, to ensure a healthy and robust barrier, restore and maintain your skin’s moisture level. Apply skincare products with powerful hydrating and moisturizing compounds, such as hyaluronic acid, ceramides, glycerin, and niacinamide. To elevate your skin’s hydration level, apply a potent facial serum with active ingredients before using your cream, lotion, or gel-based moisturizer.
We love using Sudree’s RYSE+SHYNE hydrating facial serum. This lightweight serum is packed with skin-boosting ingredients, vitamin c, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and hemp cannabinoids to help even and brighten skin while diminishing fine lines and wrinkles.
Final Thoughts
Skin detox is one of the commonly heard phenomena when it comes to taking care of the skin and restoring its balance. The philosophy behind skin detox is that you can achieve and maintain a plump, radiant, hydrated, and healthy complexion by eliminating the effects of harmful external and internal elements that constantly affect the skin’s health and appearance.
Skin detox helps to draw out damaging agents from the skin and restore the skin to its healthier shape and state. Considering the significance of skin detox in keeping the skin healthy, glowing, and youthful, it’s safe to say that you should make it an indispensable part of your skincare rituals. Incorporating the tips in this article can boost your skin’s detoxification process and help you achieve a healthy and bright complexion.
Citations:
- Barrymore, John. (2023). ‘Cleansing Creams 101’, Sundree, Accessed February 24, 2023. Available at: https://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/cleansing/products/cleansing-creams.htm
- Eske, Jamie. (2018). ‘How to identify and treat scaling skin: A picture guide’, Medical News Today, Accessed February 24, 2023. Available at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323967
- S. Brooklyn. (2022). ‘How Your Diet Can Affect Your Skin’, Sundree, Accessed February 25, 2023. Available at: https://sundree.com/blogs/news/how-your-diet-can-affect-your-skin
