Spring
Skin Care
When you start shedding layers of your winter
clothing upon spring arrival, you may notice that your skin and scalp are
shedding too. When our feet and legs
aren't on display the way they are during warmer weather, we tend not to
moisturize as much, and we don't pay as much attention to things like dry
cuticles; unfortunately, it doesn't take long for skin that is neglected to
react, becoming dry, dull, and flaky, and sometimes even red and inflamed.
While the winter was drying your skin, spring wants to detoxify it. The
way to bring your skin back in shape is through cleansing your body internally
and exfoliating your skin.
Toxins can accumulate in your body in other
seasons but in the spring, these toxins want to come out. The warmth of the
spring starts to melt these accumulated toxins, which then clog the channels of
your body and create a variety of symptoms. You may feel dull, heavy and
congested, or your skin may lose its glow and can be itchy and sensitive.
To keep your skin healthy, you should
increase the consumption of foods that support the detoxification process. Eat
lots of leafy green vegetables, Brussels sprouts and white deacon radish. Also
increase whole grains like wheat, barley and quinoa and alternate them in your
diet. These vegetables and grains contain plenty of water-soluble fibers that
aid detoxification. Make sure you drink a lot of pure water. Sip warm water
during the day, avoid heavy, cold and oily foods and by reducing the sweet,
sour and salty tastes.
The release of toxins cannot happen without
proper elimination. If you are prone to constipation, add cooked prunes and
figs to your diet, and eat lots of sweet, juicy fruits. Deep breathing and
regular exercise are both important to having healthy skin. A brisk walk can
increase your metabolism, enhance the detoxification process and improve
circulation to the skin. The fresh air and a little sunshine will also refresh
your complexion and uplift your mood.
As you are purifying your body, you should
put more emphasis on cleaning and exfoliating your skin as well. Try having a
facial or a micro derma brasion to help exfoliate.
Makeover
Magic of Your Face
While exfoliation can be crucial to achieving
a smooth, satiny smooth body - with or without a fake tan - it's nothing
compared to what the same treatment can do for your face. But that's where the
similarity between the face and body care season ends.
"Scrubs that contain walnut shells or
apricot pits, for example, can cause microscopic tears in the skin that can
eventually dry winter skin look and feel much worse, especially on your face.
Even the brown sugar scrub, she says, may be too harsh for some skin.
Instead, she suggests a cleanser or
moisturizer (or both!) containing an alpha hydroxy or beta hydroxy acid - a
much safer way to rid your skin of dull, dead skin cells. If you feel you must
try some "mechanical" form of exfoliation, Waldorf suggests gentle
cleaning cloths, such as the type made by Dove or Oil of
Olay. "It's as hard as you should get with the skin on your face, and even
the skin on your body, especially when it came out of the winter season."
Although some of the commercial formulations may be milder OK, do not try to
buy an acid peel professional quality, like the kind sold on the Internet, and
use it on your own - you must be very careful and you need to know what you
use, or you could end up with serious problems. This includes a condition known
as "hyperpigmentation" - blotchy, uneven skin chemically damaged what
happens most often in darker complexion.
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