A Three-Step Skincare Routine Can Help Reduce Stress

Stress is a killer. It affects your physical, mental, and emotional health. It impacts your cardiovascular system, your nervous system, your brain, and so much more. However, it also affects your skin, prematurely aging it. The good news is that the right skincare routine can help you repair that damage and get the healthy skin you want and deserve.

Your Skin Care Routine: What the Science Says

Achieving healthy skin can be incredibly challenging. A lot of research has gone into the effect of oily skin on acne breakouts, as well as the role that bacteria plays. Now it seems like science is pointing us in another direction—cortisol levels related to elevated stress impact your skin. A recent scientific study found that “improvements in acne-prone skin quality correlate with a reduction in saliva cortisol levels after use of an eight-week, three-step topical regimen.”

• What Should Your Skin Care Routine Include?
• What are Probiotics and Prebiotics?
• The Role and Need for Sunscreen
• What are Electrolytes and What Do They Do for Skin?

What Should Your Skin Care Routine Include?

Interested in getting healthy skin that’s the envy of everyone else? You’ll need to follow some specific steps. The study we discussed above involved a three-stage skincare routine carried out twice per day. It involved the use of probiotics, prebiotics, sunscreen, and supplementing with electrolytes.

What are Probiotics and Prebiotics?

Probiotics have gotten a lot of attention lately, but what about prebiotics? What if you’re not familiar with probiotics and prebiotics and their role in your body in the first place? Actually, they’re not all that complicated.

Probiotics are nothing more than live bacteria. You’re probably familiar with lactobacillus, but there are many other types, too. They’re found naturally on quite a few foods for healthy skin, as well as within supplements.

Prebiotics are different. They support good bacteria in your body. They’re usually specific types of fiber from your food that deliver nutrients to gut flora but also help improve your digestive system health.

Simply put, eating the right foods and paying attention to your intake of beneficial bacteria and both soluble and insoluble fiber, can help reduce stress. That, in turn, reduces the appearance of acne on your face.

The Role and Need for Sunscreen

Dermatologists have been touting the need for sunscreen for decades now. The sun’s UV rays can be incredibly damaging to your skin. It can lead to the appearance of fine lines and even help wrinkles develop. Of course, there’s also a direct connection between sun exposure and skin cancer, too.

Sun exposure can be stressful. Most people are aware of the need to cover up when going outside, and when they can’t, it leads to unconscious stress. Wearing sunscreen gives you a boost of self-confidence and improves your self-care capabilities, too. Knowing that your skin is protected helps you further reduce stress, while also protecting against damaging rays.

What are Electrolytes and What Do They Do for Skin?

You’re probably most familiar with electrolytes in the context of sports and athletics. That makes it challenging to connect the dots in terms of how these elements work within the body for stress reduction and skin health. The truth is that electrolytes play a vital role in helping with skin health, but also with stress and your body’s reaction to it.

Electrolytes can be either positively charged or negatively charged. Their role in the body is to help conduct electrical signals, which is important in processes like nerve operation and brain function. However, it’s also important for generating new tissues, including skin tissue and collagen (which helps keep the skin on your face looking supple and youthful).

Does that mean you need to start knocking back sports drinks regularly? Not really. There are other sources of electrolytes. The best way is through diet, and you’ll find that the most critical electrolytes for health correlate directly with critical minerals for a healthy body. These include sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphate, and chloride. Of course, if you’re going to be working out strenuously, then an electrolyte-replacement drink is worth consideration. You’ll also want to follow a post-workout skincare routine to ensure clear skin.

Other Steps to Take

In addition to ensuring that you use sunscreen, that you’re getting the right intake of probiotics and prebiotics, and that you’re supplementing with electrolytes, there are other things to do. For instance, you should try yoga and meditation. Yoga offers a boost to your metabolism, but also helps reduce the physical, mental, and emotional impact of stress. Meditation, particularly gratitude meditation and mindfulness meditation, can help you de-stress and focus on the present moment while making you a happier person.

You also need to focus on using the right skincare products. With the right beauty products, you can reduce dark circles under your eyes and take care of dull skin, all while giving your skin the care and support it needs with powerful nutrients and antioxidants. Athia retinol night cream will also help you give your face the care and love that it deserves.

Go for At-Home Salon Services

Don’t want to wait eight weeks to see results from your new skincare regimen? You don’t have to. At-home salon services can give you the rejuvenation and beautiful glow that you deserve!

You can do it all right at home. From cutting your own hair to hair coloring, giving yourself a manicure or pedicure, to waxing your bikini line, a little self-care goes a long way! You will also find that caring for yourself will help you reduce your stress levels, further amplifying the benefits of your new skincare regimen! It’s a win-win. Plus, who couldn’t benefit from a little bit of pampering during COVID-19?