Caring for depleted, stressed-out skin.
For many of us, the past few months have taken a toll on our skin. We sought advice from an expert on treating stressed-out skin.
“BREAKOUTS, DEHYDRATION, PUFFINESS AND DARK CIRCLES ARE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOTICE.”
EMMA HOBSON
If your skin has been causing you grief recently, you’re not alone. Emma Hobson, skin expert and Dermalogica’s director of education Asia Pacific, admits she’s been busy fielding phone calls from friends and family asking for advice on an array of skin concerns. “Everyone seems to be breaking out at the moment,” Hobson says.
According to Hobson, stress has a pesky way of showing up on our skin. “It’s a stressful time and we know that the moment your skin gets stressed it gets into trouble.” Unfortunately stress on the skin can trigger a vicious cycle, explains Hobson. “When your skin is bad and you look in the mirror you, just don’t feel happy and that can cause more stress.”
There are a number of ways that stress can make itself apparent on our complexions, explains Hobson. “You can get a lot of side effects of stress on the skin,” she says. An impaired barrier function is a sign that skin is suffering and can lead to a whole host of problems. “Increased sensitivity, breakouts, dehydration, premature ageing, puffiness and dark circles are a few of the things you might notice,” Hobson says.
She believes that our increased exposure to blue light – which emanates from devices including computers, smartphones and tablets – could be contributing to skin flare-ups. It’s true that many of us are spending more time in front of various screens than normal, which could, according to Hobson be impairing our skin’s barrier function and exposing us to more free radicals. “Our skin is taking a bit of a hit at the moment.”
It’s not just our complexion that could be suffering. As lockdown rules ease and we increase our contact with others, we will need to be even more vigilant with handwashing.
“It’s great we have increased our hygiene habits, but hand sanitiser makes the skin really dry and many people were having challenges with eczema and dermatitis prior to lockdown,” Hobson explains.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to remedy common skin problems if your skin is bearing the brunt of stress, says Hobson.
“A really good skincare regimen is vital right now as being able to support your skin with the right products is going to make a huge difference,” she explains.
Cleansing is the pillar of any great skincare routine, and while it might be tempting to skip your twice-daily cleansing ritual if you’ve eased up on make-up in the last few weeks, Hobson advises against making this common mistake. She is a firm believer in the doublecleansing method regardless of whether you wear make-up or not. “Cleansing is more important when you have a disturbed barrier. Don’t skip it just because you’re not wearing make-up.”
And while winter is on the way and most of us are indoors more than before, Hobson says now is not the time to skimp on sunscreen.
“Quite a few people aren’t using their sunscreens as often as they should be. We still actually need to protect the skin with sunscreen,” she says. “You need to be screening free-radicals and blue light; plus we are still going outside.”
Hobson says many of us are working close to windows which means harmful UV rays are hitting our skin. “We mustn’t forget about defending our skin with an SPF.” If your complexion is missing your regular professional skincare treatment, Hobson says there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be doing great DIY treatments on your skin at home. “There are different things you can do. You can even have a therapist do an online skin consultation and online DIY classes on how to look after skin.”
Hobson says a great at-home peel – her favourite is Dermalogica’s Rapid Reveal Peel – is one of the closest things you can get to a professional treatment. “Your skin will glow, it improves hydration, texture, discolouration and relieves breakouts. A good professional peel at home will improve the health of skin.”
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