I have three rules for improving the quality of my skin - where if I follow them - it doesn’t really matter so much about the products I’m using. Trouble is, I’m a lazy ass, a procrastinator and a bit of a flake when it comes to being stringent about it. When I was modelling full time, I was really great at being consistent. Might have had something to do with the quality of my skin and appearance being directly correlated to my income but maybe we’ll never know.
Some people might argue that this first rule doesn’t really work for them, in fact it might even cause more breakouts! I’m no dermatologist so please take my advice with a grain of salt…. none the less, doing this regularly certainly isn’t going to do you any harm.
Exercise. The sweaty kind.
You pores open up during the process of sweating, which allows nasties to exit your body - that would otherwise clog your pores. The important part here is to clean your skin (even with warm water, but better with a gentle cleanser) immediately so you don’t leave it all sitting on the surface and allow that same clogging to occur. It’s the same way that steaming your skin is a great when you cleanse, opening up the pores. Whenever I do a Bikram Yoga class, I always walk out with dewy and glowing skin like a baby - same goes after a very long run or a spin class. I’d love to hear about your experience with this!
Drinking loads of water.
Might seem obvious to some of you - but I always notice a bit difference to the quality of my skin and general health when I’m scoring two litres of water in my body on the regular. The thing about upping your water intake, you can’t really achieve good results over night - I think it takes a good week to be able to consume two litres comfortably if you’ve been consuming a lot less… mostly because initially your body isn’t ready and you just pee it all out (again, just from my experience). Either way, pick up your water intake and your body with thank you for it.
Loads of sleep.
Again, if you’re doing this already you can call me Captain Obvious - but I’m constantly surprised by the number of people I meet who complain about the quality of their skin and burn the candle at both ends. Sleep regenerates your skin and Beauty Sleep isn’t some magical theory but a legit strategy to look more beautiful. I always notice that my pores seem smaller after a good nights sleep. Costs nothing too! Get 8 hours your skin will thank you.
Now I understand, if you have skin concerns like eczema or cystic acne - then visiting a dermatologist is always the best course of action - but if else, a few simple adjustments to your lifestyle could work wonders on your skin…. Ie, you probably DON’T need that 90 dollar moisturiser… even though some of them really do allow you to cheat these rules!
I hope this helped some of you improve your skin for the future! 🙂 x
