The Cure for the Holiday Skin Hangover
We’re smack in the middle of the holidays and, for many, that can mean the needle is pinging back and forth between joy and panic. Parties and family and gifts. Yay. Parties and family and gifts. Oh my. There are bound to be disruptions to your usual routine, your diet, and your stress level, and those disruptions can create disruptions in your skin—baggy eyes, breakouts, dull skin. Here’s what to watch out for and how to keep your skin clear and bright through the holidays and beyond.
Lack of Sleep
If you’re staying up late searching the internet for that perfect gift that will arrive before Christmas, or you’re attending one too many after-party, chances are your sleep is suffering. Cue the dull skin, slow cell turnover, and baggy, dark eyes. Sleep is your body’s repair time for everything from brain cells to skin cells. Do what you must to get more of it. And while you’re at it, use your most assertive serums (vitamin A therapies) and eye cream (Wink) in the night hours to maximize your reparative sleep cycle.
Stress
Cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, is a complexion killer. High levels of cortisol damage the skin’s ability to retain moisture and stimulate glucose production leading to inflammation and glycation, both contributors to wrinkles, dry skin, fine lines, and bouts of redness. Stress is also a trigger for androgen hormones, which produce sebum. Extra stress, extra sebum and that means more clogged pores and breakouts.
Don’t stress over what you’re going to wear to the company party or whether or not Mom will like the gift you got her. It will all be fine. Enjoy the time with friends and family and stick to your skin care regimen, all four steps. What’s that? You’re not using a toner? Now that is something to stress about.
The Holiday Bar
Let’s face it; alcohol is not great for skin. It’s dehydrating. It depletes your body of the all-important antioxidant vitamin A. It can be a trigger for rosacea flare-ups. It can cause puffiness due to increased blood flow. It disrupts your beauty sleep. And it’s often the delivery system for a huge amount of hidden sugar, a trigger for inflammation, glycation, and oxidative stress. Drink in moderation, avoid sugary mixers, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
Your Holiday Skin Repair Kit:
This gently refreshing, alcohol-free toner is a healthy cocktail of transformative, skin-soothing ingredients. Antioxidant-rich and ultra-refining for even the most sensitive skin.
Rejuvenate tired skin with this potent, peptide-rich firming and lifting serum formulated to increase elasticity, decrease fine lines, and wrinkles, and reduce redness.
The multi-active formula is powered by the most advanced delivery system and infused with cell-renewing and skin-plumping ingredients to reactivate youthful skin function and restore resilience to stressed or fatigued skin.
Lift, firm, brighten, de-puff with a high-performance blend of antioxidants and nutrients including caffeine, vitamin A, peptides, and grape seed oil to repair and regenerate.
Replace moisture and replenish skin with antioxidant-rich, bioactive marine minerals, amino acids, and sea proteins to draw in and retain moisture, while protecting against damage caused by free radicals.
Algae Soft or Sulfur Clay Mask
Get a radiance reboot with a restorative and refining mask. Choose Algae Soft Mask to nourish skin and restore suppleness, or Sulfur Clay Mask for the definitive detox.
Get instant brightness and lift with this hydrating and revitalizing mask. Manuka honey plus pineapple enzymes are the ultimate glow-intensity workout for tired, stressed skin. Gently resurfaces, clears dead cells, and infuses moisture, delivering velvety smooth and bouncy skin.
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