New Year. Better Skin!

Whoa! What just happened with 2020? Seriously, I feel like I was drop in the movie Outbreak with no script and no ending!  If you are like me, you love challenges and setting goals. If you are also like me, you take on way too much and 2020 was way too much... That’s why we decided to hold on rolling out any new skincare products until the end of the year. Everyone was adjusting to the changes and challenges.  Plus, we wanted you to get cozy and comfortable with loving the basics of skincare; knowing you don’t need a lot to help your skin grow and glow.

But after all, it IS January 1st. The start of a new year. The hope of new beginnings. A chance to create new habits and kick old ones. Page one of your 2021 chapter with 365 days to set goals and write amazing stories about your adventures in this new decade! 

SO… In the spirit of New Year’s resolutions I have come up with a list your skin is going to love! Oh, don’t worry, we do have some fun and exciting things we are rolling out in 2021 for you, but for today, the first day of 2021 we want to keep it a little more traditional.

Most people have at least one or two dreadful skincare habits, let’s see if I can help you kick them in 2021. You with me? 

Wash your face before bed girl! Now, I know some of you are reading this and making that ‘I’m caught’ face because you are! I read an article by the Dollar Shave Club that conducted a study with 1000 women and men proving that more than half do not wash their faces before bed. Say whaaaaat? Imagine how big that number is when asking even more people! 

Listen up…. Washing your face before bed is one of the easiest ways to help keep your skin clear. It removes excess oil and cleans pores from building up and causing acne. It really is the simplest way to help renew skin. 

Do not pick at your skin! OK, I am not even going to lie or pretend I got this because this is a hard one for me too. I grew up with a mom who loved to pick at acne and since the apple does not fall far from the tree, I do too…. I know, it’s terrible. But trust me, ladies, your skin will love you a whole a lot more if you take my advice and stop picking at it. 

If you don’t you can and will damage your skin. It may scar and I promise you it will take a lot longer to heal and clear up. So just stop. Also, to all my mamas out there with teenagers… Don’t pick their faces either. If you absolutely cannot help it, head over to YouTube and watch the pimple popper lady. Also, no judgment. It really does help to keep me from picking. 

Sleep! Who can use more sleep? Do not be shy, I bet every hand is in the air and every head is nodding “yes!” Most people can use more or better sleep. Sleep is vital to our overall well-being and our bodies actually heal while we are in a restful state. Without enough zzzz’s we get those death-looking dark circles and STRESS. As we all know, stress is a b!tch that wreaks havoc on our immune system and SKIN. Go get your zzzz’s girlfriend. 

Stay hydrated. This one is a good one, but difficult for so many; drinking enough water. Like sleep, water is essential to our well-being. Good ole H2O helps to lubricate our organs, provides oxygen to our blood and helps to moisturize our largest organ from the inside out. And listen up my females… Taking a bath does not count. Putting lotion on that lists water as an ingredient does not count. Why, because it is false that water hydrates our skin topically; actually, it does the opposite. So set your reminders, get a fancy water bottle you love, put up sticky notes all over your house and office to stay the course. You got this. 

Mindful eating…. There, I said it. You knew it was coming. I talk about this one a lot because it really does matter what we eat. Again, overall well-being… And let’s face it, this is a no-brainer. When we eat crap we feel like crap and eventually will look like crap. When we eat a clean and healthy diet we feel better, our skin glows and clears up, we sleep better, and have more energy. This is a hard one, I know, I fuss with maintaining a healthy & clean diet just like everyone else, especially around the holidays. So, be kind to yourself. Know that clean eating is a lifestyle and not a diet in the old traditional sense. Being mindful about what you put in your body will help to support your most healthy self and skin! 

Our skin needs nutrients and eating plenty of veggies and fruits helps to flush out toxins while hydrating our bodies. 

Move your body! Circulating your blood flow on a daily basis is vital to positive cardiovascular health. Our skin is our largest organ and like all of our other organs, it needs healthy blood flow to do its job. So get outside and go for a walk. Recruit a friend and start working out together. Ask for an accountability partner. Whatever works best for you as long as you are moving lady. 

Clean out your make-up bag. Last New Year’s challenge my friends. Stay on top of cleaning out that make-up bag and skincare cabinet. I promise they all have an expiration date on them and just like you don’t want to eat expired food, you don’t want to put expired or dirty products on your face. So go through everything on a regular basis (every 3-months or so) and purge and don’t forget to clean make-up brushes!

Seven 2021 skincare challenges seem like a lot and a few of them are pretty big changes for many of you. So pick one. Just one. Start off with ONE, then add on. Maybe you don’t need all seven, maybe you only need to implement one. Whatever you need to support your skin in 2021, name it and then take baby steps each day to start the habit. 

Remember what Gina Carey said, “A strong woman looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink,” So here’s to winking at you strong lady! 

Happy New Year!

Love & light to you and your skin!
Tara Raj, CPC, ACC, CNWC