Speaking with a skincare enthusiast Deborah Umoh who has a very stressful 9-5.
She said:
Skincare may seem like a lot of work especially with a busy 9-5. And let’s not even mention how social media has portrayed it, I mean which one is a 5 step routine? Abi SPF? And men need skincare now?
I know, I know! It seems like a lot.
Imagine waking up by 5am to prep for work, so you can get in before 8 or 8am sharp, and then leaving work by 5pm, depending on the distance from your work to the house and rush hour traffic you get home, latest 8pm and sometimes later. Who has time for skincare? Let me rephrase; who has time for a 10-step skincare routine!! Definitely not me. If you’re like me, you’d probably be tired and the only thing on your mind would be washing up and even that, would seem like a lot of work.
But let me quickly paint a picture of why you need to have a skincare routine that consist of more than just cleansing; on your way to work, if you commute by public transportation you come in contact with people and things and your hands come in contact with your face; germs being transferred to your skin surface, no wonder you’re breaking out. If you’re up and about you’re making use of your elasticity no wonder your skin seemed stressed, darker dry and saggy, if you’re dealing with people you’re making a lot of facial expressions and stressing your face, are you noticing more facial lines? if you’re working outdoor you’re getting exposed to UVA rays and UVB rays, it’s probably why that pigmentation has refused to go and when you decide to slay on the weekend your skin just won’t compliment the outfit.
You may be thinking -but my skin is doing just fine, I’m not breaking out and it looks alright to me. But the truth is skincare routines are put in place to “maintain”. The only permanent thing in life is change and our skin is constantly changing with age, time, stress, environment and diet, the skin elasticity reduces, it’s natural exfoliating ability reduces, its ability to handle oxidative stress also reduces, and so much more but let’s not get into that.
Another thing we won’t get into is the fact that good skincare products can be a little bit pricey. In this article I’m going to be sharing with you simple ways to help maintain your skin, and build a skincare routine that you can keep up with amidst a busy schedule!
1. Start simple and keep it simple: People often think skincare is one overly serious practice and you need to do it how everyone else is. But that’s a lie… your skin is unique and different from the next person’s, not everything that works for someone else would work for you. Find what works for you but your schedule should consist of a day & night time routine. The difference between the two is an SPF! A simple facial routine consist of a cleanser, toner, moisturizer and SPF (for day time) and guess what! your spf can serve as a moisturizer during the day.
2. Use a good skincare brand: A good skincare product saves you a lot of work. The product is doing 90% of the work all you have to do is actually show up and use it.
3. Eating healthy: People underestimate the power of eating healthy in relation to our skin. Imagine breaking out and eating a lot of oily stuff and peanuts? Apart from the fact that our skin is the largest organ in the body, the skin is the mirror of how our insides look! A clean gut? Equates to a glowing skin. So eat lots of fruits and food incorporated with veggies. This also helps with oxidative stress, improves skin elasticity and so much more.
3. Stay hydrated!!: We hear this one all the time, but I guess what we don’t hear often is our body is made up of about 60% water. And this water is constantly working; cleansing, transporting, keeping our body running and we in turn are constantly using our body. So imagine being dehydrated…at first it may seem like nothing but with time it would tell on your skin. Same way, when you start hydrating it may not seem like a lot at first but it would definitely reveal a more glowing skin.
5. Exfoliate: Exfoliating is a game changer, it helps improve the skin texture a lot. It is the removal of dead skin from the surface of the skin. But it is also considered a tedious work by some. The trick to this is to play some music while you exfoliate….allow your skin enjoy 2-3 songs of scrubbing and trust me it would thank you later. You can make this your weekend routine as you’re required to do it at least once or twice a week. It would help you maintain a simple body care routine, e.g a good cleanser, good moisturizer and a good body scrub.
6. Clean beddings: Like I’ve pointed out, people underestimate how the simple things can affect their skin. How often do you change your beddings? Your pillow cover! This simple act can help improve your skin appearance in little ways, which when compiled becomes a big deal.
Well guys, I hope you find these tips helpful and start putting them to practice…let’s age like fine wine amidst a busy schedule, not only that a good skin would help you spend less time on makeup, or dressing up because even in the simplest outfit you would glow!
Until next time,
Cheers.
