No matter how much we hear about the importance of rest, sometimes it can be difficult to get a good night’s sleep. Stress, caffeine, the glow of our devices, loud neighbors… plenty of factors can keep you from getting a full 8 hours of restful sleep. This can obviously leave you cranky or feeling groggy, but this can also impact your skin, besides the typical dark circles or bags under your eyes.
Beauty sleep is not a myth, as it turns out. Read on to learn more about how sleep impacts your skin along with some simple ways to look well-rested, even if you’re not feeling it!
HOW DOES A LACK OF SLEEP AFFECT SKIN?
IT SPIKES CORTISOL
Ever wondered why, during times of stress, your skin may break out?
With a lack of sleep, the stress hormone cortisol is triggered. This can increase production of oil and weaken the immune system, which can negatively impact the skin’s healing and ability to fight bad bacteria, pollution, free radicals, and other skin intruders.
When it comes to controlling acne and repairing post-breakout marks and scars, a good night’s rest is very important! While you sleep, your skin starts repairing itself. If you cut that time short, your skin will have less of a chance to clear up acne and discoloration.
If you’re going into a day without enough sleep, use a few drops of our CLARIFYING SERUM. This is a leave-on exfoliant with the BHA salicylic acid to help clear pores, control oil production, and reduce inflammation.
You can also use our RADIANT DETOX MINERAL MASK during your PM routine to clear out clogged pores and strengthen your skin barrier for a smooth radiance the next morning.
IT DILATES BLOOD VESSELS
When you experience a spike in cortisol, this can also cause your blood vessels to dilate. This can lead to excess fluid in the under eye area and since this area is so thin, this can cause dark circles and puffiness.
To help prevent this, apply our BOTANICAL LIFT EYE GEL during your evening skincare routine and again in the morning. Infused with collagen-building vitamins A, C, D, E, and K, energizing caffeine and niacinamide, and soothing chamomile to protect the eye area, promote collagen production, and reduce the appearance of redness and puffiness to brighten eye skin.
IT LOWERS SKIN pH
When you lose sleep and take away your skin’s healing time, it lowers your skin’s pH level, which harms your protective moisture barrier. This makes skin more acidic and leads to inflammation, flakiness, and redness.
A great way to restore your skin’s pH is to use our CITRUS CUCUMBER TONER. Enriched with restorative phytonutrients like comfrey root, chamomile, tamarind, cucumber, and green tea antioxidants, this botanical prebiotic elixir was created to sustain your skin’s optimal pH balance of 4 - 5.
Not only does this toner immediately improve your pH balance, it also preps your skin for maximum absorption of serums, creams, and oils.
Denice’s Tip: If you washed your face the night before and have minimal sweat or oil in the morning, swipe your face with toner to freshen up and ready your skin for the rest of your routine.
IT LEADS TO MOISTURE LOSS
Speaking of your moisture barrier, when your skin goes into repair mode while you sleep, your moisture barrier works overtime to protect from moisture loss. If it’s not maintained properly, this can lead to dryness, especially after a rough night’s sleep.
To help protect your skin from moisture loss and dehydration, our moisturizing CREAM is perfect for an overnight hydrating treatment. This rich and velvety moisturizer is 100% natural with botanical antioxidants and organic phytonutrients like hydrating jojoba oil, oil balancing ylang-ylang, skin protecting CoQ10, naturally exfoliating alpha lipoic acid, and skin tightening DMAE.
You can also use our NOURISHING OIL or combine it with the CREAM for a super-hydrating treatment while you sleep. Our oil infuses the skin with essential amino acids, vitamins, and antioxidants with oils like marula, camellia seed, and jojoba oil.
Both of these products are not only insanely hydrating and moisturizing, but they also go a long way to both support and maintain your moisture barrier to give you your healthiest dewy skin, even if you didn’t sleep as well as you’d like.
These moisturizers are also perfect for use during the day, but if you have oily skin or just prefer a lighter moisturizer, you can use our MARINE PEARL CREAM. This cream is lightweight and non-greasy, hydrating and illuminating skin with green (vegan) caviar, Irish sea moss extracts, and organic hyaluronic acid, mattifying skin while minimizing pores and redness.
IT BREAKS DOWN COLLAGEN PREMATURELY
Our body’s source of collagen will eventually break down with age, but a lack of good sleep will mess with this process, which can prematurely cause saggy skin, crepey texture, and even fine lines and wrinkles. While we sleep our body is producing proteins like collagen, the main protective protein that makes up skin cells.
To protect your body’s reserve of collagen while stimulating production of new collagen, use our 20% Vitamin C PLUMPING SERUM to transform your skin. Not only does it contain hyaluronic acid to hydrate skin, but the Vitamin C inside brightens skin and promotes collagen production to keep your skin firm, fresh, and youthful.
IT SLOWS DOWN CELLULAR TURNOVER
Remember how I mentioned that sleeping gives your skin time to repair itself? Well, one of the processes that occurs during this repair time is cellular turnover, the natural process of exfoliation that replaces dead and damaged skin cells with fresh, youthful ones. When you lose sleep, this can slow the cellular turnover process down, leading to prematurely aged skin, dullness, and dark spots.
To speed this process up, make sure to regularly exfoliate, at least 2-4 times a week. Exfoliation (physical or chemical) enables you to speed up your cellular turnover rate and restore a youthful, clear complexion. After cleansing, take your pick of our exfoliating products to help speed up that process:
A physical exfoliator with the BHA salicylic acid from Aspen bark and fine bamboo Powder (along with aloe, green tea, rosehip seed, kaolin clay), this blend is specifically designed to reduce clogged pores and remove dead skin, stimulating cellular turnover while hydrating and smoothing skin.
Our non-abrasive, exfoliating glycolic acid and fruit enzyme (pineapple bromelain) wash naturally helps to shed built-up layers of dead skin cells, allowing radiant, healthy-looking skin to take its place.
Denice’s Tip: Combine our polish and enzyme cleanser and apply before you get in the shower. Leave this exfoliating combo on your skin during your shower, allowing the steam to open your pores and activate the enzymes. After your shower, use the dry end of your towel to buff your skin and remove any lingering cells.
This mask is a triple threat, resurfacing the skin, minimizing the visibility of pores, and quenching skin with deep hydration. It does so with the power of pumpkin, papaya, and pineapple enzymes, giving the skin a thorough chemical exfoliation while kaolin clay balances oil and purges clogged pores.
HOW TO WAKE UP TIRED SKIN
If you’re waking up looking tired even after a good night’s sleep, here’s a few solutions to help you perk up your skin before starting your day.
ADDRESS DARK CIRCLES AND BAGS
During your morning skincare routine, you can gently apply the flat part of our GUA SHA facial massage stone under each eye for 30 seconds. The cool smooth texture of the jade green stone helps shrink swelling on contact. Then after cleansing or using toner and applying serums, use our BOTANICAL LIFT EYE GEL. This eye gel is ideal for improving circulation to the area around your eyes as well as removing excess liquid that can cause dark circles and bags.
Denice’s Tip: Use your ring finger (it has the lightest touch) to gently dab a small amount all around the orbital bone.
KEEP SKIN HYDRATED AND REFRESHED
Using our velvety CREAM or lightweight MARINE PEARL CREAM at the end of your skincare routine can help to instantly cool and hydrate your skin along with calming inflammation and redness.
PROTECT AND CORRECT
If you notice that you’re looking pale or colorless in the mornings, add a natural radiance to your skin with our MINERAL TINT SPF 31. Not only does this product provide all-day protection against the sun’s harmful UV rays, but it also comes in a universal tint that leaves your skin with a natural, radiant finish.
After applying our tinted spf, if you still are looking to add some color to your skin, apply our COLOR and SHIMMER. These all-natural makeup pots are good for all skin tones and types and are perfect for use on lips, cheeks, eyes, and anywhere else that you need a little pop.
Now that you know some of the consequences behind a lack of sleep, it’s time to work these tips and products into your routine.
If you have any questions about how sleep impacts your skin or just questions related to our products, Contact Us HERE or give us a call at +1 (727) 286-7684, we would love to hear from you!
Xoxo,
Denice
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