Your skin is the physical manifestation of how well you live and look after your body. If you’re not sleeping enough, not drinking enough water, and not cleansing your skin, then this is going to show in its appearance and overall health. While a lot of complex skin conditions can be genetic, there is a definite link between your skin’s general quality and your lifestyle habits. As a skin clinic, Emma J Aesthetics is always dedicated to creating bespoke skin treatments and advice, so without further ado let’s explore the link between skin and lifestyle.
Your skin and smoking
If you are a regular smoker, then this is going to start showing in your skin quality as you age. Some of the toxins in cigarette smoke damage collagen and elastin, which are skin fibres essential to keeping it firm and supple. We naturally stop producing collagen in our 20s, and our remaining levels begin declining in our 30s, so regular smoking causing further damage to our already depleting reserves leads to the signs of premature ageing. This includes wrinkles and volume loss. Smokers will also often encounter vascular constriction, which is when blood vessels in your skin become constricted and inhibit blood flow and oxygen reaching skin cells. This doesn’t just happen on your face, but across your body too.
Your skin and alcohol
Regularly drinking alcohol dehydrates your body in general, as well as your skin. Drinking too much regularly is thought to deprive the skin of vital vitamins and nutrients, and dehydrated skin appears irritated, flushed, and puffy because of the lack of water retained in it. When your body is dehydrated like this, it retains water to send to your vital organs to keep them working, so the first place it begins to take this moisture from is your skin. Also, because alcohol is full of toxins that need to be excreted somehow, you can actually sweat out the alcohol overnight and the next day, resulting in spots and blemishes. Even complex skin conditions like rosacea have been linked to too much alcohol.
Your skin and sleep quality
Sleeping at night time is when your skin heals and repairs itself, and your brain gets rid of 60% more toxins during a proper night’s sleep. When you don’t get enough sleep, your moisture levels and pH levels drop. This creates an imbalance, causing your skin to not be able to produce the moisture it needs and therefore leaving it dry, red, irritated, and even prone to break-outs. The correct amount of sleep (usually between 7 to 8 hours a night) is enough to give your skin the boost it needs, helping it look alive and fresh and vibrant. Alcohol can affect your sleep quality too, as alcohol inhibits the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep which is when your skin’s cell regeneration occurs.
Visiting a skin clinic
Visiting a professional skin clinic in Inverness will help you to learn all about your lifestyle and skin needs. From here, your skin clinic can offer you treatments and products that are directly suited to your skin type and underlying skin conditions, helping to boost the health and appearance of your complexion. Visit Emma J Aesthetics’ skin clinic today, book your initial appointment on 01463 830149.