Repair Skin Damage, Five Ways to do it

Repair Skin Damage

This article was originally posted on Higher Dose, and adapted for use as a guest post here on Loreeebee…

You might not wear your heart on your sleeve, but you definitely have an organ that is outward-facing. *Drum roll* Your skin.

As your body’s largest organ, your skin requires a lot of attention because it’s literally the body’s barrier, protecting you from external factors. Even though your skin is your body’s protector, external factors such as sun damage, stress, free radicals, poor nutrition, lack of sleep, pollutants, and the natural aging process all put wear and tear on our skin.

Even though our skin endures a lot every day, there are many ways to both repair and prevent further damage.

Here are our favorite ways to give your skin a healthy DOSE of TLC.

Self-Care to Repair Skin Damage

Multi-step self-care routines can seem daunting and unnecessary, but what if we told you they were actually essential for your skin’s health? With one-third of your body’s toxins being excreted through the skin, your skin is constantly working to help transport toxins out of your body to keep your system refreshed. Skin impurities like acne, rough texture, and poor complexion can be a result of buildup on your skin, so taking some extra time to detoxify your skin will help keep things popped, snatched, and glowing.

Step 1 | Detoxify

Detoxifying your skin starts with stimulating your lymphatic system and then pushing out toxins with a DOSE of infrared. A lymphatic facial helps to drain waste from the lymph system, promoting better circulation and less water retention. Following up a lymphatic drainage massage with an infrared sweat is the ultimate cleanse, clearing out buildup and increasing blood flow for a fresh face.

Step 2 | Fight Inflammation

When you apply heat to the skin, cold must follow. Therefore, post-sweat, opt for cold therapy to get the heat out of the skin and quell inflammation. Cryo facials are an excellent way to tone and tighten the skin while shrinking pores and strengthening your body’s immune response. If you don’t have access to a cryo facial, spend up to three minutes in a cold shower, or consider an ice roller that you keep in the freezer.

Step 3 | Nourish

Once the skin has detoxed, it’s time for restoration, rejuvenation, and recovery. Follow up any treatment with proper hydration and nourishment in the form of serums, creams, and oils that lock in moisture and keep inflammation down. Clean products that are high in antioxidants like vitamin C help support the skin’s recovery process, fight and prevent oxidative stress, and encourage collagen production.

Chill out with a Cryo Facial

Cryo facial is a type of cryotherapy that focuses on soothing, stimulating, and refreshing your complexion using cold temperatures to enliven the skin.

Rather than using exfoliating creams or chemical peels that can irritate the skin, a cryo wand is used to blow cold air on your face in concentrated, circulated motions. The freezing temps and vaporized liquid nitrogen instantly shrink enlarged, oily pores and increase circulation to your face, leaving you with a fresh-faced, cool glow. These facials also encourage collagen regrowth and cell repair — giving you long-term anti-aging protection.

Get a Face-full of LED

Immerse your skin in the benefits of blue, red, and near-infrared LED light energy.

The sun emits a full spectrum of light to help our bodies function throughout the day. While blue light signals cortisol production to help us be more productive, red and infrared light suppress cortisol and increase melatonin to promote better restoration and recovery.

However, because most of our jobs keep us indoors and exposed to artificial blue light from our screens AM to PM, our bodies stay in a prolonged state of stress. More stress means less melatonin, which means worse sleep and inflamed skin.

This mood-enhancing, skin-restoring treatment provides the skin with healing light sources, taking no longer than 30 minutes. Near-infrared LED light energy stimulates cells to regenerate and heal, leaving you with an even skin tone, a clearer complexion, and fewer wrinkles. Plus, it’s a great way to de-stress by stepping away from your screens to give those frown lines a break!

Repair Skin Damage with a Microcurrent Facial

Your body isn’t the only thing that needs a workout.

Microcurrent technology, which is touted as the ultimate non-invasive facelift, can be used from head to toe to tone and tighten skin from the inside out.

Using low-voltage current, microcurrent sends frequency deep to stimulate the muscle as well as promote cell growth in the skin. Similar to physical exercise, this facial / body workout activates the lymphatic system, encouraging proper drainage aka no facial puffiness or water retention. Microcurrent, which is virtually painless, also oxygenates the skin, invigorating the proteins that signal repair and ease inflammation.

Not only are results immediate but long-term treatment can undo fine lines and wrinkles and keep the skin smooth without paralyzing the muscle (like Botox and other injectables).

Read the labels

There are many, many beauty products out there that claim to prevent and reverse skin damage. How do you know which ones work?

Always look for clean ( with no endocrine-disrupting ingredients) beauty products like:

  • Niacinamide to minimize dark spots and hyperpigmentation.
  • Azelaic acid to lighten dark spots from acne and repair sun damage.
  • Topical retinoids like Vitamin A in these products reduces fine lines and improves skin texture.
  • Vitamin C to improve collagen production and boosts skin firmness.
  • Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) to reduce hyperpigmentation

And, of course, drink lots of water, wear a long-lasting (natural) SPF, and eat lots of antioxidant-rich whole foods. Your skin will thank you.

Show us what you’re doing to take care of your skin by tagging us on Instagram @higherdose.

This article was originally posted on HigherDOSE.com

Face Yoga for a Non-Surgical Facelift

face yoga for a non-surgical facelift

Have you heard of face yoga? It has become increasingly popular in the past few years. I was introduced to it at the beginning of the pandemic, so early 2020.

What is Face Yoga?

Touted as a non-surgical method for a facelift, the age-defying series of exercises is aimed at sculpting facial muscles and eliminating sagging skin, double chins and jowls.

If you have to ask what double chins or jowls are, you probably don’t need face yoga. However, if your face and neck are beginning to show your age, read on.

The best part is that you can do these exercises anywhere, any time. Watching TV, lying in bed, wherever you like. Of course, if you try them while driving you may get some strange looks, but I do them when sitting at a red light. When no one else is around.

face yoga for a non surgical facelift

My Video Instructions

This video demonstrates some of the exercises of face yoga. By yours truly. It was hard to talk and manipulate the muscles in my face and neck at the same time, so there is no sound here…

You can see my facial and neck muscles moving with the exercises, so I assume these muscles are being worked.

Watching this video brings back memories of the beginning of the pandemic, when I was transitioning from reddish brown (dyed) hair to my natural gray colour. Currently my hair is very, very gray, with no brown in sight, but I digress.

Other Face Yoga Options

If you prefer to purchase books with instructions, try this one or this one, both available on Amazon. The following video is from YouTube:

Conclusions

Whichever option you choose to shape up your face and neck, give them a try. An inexpensive, non-surgical method to turn back the clock, what could go wrong?

Burt’s Bees: 100% Natural Products

Burt's Bees

I would like to introduce you to the awesome line of 100% natural skincare products from Burt’s Bees. If you haven’t already done so, you should try them. My skin is ultra sensitive, so I have to watch which products I let touch my skin.

I’m not quite sure why I am hooked on these products as I have had several encounters with some not so friendly bees in my gardening career. Generally though, I do love bees and do my best to support their dwindling presence.

Burt’s Bees products are made with authentic beeswax with added vitamins, ingredients, and nutrients depending on the product. This is an excerpt from their website describing what is and what is not in their products…

There is a wide range of Burt’s Bees products available from lip balm to dark spot corrector. To check out or purchase these amazing products through Amazon, click on the links below the specific pictures…

Lip Balm

Night Cream

Day Lotion for Dry Skin

Gel Cleanser with Hyaluronic Acid

Hand Cream with Almond and Milk

Replenishing Gel Cream With Hydrate and Glow Complex

Dark Spot Corrector with Bakuchiol

Deep Cleansing Cream with Soap Bark and Chamomile

Facial Oil with Rosehip Seed Extract

Nourishing Body Oil with Vitamin E

Reawakening Eye Gel Cream

Poison Ivy Soap

This was recommended by a reader, have never tried it myself. I found a link for it on amazon, although it does say the product is not available. I plan to look for some in the stores in time for next cottage season.

My Favourites…so far

So far I have tried the facial oil, the deep cleanser and the dark spot corrector. I love them all, especially the way they make my skin feel. I also love the light scent too although I am not sure how to describe it. Natural, perhaps honey-like?

The deep cleanser is perfect for removing the dirt from my gardens as well as the sunscreen the dirt is stuck on. I purchased the dark spot corrector to see if the revolutionary ingredient of Bakuchiol, a natural alternative to retinol, can help diminish the dark spots I have been trying to erase from my face for 24 years now, ever since I was pregnant with my youngest son. I just started using this product, will let you know if it is effective.

Burt's Bees
bakuchiol is extracted from the leaves and seeds of the Babchi flower, native to India and the Himalayan regions of China and Pakistan