Take care of the skin that you’re in!
Although skin care may not be at the top of your mind during the COVID-19 Shelter in Place order, you’ve got to remember “Self-care” is essential to your mental and physical well-being. And, skin care is an important component of Self-care. Damaged skin can lead to infection. If you don’t continue to take care of your skin, problems, some of them possibly serious, may arise. Additionally, when we are able to interact again, you don’t want to lose a lot of the progress you’ve already made with your skin’s condition.
Diet is even more important!
A healthy diet enables you to fight infections of your entire body in general and helps fight skin infections as well. On top of that, a good diet helps prevent inflammation, which is a common source of skin issues. You can read more about diet and skin care in our “Diet and Your Skin” blog post. But an overview would be to include probiotics into your diet such as those found in Greek yogurt, kimchi, and kefir. Look to add more Omega-3 fats. These are typically found in fatty fish like salmon, vitamin C-rich vegetables and in chia seeds and flaxseeds. Omega-3 fats fight free radicals which can break down the collagen in your skin. Avoid inflammatory foods such as sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, artificial trans-fats and partially hydrogenated oils, refined carbohydrates such as candy, bread, cookies, cereals and sugared soda, alcohol and processed meats.
Breathe in…breathe out
Stick to your skin care routines; perhaps adding some relaxation practices as well to help you’re mental well-being. Take your time. Breathe deeply and concentrate on relaxing as you work through your skincare ritual. Also remember to massage your face in order to tone and lift your muscles. Massaging your face warms your muscles, increases blood circulation and enhances how your skin absorbs ingredients from your skincare products. You can also reduce puffiness
This time, online
You may be running low of your skin care products. But please, resist the urge to go out and shop for these items to help “flatten the coronavirus curve.” If you’ve run out of skincare, shop from the many options available online. Choose instead to purchase online.
MOISTURIZE, MOISTURIZE, MOISTURIZE!
Keeping your skin moisturized is an important step in preventing coronavirus, since germs can get into cracked, dry skin. We are all washing our hands more… maybe much more than usual. But this causes increased dryness, micro-tears and irritation. Wearing face masks causes dryness and irritation as well, and that in turn can lead to you touching your face. Dryer and warmer weather can add to these problems. Again, dryness and damage to your skin increases your susceptibility to coronavirus. Prevent these types of problems by sticking to a moisturizing regimen. After washing your hands or taking off a face mask, use a good skin moisturizer as often as possible. It’s even better to use moisturizers with ceramides which are already part of your skin’s composition but reduces with aging and dryness. Having something that can help “seal-in” the moisture as well, such as shea butter, in the lotion is helpful as well.
Don’t neglect your night-time hydration routine. Make sure you are replacing and locking in moisture as you sleep. If you have any questions on what will work for you, comment below or call us at 925.954.7512 and we’ll suggest some products that will work for you.
An extra shield of defense
Skin care and additional moisturizing routines create an additional barrier between you and any virus. This is especially important for our current situation since we know that coronavirus can remain on some surfaces for a few days. The greater number of barriers you have between your blood and respiratory systems and the coronavirus germs, the better chance you have of staying healthy.
Wishing everyone good health and to stay safe!
