SKIN FASTING - HOW IT WORKS

Hi, babes! Emma here, and today we'll be looking into a fairly novel concept when it comes to skincare. I'm talking about skin fasting, and if you're not familiar with it, stick around so we can learn together.

As you might be aware, some people go through a 20-step routine for skincare morning and night. Which occasionally causes me to ponder whether we're using too many products. Let me introduce you to the term “skin fasting”, a growing trend over the past few years and your skin's unique detoxification process.

What Is Skin Fasting?

In order to give your skin time to breathe, rest, and reset, you can stop using all of your existing skincare products and practises by "skin fasting." In theory, it will enable your skin to operate normally, as it was meant to, without the assistance of skincare products.

Although the idea is quite simple, people today will approach it uniquely. There are many levels of how much you eliminate and for how long, much like with food-related fasting. The idea is to allow your skin to regenerate its stratum corneum barrier layer in order to promote greater skin health and resilience. It can also be a useful method for identifying goods that are causing skin rashes, breakouts, or other issues.

It's really easy to get sucked into the latest product launches, fads, and trends even while there is information available on which products are best for certain skin types, which products go best together, and which products you should avoid. It's not always necessary to completely give up your skincare products; you can sometimes just phase them out one at a time to see which works best for your skin type.

How Do You Skin Fast?

One such method is essentially quitting your skincare routine cold turkey. You completely cease using all of your skincare products for a thorough skin fast. No washing, toning, serum, hydrator, or moisturiser application. The basic strategy is to let your skin's natural sebum perform all the balancing and protection. Throughout the process, which can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, it's crucial to pay attention to your skin.

Dermatologists don’t recommend completely abandoning skin care, but sticking to the basics is deemed important, and those are a cleanser, a moisturiser and spf, which is basically a different approach to skin fasting - no actives, no treatments, the focus is on cleansing and hydration. 

Who should be fasting? 

Skin fasting may help those with sensitive skin the most. It provides the skin time to be free of any active substances and can cause inflammation. Oily and acne-prone skin will not benefit from a full skin fast of any length, while people with dry skin will profit more from skin fasting.

By removing one product at a time until the skin irritant is found, anyone having problems with their everyday skincare routine can also benefit from a milder type of skin fasting. Anyone is welcome to try a skin fast, especially those who believe their skin could use a refresher. For individuals who have more acne, dryness, or irritation than usual, it is extremely helpful.

Who should avoid it? 

According to dermatologists, those who suffer from skin conditions including eczema, uncontrolled acne, rosacea, melasma, or other conditions that can greatly benefit from topical medications should not try a skin fast. Most dermatologists are not fans of the "cold turkey" approach either, which involves abruptly ceasing all use of skincare products, especially if a patient has a skin condition that necessitates active ingredients.

It is best to see your dermatologist or doctor before stopping any prescription medications you are currently on, as some of them should not be stopped. One concern is not using sunscreen to protect your skin. Continue using sunscreen and restrict your exposure to the sun if you've used any acids in the previous three days, especially retinol. People who have effective skincare routines may wish to avoid this technique as well. If something isn't broken, don't fix it, as the adage goes.

Skin fasting is ultimately effective in some circumstances. The safest way to test out skin fasting is to listen to your skin in real time because the procedure is not a one-size-fits-all process.

I do suggest gradually removing one product at a time if you want to give it a try to see how your skin responds. Skin detoxification, or "skin fasting," has no physiological or scientific foundation in essence.

I will advise applying sunscreen every day, at the absolute least, if you decide to try skin fasting. That is the only stage that cannot be ignored.

Thanks for sticking through to the end. What do you think, are you willing to give it a try? 

Bye for now, babes. 

Love, 

Emma 

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