Skin Detox: How To Smooth & Refresh Your Complexion
Whether it’s a digital detox, dry January, or meatless Mondays, detoxes seem to be everywhere lately. But what about a skin detox? Maybe you’ve been overindulging lately and are ready for a fresh start when it comes to your skin care routine. Whether you’re dealing with dullness, uneven skin tone, blemishes, dry skin, or all of the above, here are our recommendations for refreshing your skin care routine.
Before we delve into the various ways to care for your skin, it's important to address a common misconception: the idea that your skin can remove toxins from your body. While maintaining healthy skin is crucial, it’s important to understand that the skin itself does not have the ability to detoxify. The primary function of the skin is to act as a barrier, protecting your body from external elements and regulating temperature.
Now, let's explore how you can revitalize your skin with the right care and products.
What Is A Skin Detox?
While it may sound like you’d be cutting products out of your ritual, a skin detox actually simplifies the focus of your routine. Instead of working on multiple concerns, a skin detox is simply the process of cleansing pores and nourishing your skin both externally and internally to reveal a smooth and healthy-looking complexion. During this process, impurities, pollutants and dead skin cells are removed as much as possible in order to revitalize your skin and get it back to normal. As a part of the skin’s renewal process, the deeper layers of the skin will eventually move towards the surface. This takes four to six weeks to surface, meaning a skin detox is not a quick-fix solution.
Why Should I Detox My Skin?
To learn why you should detox your skin, we went right to our inhouse experts. Our Product Support Representatives explain that “the benefit of detoxifying the skin is that it allows the skin a fresh start. Detox stimulates a healthier environment for the skin and can encourage increased production of collagen and elastin. These changes can help increase cell turnover and improve the skin barrier overall.” If you’ve been snacking on sugary treats or slacking on drinking water, you may find that you’re experiencing glycation (a process that slows down collagen and elastic production) and seeing inflammation in the skin. A skin detox will target these issues and help balance the skin.
The benefit of detoxifying the skin is that it allows the skin a fresh start. Detox stimulates a healthier environment for the skin and can encourage increased production of collagen and elastin.
Kick Off With A Spa Facial
To start detoxifying your skin, book a treatment at your closest Eminence Organics Spa Partner. A professional treatment will ensure deep cleansing and prepare the skin for optimal results from your home care products. If you’re suffering from breakouts and/or pore congestion such as blackheads, whiteheads and milia, our Product Support Team recommends requesting that the esthetician perform extractions to unclog the pores. If you’re suffering from sensitized, dry or dehydrated skin, communicate this to your esthetician as well. Detoxifying treatments don’t equate to “drying the skin out” and, as our Product Support Team explain, “spas will generally have detoxifying treatments on their menu for face and body that they can customize based on your needs.”
Boost Your At-Home Skin Care Routine
In addition to professional treatments, a daily skin care routine plus weekly at-home treatments are essential to your skin detox. Look for products that draw out impurities while also hydrating the skin. During this process, don’t panic if you experience breakouts. This reaction shows that the skin is purging itself of pore-clogging debris and is a normal part of the detox process.
The products we are recommending for home care feature some award winners from our Microgreens Detox and Eight Greens Collection. While you don’t have to follow this exact routine, the products below are recommended for their ability to minimize the look of pores and improve the look of skin texture.
Double Cleanse
If you aren’t already double cleansing, a skin detox is the perfect time to include it in your routine. Double cleansing is the perfect addition as it lifts away grime and helps purge the pores. Containing our potent Detoxifying Microgreens Complex, our Stone Crop Cleansing Oil is a fantastic choice for the first cleanse. This silky oil removes impurities both on the skin’s surface and clogged deep within pores, yet is gentle enough to remove makeup from the delicate eye area. For the second cleanse, our Charcoal Exfoliating Gel Cleanser draws out dirt and other impurities to encourage the look of smoother skin.
Exfoliate Up To Three Times A Week
Our Stone Crop Oxygenating Fizzofoliant contains microgreens and works well for all skin types. Those with normal to oily skin types can use this exfoliant up to three times a week, while those with dry or sensitive skin should aim for once or twice per week. Our Product Support Team explains, “This is a powder-to-foam exfoliant that gently buffs skin to decongest and refresh pores with oxygen and stone crop. For breakout-prone and congested skin types, this exfoliant is ideal to soften the debris that clogs pores.”
Product Picks
Tone Twice A Day
Toning is a key step in any skin care routine, as it hydrates while balancing the pH level of the skin. In addition to prepping the skin to better absorb further treatment products, a toner also delivers a dose of ingredients to leave the complexion glowing. For normal to dry skin types, the Stone Crop Hydrating Mist is a great revitalizing toner, containing stone crop juice to naturally brighten the skin's appearance.
Use Special Treatments
Special at-home treatments and face masks will make a huge impact on your detox process. Our Lead Skin Care Trainer Natalie Pergar recommends our Kombucha Microbiome Leave-On Mask, a creamy mask that brings comfort to all skin types with a mix of pre, pro and postbiotics that supports your skin’s moisture balance. Smooth over the skin and allow 5-10 minutes for mask to fully absorb. Tissue off any excess, no rinsing necessary.
When it comes to masking, our Eight Greens Phyto Masque - Hot can do no wrong. With paprika to invigorate the skin, this spicy face mask promotes healthy-looking skin. Battling the look of any breakouts, signs of aging, texture and large pores, this green wonder is a must-have when purifying the skin.
As Natalie mentions, charcoal is like a magnet for pulling out debris and refining pores and a great ingredient to include in detox skin care. In an interview with American Spa Magazine, Eminence Organics International Trainer Brian Goodwin discusses the many benefits of charcoal to detoxify the skin, noting that charcoal is “especially effective at removing the pollutants, allergens, dust and more from the skin and putting a stop to the inflammation and free radical damage they can cause."
Using any one of these treatments will work wonders for your skin. While it may be tempting to overindulge, limit use of the face masks to one to three times per week. When it comes to charcoal face masks especially, daily use is likely to dry out your complexion and throw off your skin’s natural oil production.
Take Care Of You!
In addition to external care, the best results from a skin detox come with internal care too. Alkaline-rich foods are fantastic for helping the skin glow. Choose produce rich in calcium, magnesium and potassium to keep skin strong. Some tasty options are:
- Pears
- Broccoli
- Kale
- Watermelon
- Bananas
Healthy fats (like omega-3’s) will also keep your skin supple, so add things like avocado and walnuts to your snacking roster. In addition to eating more fresh produce, ensure that you’re protecting your skin from the sun’s harmful rays, drinking enough water and sleeping well. This will help regulate your skin’s oil production and cell turnover rate. Lastly, make time for wellness practices (like yoga, for example) which encourage blood flow and reduce stress, both of which are reflected in your skin.
Drink More Water
Although tasty alcoholic beverages are satisfying as they go down, the after-effects are not as pleasant. Not only is alcohol dehydrating, they're often loaded with sugar and other additives that cause inflammation. To counteract the negative effects of alcohol, there’s a simple solution: drink more water. Take a break from cocktails and replace them with plenty of water (lemon water for the best results). Water hydrates your skin from the inside out while lemon juice helps with detoxification. This simple combo also helps alkalize your body and boosts digestion. For water that’s just as fancy as your favorite cocktail (try fruit-infused water recipes).
Sweat It Out And Rest It Out
Irregular or inadequate sleep can profoundly alter circadian rhythms and compromise or impede these important detoxification pathways in the liver. Exercise and sleep. These are two simple things that you can do to restore and detox your body. Exercise increases blood flow and allows you to sweat out toxins naturally, while a good sleep is critical to maintaining your body’s metabolic equilibrium. Fit in a solid sweat-sesh several times a week and at least 7-8 hours a sleep every night to keep your body’s natural detoxification systems operating at full capacity.
From the skin care products you use to the foods you eat, all of these small changes work together to reset your skin and revive your complexion. Have you completed a skin detox before? Do you have any tips on acing the process? We’d love to hear from you. Share with us in the comments below or on social media.