VNow that we’re (starting) to return to our busy lives it’s a great time to remind ourselves of what that means not only for ourselves, but for our skin.
Modern life sure has a way of marking its mark on us. Dry and damaged skin, dehydration and clogged pores can all be triggered by some surprisingly mundane, everyday things. The scary bit? If allowed to go on unchecked, this can lead to disrupted cell barrier function, poor cell repair and speeding up the ageing process! Never fear. Adequate protection doesn’t need to mean a complicated choice between ingredients and your beliefs. Naturally, effective remedies are here to help, and you know what they say – knowledge is power. Knowing how to I.D the main culprits helps to protect your skin and keep it young and #glowing.
Culprit 01 | Pollution & your environment
The big one. Did you know that excessive and repeated exposure without protection to sun, wind, extreme temperature changes and pollution can actually damage your skin? Toxic engine fumes, chemicals, smoke, dust, and other environmental allergens can often be invisible and provide a nightmarish obstacle course on a daily basis. Pollution is free-radical central and leads to your skin becoming depleted of the invaluable vitamins and antioxidants it needs. When this occurs, your skin barrier fails to function effectively. Think: increased sebum production (oil) to provide much needed hydration and to counteract the pH imbalance of the skin.
Culprit 02 | Dirt & grime
Living in a city environment or simply not cleansing properly exposes your skin to an increased level of general grime. If left undisturbed on the skin, they can be attributed to blocked pores and actually encourage the ideal growth conditions for bacteria. Acne development 1.0.1. Making sure to adequately cleanse your skin twice a day is one of the fastest ways to combat this issue. What to use? We’ll have more on that later…
Culprit 03 | Light damage
Screens, screens (and more) screens. If it’s not your phone, it’s your computer, if it’s not your computer it’s Netflix. In our 21st Century lifestyles we have a screen in our faces more than ever before in history. Blue light damage is a real and tangible threat to our skin health so it’s important to protect against it. Sadly, the stressors don’t stop when we’re outside! Even on the cloudiest of days, your skin is at risk from harmful UVA and UVB rays from the sun (the original source of blue light). What does this look like in practice? Rapidly accelerating the ageing process, wrinkles, and cell damage. Wearing SPF is absolutely crucial, yes – even in winter.
Culprit 04 | Lifestyle stressors
We get it, it’s been a hard time recently and one small positive from the pandemic is an increased awareness on the importance of looking after our health and wellbeing. It’s important not let this focus slip when we are able to go back to ‘normal’ life again. We all know the effects a poor diet and lack of exercise can have on your skin (and your body as a whole). Consuming more alcohol, more caffeine and less water is another potent mix to throw in leaving you skin depleted of the vital vitamins, minerals, and the hydration it needs to function.
The solution?
Aside from keeping a mindful eye on our overall stress levels and our caffeine and water intake, there are a number of other things we can do to protect our skin that live conveniently within our bathroom cabinets. Keeping hydration and moisture retention at the forefront of your regime keeps the skin’s barrier in tip-top condition to protect against these damaging elements. At Plant Dpt. one of our (many) mantras is ‘life’s too short for toxic relationships’. Or skin has ENOUGH to deal with on a daily basis and we’re committed to providing products that are 100% good for us and the environment. Highly effective and always natural, never nasty. Fancy getting to know us a little better? Check out our philosophy and manifesto. Or, if you want to do your skin a (huge) favour, you can shop our plant-powered products here.
Strictly natural ingredients. Super-natural performance. It (really is) as simple as that…
Over and out,
PLANT DPT.
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