Dealing with acne, eczema, or psoriasis isn’t easy. These unpleasant skin conditions can also make you feel self-conscious and insecure, impacting far more than your physical appearance.
If you’re ready to create an inclusive approach to skincare that helps to repair and nourish your skin from the inside out, then a holistic skincare routine might be the answer you’ve been looking for.
What is a holistic skincare routine?
A holistic approach to health and healing focuses on the whole person – mind, body, and spirit. And a holistic skincare routine is no different. It helps address your skin’s health from the inside out and the outside in.
Holistic skincare is a comprehensive approach to balancing your health and lifestyle that blends modalities so that your skincare routine supports your body and your skin. It’s about more than just what you put on your skin. It’s about how you can blend various modalities such as prescriptions, traditional medicine, and cosmetic procedures with mindset, nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle changes to support you as a whole person.
So, to achieve the healthy, vibrant skin you desire, it’s essential to care for all parts of your body equally. And a holistic approach to your skincare routine can help you do that.
Foundations of a Holistic Skincare Routine
Your skin is the largest organ in the body, and it operates as the external connection of our body with our environment. In addition, the skin also acts as a physical barrier preventing the invasion of foreign pathogens while locking in moisture.
The skin doesn’t operate separately from the rest of the body. This is why a holistic view of skincare is essential. So, in addition to the creams, lotions, or medications you use for your skin, consider these additional foundational practices for developing a holistic skincare routine.
Clean and Calm Your Mind
From my background in psychology, I can tell you there’s no better way to achieve inner peace than mindfulness meditation. Studies have found that meditation can help reduce stress and inflammation while improving overall health.
- Meditation can decrease flare-ups in many skin conditions, including eczema and psoriasis, while lowering the frequency of acne breakouts.
- Meditation can help regulate your stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) that can damage the skin and create premature aging when out of balance.
Learn more about how you can clean and calm your mind for the health of your whole body.
Nurture Positive Self-Talk
It’s essential to value inner beauty above physical appearance. One way you can do that is by nurturing positive self-talk.
Many of us are conscious of our inner voice or self-talk that helps guide our brains in interpreting our daily experiences. But, unfortunately, it’s in our nature to gravitate toward negative self-talk. Try a few of these tricks when implementing positive self-talk:
- Bring awareness to negative thinking and identify what may be triggering them.
- Make self-care a priority.
- Practice gratitude.
- Limit your exposure to negativity.
Nourish Your Skin
Taking care of your body holistically can include your skincare routine.
Establishing your skincare routine based on your skin concerns and what products work for you is important. And remember, skincare is a long-term game that covers only one part of your holistic skincare routine.
Eat Nourishing Foods
What we eat is just as important to the skin as what we put on it. Eating a nourishing, well-balanced diet can decrease inflammation, improve acne, and give you glowing skin.
A nourishing diet beneficial for skin health includes
- High fiber foods for gut health, like beans, lentils, or chia seeds.
- Foods rich in antioxidants promote cellular health, including dark green vegetables, tomatoes, berries, beans, apples, and nuts.
- Healthy fats in avocado or walnuts promote skin strength and elasticity.
Get Your Beauty Sleep
Sleep helps our body’s in so many ways! When we’re sleeping, our body works to restore and renew itself. Here are a few things that happen to our skin when we’re sleep-deprived:
- Increased cortisol production, which can worsen skin conditions such as acne, eczema, and psoriasis.
- Decreased collagen production.
- Decreased blood flow and hydration to the skin.
Ready to sleep like a baby? Try these 10 tips to get your best night’s sleep.
Manage Stress
When stressed, our bodies start pumping out stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) to trigger energy flow to the heart, muscles, and lungs. At that time, our body could care less about how our hair or skin look. The increased cortisol associated with stress triggers inflammation in the skin that can break down collagen (wrinkles), lead to more pimples, and flare-ups of eczema or psoriasis.
Read more about the connection between stress and your skin.
Foster Your Sense of Community, Belonging, and Purpose
We’ve addressed how important a holistic approach to caring for your body and mind is, but caring for your spirit is equally as important. To build a strong mindset, reduce stress, eat a nourishing diet, and more, you must have a sense of belonging and community. Have a purpose bigger than yourself to be invested in.
Holistic Skincare for Acne, Eczema, and Psoriasis
A holistic skincare routine for patients struggling with acne, eczema, or psoriasis can look different for each person. Do you have high stress, a poor diet, or get poor sleep? Read more about my holistic approach to skincare for each of these conditions in my blogs:
6 Best Natural Remedies for Psoriasis
Tips for Starting a New Skincare Routine
1. Select products for your skin type and concerns.
Know your skin type and what your primary concerns are before trying any new products. Remember that what works for your friend may not work for you.
2. Pay attention to labels and ingredients.
Unfortunately, skincare products have little government oversight, which means many products contain products that are not well-regulated. I recommend reviewing your products to avoid a minimum of synthetic fragrances, phthalates, and parabens.
3. Switch slowly.
It’s usually best to change only one skincare product at a time. This allows your skin time to adjust and find what works best for you. Try a product for a couple of weeks before changing anything else.
4. Consistency is key.
Skincare is a long-term game. Being consistent in your regimen will give you better long-term results.
5. Focus on your daily essentials. Simple can be better.
Begin with the three basic steps of skin care: cleansing, moisturizing and protecting. Once you have those three steps down pat, you can add products like scrubs, masks, or ointments as needed.
6. When in doubt, see a dermatologist.
If you do not see the results you want after starting a holistic skincare routine, it might be time to see a dermatologist. A dermatologist can help you get to the root of your concerns and determine an appropriate course of treatment.
Heal Your Skin Inside and Out
Your skin’s appearance reflects your unique state of overall health, age, and environmental factors. Digging deeper to reveal what may be holding you back from achieving the healthy, glowing skin you desire can help you heal your skin from the inside out.
Join me on a skin healing journey different from anything you’ve done before. Learn what the health of your skin may be saying about what’s happening inside your body.
Discover how you can get clear skin using my SkinClock Method.
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Join my waitlist today and discover how to STOP your unpredictable breakouts…so you can finally have the youthful, radiant skin you desire!
Resources
- “The skin is the body’s largest organ – PubMed.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21087182/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2022.
- “What causes worsening of eczema? A systematic review – PubMed.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16911274/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2022.
- “Psoriasis: a stress-related disease – PubMed.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8513683/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2022.
- “a pathogenetic link between stress and acne – PubMed.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15507110/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2022.
- “Impact of Integrated Amrita Meditation Technique on Adrenaline and ….” 20 Jan. 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3034982/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2022.
- “Brain-Skin Connection: Stress, Inflammation and Skin Aging – NCBI.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4082169/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2022.