Let's face it, we all love feeling comfortable and confident in our own skin.
Whether at the beach, soaking in the fresh air or presenting a project in the corporate boardroom: skincare is at the heart of looking and feeling your best.
According to ScienceDirect, "Nearly all (90%) of the world's population experience daily pollution. In 2019, air pollution was considered by the World Health Organization to be the biggest environmental health risk to humans.."
Our skin was designed to act as a shield against most chemicals and physical air pollutants. Still, too much exposure can lead to premature aging, inflammation, dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis or acne. So it makes even more sense to reinforce our biological barrier to harm with daily self-care.
Thankfully, we have a natural, non-toxic way to fight back and turn back the clock.
The best part?
You can start today!
Apart from daily exercise, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol and eating a well-balanced diet, we've compiled three lesser know, but most effective ways to get more youthful-looking skin:
- Hydrate - inside and out
Good old H2O!
Water increases elasticity in your skin (meaning fewer wrinkles), but it also washes out toxins absorbed through the skin. Try adding one glass of water to your day, for starters. Then, when the 3pm wall hits, instead of reaching for a sugary or high-caffeinated drink, add a few ice cubes to your glass or add a slice of fruit to your water. Before you know it, you'll be hydrated and ready to take on the rest of the afternoon.
Now that we've added hydration to the inside of our skins, let's keep that moisture from escaping. Shea butter contains an emollient that traps hydration in the skin. We recommend lathering shea butter on freshly-showered skin for the best results. The pores open up after exposure to heat and create the perfect environment for optimal absorption.
- Detoxify
The most common air pollutants are carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, ground-level ozone, particle pollution, and sulphur oxides.
These sound scary, and they can be (but don't have to be).
Nature provides us with natural detoxifying solutions!
- Open your windows for at least ten minutes per day, especially if your air conditioner or furnace runs for a whole day. It's refreshing to open up the windows after a night's sleep!
- Add an indoor houseplant or two for green air purification.
- Naturally gifted with Vitamin E & A, shea butter has significant antioxidant properties.
- Be kind to yourself.
Chronic stress is associated with premature and accelerated aging and increased insulin resistance. But, in a world where stress is unavoidable, we can manage it!
A surefire way to slow down and connect with our inner emotions is to apply a physical touch.
When you feel stressed or overwhelmed, take a short breather:
- Take a deep breath in through your mouth and out through your nose. Do this as many times until you feel yourself slowing down.
- Pick a spot on your skin that you want to show some kindness to your head's hands, feet, arm, shoulder, or temples.
- Rub in shea butter on the area while counting backwards from ten.
- Drink some water!
This simple yet highly effective technique acts as a reset button for stress.
Adding shea butter to our beauty routine
can "reset" aging by giving it love and care every day.
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