With the lockdown continuing, for many, this will mean staying at home with only occasional trips to either the shops or for that short period to allow for daily excercise. For our key workers, life will continue, perhaps, as before, but with the additon of having to wear protective equipment for long periods, causing havoc to the skin.
What can we do or our skin during this time?
This may be the opportunity to do absolutely nothing. Give the skin a break and allow (as the "skin fasting" enthusiasts suggest) the skin to reset itself and find a more natural rather than cultured balance.
Beauty, it is said, is in the eye of the beholder. Over time, makeup - the make-up industry - certainly has been all about defining the meaning of beauty; of developing a new perception of what consitutes beauty and how you and I have to present ourselves in order to be seen as "beautiful".
Make-up is, however, not the same as skincare. The two are totally different. Make-up is used to promote a different image and skincare is used to enhance the current image - to present oneself in the best light, rather than a different light. Natural beauty, which we all possess, does not seem to get a look-in.
Ditching make-up for lockdown is an obvious way to start giving the skin a holiday and to allow that natural beauty which may have been surpressed for so long, a chance to shine through.
What about skincare?
That depends. If you have a skincare routine that works for your skin type and concerns, a skin fast may not be a good idea. That said, if you are suffering from a skin issue like dermatitis, psoriasis, or rosacea or if you have you experienced irritation lately and don’t know what the culprit is, then it may be time to take a break. When we take away everything we do to our skin, it allows the skin to get back to what it should be doing.
If your skin is dry, then stopping your routine will most likely only make it drier. If oily, then that too may not benefit if all of the control measures you have in place are suddenly removed.
This is not to suggest that the skincare products that you are using are bad or unhealthy for skin. Skin fasting is an option to give your skin some healing time so that you can restart using skincare products as required. A skin fast (or holiday) does not have to mean stopping the use of all skin care products but one can reduce the daily onslaught (or, perhaps the nightly onslaught) taking one element out of a routine and see how the skin reacts - a sort of "weaning off" process, allowing the skin to deal with issues by itself.
This also means that you are not slavishly following what various media say is good for your skin but finding out for yourself, about yourself.
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