New year resolutions almost always include a renewed commitment to healthier eating, more exercise, and weight loss. Expand your consultation and include some time talking to your client about their diet and lifestyle.
1 Don’t Intentionally Age Your Skin
Eating highly processed foods that are loaded with sugar can age your skin. Glycation is the process where foods that are high in sugar content are converted to glucose or fructose and then bind to an essential protein or a lipid. When this happens, the molecular structure changes and the new molecule converts to advanced glycation end products or AGEs. They cause oxidative damage to your entire body, but your skin in particular ages faster. Read labels because you’ll be surprised how many grocery store food items are loaded with sugar.
2 Add More Antioxidants
Topical antioxidants are a wonderful part of a skincare regimen. But eating foods that are high in antioxidants are equally as important. Treat your skin from the inside out by eating more berries, dark green vegetables, legumes, beets, and carrots.
Contribution by Mary Nielsen
A technician, educator, mentor, and business owner, Mary Nielsen has been at the forefront of medical esthetics since its infancy in the early 1990s. She is a Certified Advanced Esthetician in the State of Oregon and a Master Esthetician in Washington. She is a licensed esthetics instructor. She is also a licensed nurse. She served as the Vice Chair and Industry Expert on the Oregon Board of Certified Advanced Estheticians. She is the author of A Compendium for Advanced Aesthetics, a Guide for the Master Esthetician and Fearless Beauties, Treating Skin of Color with Confidence. She has authored four chapters in the newest Milady Standard Esthetics textbook released in May 2019. She is also a diplomate with the American Board of Laser Surgery in Cosmetic Laser Procedures. She is the Executive Director of Spectrum Advanced Aesthetics, the founder of the Cascade Aesthetic Alliance as well as the OG of Fearless Beauties.
3 Move More
Take the stairs. Park farther away so you have to walk a few feet more. Healthy skin depends on a strong circulatory system that delivers nutrient-rich blood to the tissues, including skin cells.
4 Eat Cleaner
Choose organic. Pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and preservatives used in commercial farming can be endocrine disrupters which affects important body functions and also the skin.
5 Beauty Sleep Is Real
During the day your skin is protecting you from pollution, toxins, UV rays, fluorescent lighting, dry air, water, chemicals, and more. At night your body has time to repair and restore. People who get seven to nine hours of sleep have skin that is more moisturized and better protected from sun exposure.[1]
Learn more about the gut-skin connection, the importance of your body’s different microbiomes, micronutrients, macronutrients, supplements, common skin conditions that are influenced by diet, and more in our Nutrition Certified Esthetician program, launching in 2023. This three-day program is available in person as well as virtually.
