[SELF-CARE] My Holistic Approach to Glowing Skin: Sleep, Stress Management, Exercise, Diet, and...oh yeah...Skincare✨

As a 51-year-old, I notice when my skin isn't looking it's best. And because I hate wearing make-up (always have), I have an extra incentive to keep my skin looking good because I'm not going to use make-up to cover it up. When people find out my age, they often ask "what skincare brand do you use," and while I think good products are a component of good skin, they are not the most important!

Here are the 5 factors I think are responsible for my glowing, healthy 51-year-old skin. I've put them in order of important (in my opinion).

Listen/watch the 34-minute podcast episode here: https://bywdreams.mailerpage.com/115

1) Sleep: I prioritize quality sleep. Lights-out is 10:30pm at the latest. I'm often asleep by 9:30. It took me a long time to get here. For decades I stayed up until midnight. But when I finally made going to bed early a priority, it radically changed my mood during the day so I've maintained it!

2) Stress management: This aspect of skincare is heavily intertwined with both sleep and movement, but I consider it a separate aspect because it also includes mindset. I'm not a doctor, but if you want to read more about stress and skin, go here. Stress is something that requires holistic management including sleep, movement, and mindset.

3) Movement: When I sweat regularly, my skin looks so much better. It's the difference between a luminous glow and a dull grayness. I do this through regular walking with heavy weights (20-50 pounds for 30 minutes minimum). Sweating cleans out the cells which is probably where the glow comes from! Quickstart tip: run in place as fast as you can until you can't run anymore. It probably won't be more than 30 seconds. Rest until your heartrate returns to normal and then do it again. For more about this, read this article.

4) Diet: I include food, liquids, and supplements under this heading. What helps my skin? I prioritize fiber, 30+grams a day and I only drink water. Similar to sweating, fiber and water help to cleanse your cells. Dry, dirty skin doesn't glow! Quickstart tip? Add 2.5 tablespoons of chia seeds to water. Wait until they are gelatinous (about 15 minutes) and then consume.

5) Clean Skincare: I love my skincare ritual. It's my favorite form of self-care. I've done many podcasts on it. The most important tip I have is to use "clean" beauty products and wear sunscreen daily. Quickstart tip: Avoid the "dirty dozen". This is a great hurdle for avoiding toxic skincare products. When evaluating sunscreen, also be sure to only use sunscreen who's active ingredients include titanium oxide or zinc oxide. DO NOT USE any of the products who have active ingredients that end in -zene or -ate such as oxybenzone, avobenzone, octinoxate, and homosalate. They are carcinogenic to humans and also kill coral reefs. https://davidsuzuki.org/living-green/dirty-dozen-cosmetic-chemicals-avoid/

So that's it! Ha, I know it's a lot. So pick one area of your life, make a change, and once you are doing it regularly (it's a habit), pick another. Plan to stick with the changes for at least a month before you start to see/feel a difference, but the real payoff will be in a year. Keep that in mind and stick with it. You'll like what you see. Do I look like I'm 21 and just had a deep-plane face list (IYKYK), no, but I feel good about my skin and it's my daily habits that are responsible for that. 🧘🏽💤🚶🏽🥬🪞

Listen/watch the 34-minute podcast episode here: https://bywdreams.mailerpage.com/115