Good skin days can quite often seem a long way away when battling through winter weather.  Constantly moving from hot to cold environments can have a detrimental effect on our skins, one minute it feels tight, dry and uncomfortable and the next it feels dull, lifeless and spotty.

So are there any emergency measures we can take to ensure our skin doesn’t take too much of a battering, as these icy conditions persist.

As well as using a good, consistent skin care range such as Danne Montague King or Environ, this is the perfect time to consider the other essential ingredients of ‘good skin’.

1. We often turn to thicker moisturisers in the winter months as we feel our skins need a little extra TLC but one of the down sides of this, is that thick moisturisers can stop our skin shedding effectively which in turn can leads to dull flaky skin or spots.  Try not to overdo the moisturising.  Our skin does have its own natural moisturising factor, that adjusts to climate changes, so we don’t need to overdo things.

Prepare to party!
With all the parties coming up it’s easy to forget about your diet and nutrition! You need to remember that although the goodies are extremely tasty they are packed with high contents of salt and sugar. Before you go out have some quick but nutritional so that you won’t be as tempted to pick at the party food all night and end up piling on the pounds and giving you spots.

Avoid salt!
Try not to use salt in your cooking or add extra salt to your food. Also try not to eat salty snacks such as crisps and peanuts. Instead add lemon juice to your cooking- lemon juice creates a salty flavour as the taste buds are close by on the tongue- sounds bizarre but really works!

Keep skin glowing with omega 3!
During the winter months skin tends to dry out a little bit. Try to increase your oily fish intake such as mackerel, sardines and salmon. Unsalted nuts and seeds such as almonds and sunflower seeds also increase your essential fatty acid intake. Seeds can be added to salads, yoghurts and porridge or just nibbled on through out the day as a snack. Omega 3 is an essential supplement to take as our body needs it but doesn’t make it. Omega 3 helps to keep the skin supple.

As media attention is once again focused on a fresh outbreak of Swine Flu, now is the time to promote the benefits of Vitamin C Plus as an essential immune support.

Patrick Holford has recommended Vitamin C after speaking to renowned experts on viral infections. Dr Thomas Levy, who has provided the definitive proof in his book ‘ Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases and Toxins: Curing the Incurable’, is one of the world’s experts in effects of vitamin C on viruses. Here’s what he says, “I have not found any flu virus for which vitamin C does not exert a virucidal effect, as long as enough vitamin C reaches the virus, such as in any acute infection.”

Says Patrick “The ideal amount of vitamin C for any flu is to start with 3 grams immediately, then 1 gram regularly thereafter.”

If you order extra stock of Vitamin C Plus you will not be alone. Many clients have taken Patrick’s advice and purchased more Vitamin C as a result. Since the outbreak of Swine Flu in the UK the sales of Advanced Nutrition Programme Vitamin C products have increased by 65%!

Advanced Nutrition Programme Vitamin C Plus are currently on special offer for a limited time in our online shop – click here to visit.

For more information on Advanced Nutrition Programme Vitamin C Plus, call us today on 0113 282 3300.

We advise all our clients to wear sun protection all year round as even in the winter your skin can still be damaged. We mainly see sun damage mostly on clients with pigmentation, but it can affect anyone.

If you don’t wear it in the winter, then it is imperative that you wear sun block when the weather is as hot as it’s been lately! Face the Future stock a range of advanced sunblocks that are excellent for protecting your skin from sun damage.

Here’s our quick guide:

THE ULTIMATE SUN PROTECTION PACK (MESOESTETIC)
During the summer, the risk of skin lesions is extreme, due to the increased intensity of the sun and the higher number of hours of exposure to the same. The Seasons Summer Pack is a programme designed with two aims: maximum sun protection and intensive moisturizing.

The pack comes with Mesoestetic’s top Solar Line products including, Sun Protection SPF 25, Complete Moisturizing Sun Block & Lips Sunblock SPF 20.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THIS PRODUCT

At this time of year when it’s cold outside and warm inside with the central heating blowing out skin becomes dry and rough and are we getting enough nutrients.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are vital for healthy skin, hair, nails and wound healing to name but a few.  So where do we get these little wonders from I here you ask – well – largely from vegetables, seeds, nuts and cold-water fish.

To ensure you obtain sufficient EFAs your diet should include…

Winter in the UK means cold, windy, snowy weather without much sunlight to offset the chill. You’re likely spending much more time indoors and less time outdoors, not to mention wearing more clothing to stay warm. With less time spent outside and a minimal amount of exposed skin, you may have given up on your daily use of sunscreen. After all, if you’re rarely outside and there’s no visible sun, what’s the point, right? Wrong! Although the sun may not be shining and the hours of daylight are fewer than during spring and summer, abandoning your daily sunscreen habit would be a skin care (meaning anti wrinkle) mistake. Here’s why:

Even when you’re clothed in layers to defend against the cold, chances are good that a portion of your face, if not all of it, is still exposed. That means sun damage is still taking place if you didn’t apply sunscreen. Whether it’s the middle of January or you’re heading to the beach in June, you need sunscreen 365 days a year. It’s not just UVA and UVB rays but that visible light spectrum that can cause those premature wrinkles.

So, we know some of the foods that are good for our skin…..but what about the bad guys;

Refined sugar and carb snacks may give you a quick buzz, but this burst of’ energy’ is not good for your system. Very simply explained it puts the blood sugar out of balance and your body sends out more insulin to cope with this. If this happens regularly it results in the decreased ability to remove excess blood glucose from the bloodstream.

I’m often asked by patients if any ‘type of food or diet’ can help improve the general condition of skin. The answer to this one is a very definite ‘yes’ and so I’ve dug out a few articles written by Patrick Holford, one of the U.K’s top nutritionalists, to give you some basic facts on the relationship between diet and skin health and some top tips to help improve and maintain ‘good skin’.

A good diet consisting of fresh, untreated foods is essential for the health of your entire body, not just your skin and reducing the speed at which it ages or degenerates in any way. Given the importance of keeping your digestive tract and liver in good working order for healthy skin, a diet should include foods naturally high in fibre, e.g. raw or lightly cooked veg and fruit, wholegrains, root vegetables, lentils and beans, well chewed and eaten when you are relaxed.

1. Drink plenty of water. We recommend 3 litres, sipped throughout the day, to support maximum skin hydration.

2. Use a high factor sun block (at least SPF 15) at all times, ensuring the product you choose blocks both UVA and UVB rays. Remember, even on a cloudy day, you can still sustain sun damage, if you are not protected.

3. Eat a diet rich in Omega 3 – nuts, seeds etc – will help maintain your skill cell function and promote a youthful complexion.