How Christmas Affects Your Skin

How Christmas Affects Your Skin
I may have mentioned this on this blog once or twice (or one hundred times) but I love everything about Christmas. I hate to put a downer on the festivities but it's not all fun, games, food and drink when it comes to your skin. Unfortunately the over indulgence of this period can leave skin looking a little worse for wear. Here's why.

Sugar

For most of us, Christmas conjures up thoughts of delicious sweet treats. Gingerbread houses with snowy icing, fiery Christmas pudding and all the Celebrations, especially the Malteaser one mmm. Unfortunately, all these temptations wreak havoc on your skin.We've all heard sugar gives us spots, but is it true? I hate to say it, but yes. Insulin, produced due to the spike in blood sugar levels, causes the skin to produce excess oils, clogging the pores and leading to blemishes. It also damages essential proteins in the skin, leading to the premature formation of lines and wrinkles. Maybe I'll put that last Christmas cookie back.

Alcohol

It's easy to lose track of the drinks you'll consume over the Christmas period, but even for those who rarely drink, the numbers soon add up without you even realising.Alcohol is incredibly dehydrating (we've all experienced that the morning after), but when the body goes into dehydration mode it starts to take water from the areas that need it least to pass to areas in desperate need. The first place to have its water resources stolen is the skin, leaving that tight, lined and dehydrated appearance.Tasty alcoholic beverages are often loaded with sugar, which takes us right back to the start again. Plus, let's not forget those times that we fall asleep in a full face of make up when intoxicated. I won't lecture, but it's one of the worst things you can do to your skin.

Stress

Christmas isn't all about indulgence, there's a lot of planning, preparation and hosting that goes into it. For some, it can trigger unnecessary stress that, you guessed it, impacts on your skin as well as your mental state.The body's natural reaction to stress is to go into fight or flight mode and shut down functions that aren't needed in threatening situations, which includes skin functions. The body will stop delivering key moisture and nutrients to the skin. That's not to mention the upset it does to your hormones, causing imbalances in the skin.Of course, I'm not saying your forgo all fun this Christmas. Eat that mince pie! Go in for a Quality Street! Drink the Bucks Fizz! But remember, everything in moderation to save your poor skin.

If it's already too late, we're on hand to help you through it. Call our skincare experts on 0113 282 7744 for free advice.

Written for you by: Ellie, Face the Future


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