Healthy Skin Habits in the Office

YOU’VE TAKEN STEPS TO STAY WELL AT WORK — WASHING YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY, AVOIDING THE VENDING MACHINES, AND TAKING THE STAIRS INSTEAD OF THE ELEVATOR. BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT OFFICE LIFE CAN BE BAD FOR YOUR SKIN, TOO?

BETWEEN RECYCLED DRY AIR, UNEXPECTED EXPOSURE TO SUN’S RAYS AND LIGHT FROM YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN, BIRTHDAY CAKES AND HAPPY HOURS, AND OF COURSE STRESS, THERE ARE HIDDEN AND NOT-SO-HIDDEN HAZARDS THAT CAN HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON YOUR COMPLEXION. 

HERE ARE THREE EASY THINGS YOU CAN DO TO COMBAT THESE OFFICE OBSTACLES AND ACHIEVE GREAT SKIN.

STRESS AND SKIN

KEEP STRESS LOW FOR CLEARER SKIN.

THE DOCTORS OFTEN TALK ABOUT STRESS AND ITS EFFECTS ON SKIN. AND THE OFFICE CAN BE A BREEDING GROUND FOR STRESS. “STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT STRESS-INDUCED CORTISOL INHIBITS THE BODY’S REPAIR PROCESSES, DECREASES THE RATE OF WOUND HEALING, INCREASES THE RISK OF INFECTION AND TRIGGERS CONDITIONS SUCH AS ACNE, HIVES, ECZEMA, PSORIASIS, ROSACEA, WARTS AND HERPES,” THEY WRITE IN THEIR BOOK WRITE YOUR SKIN A PRESCRIPTION FOR CHANGE. SO, TAKING STEPS TO REDUCE STRESS WILL BENEFIT YOUR SKIN. HERE ARE FEW WAYS TO DO THIS.

BUY CUT FLOWERS OR BRING THEM FROM YOUR GARDEN. BEING CLOSE TO NATURE, EVEN IF THAT MEANS LOOKING AT THE BUSHES IN A PARK NEXT TO THE OFFICE, OR FLOWERS AT YOUR DESK, CAN HAVE EMOTIONAL AND HEALTH BENEFITS, INCLUDING STRESS REDUCTION.  

TAKE A MIDDAY WALK, OR A QUICK YOGA CLASS. EXERCISE IS A WELL-KNOWN WAY TO REDUCE CORTISOL LEVELS AND TO CLEAR YOUR HEAD. AND IF YOU CAN’T GET OUT, TRY BREATHING EXERCISES BY INHALING TO A SLOW COUNT OF TEN AND EXHALING TO A SLOW COUNT OF TEN. AT YOUR DESK, NO ONE WILL EVEN KNOW.

HYDRATION IS KEY

KEEP HYDRATED, INSIDE AND OUT. 

YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT HYDRATION IS FOR SKIN, HYDRATING FROM THE INSIDE HELPS YOUR WHOLE SYSTEM RUN SMOOTHLY AND THAT INCLUDES KEEPING SKIN CELLS PLUMP. TRY MAKING DRINKING WATER MORE INTERESTING BY TOSSING SOME BERRIES OR OTHER FRUIT SLICES INTO YOUR H20. GO EASY ON THE CAFFEINE WHICH CAN DEHYDRATE YOU, EXACERBATING THE LOOK OF FINE LINES AND WRINKLES. AND REMEMBER THAT SUGAR CAN INCREASE THE VISIBLE SIGNS OF AGING FROM GLYCATION (WHEN SUGAR REACTS WITH PROTEINS LIKE COLLAGEN), SO SKIP THE SUGARY DRINKS!

OF COURSE ACTIVE HYDRATION SERUM WILL RAISE SKIN’S HYDRATION LEVEL BY 200% AFTER JUST ONE USE. AND KEEP YOUR HANDS AND BODY MOISTURIZED WITH ESSENTIALS DAILY BODY MOISTURIZER, WHICH CAN GO RIGHT IN YOUR TOP DESK DRAWER.

LIGHT AND YOUR SKIN

BE AWARE OF PHOTO DAMAGE — FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES.

HOPEFULLY BY NOW YOU KNOW THAT SUNSCREEN IS NOT JUST FOR THE BEACH OR THE SUMMER MONTHS, AND THAT UV RAYS CAN AFFECT OUR SKIN’S AGING EVEN ON CLOUDY DAYS. BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT EVEN INSIDE YOU ARE EXPOSED TO THESE HARMFUL RAYS THROUGH WINDOWS? (SAME GOES FOR AIRPLANE TRAVEL.) ALSO KNOW THAT COMPUTER SCREENS (AND SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS) EMIT “BLUE LIGHT” THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE DAMAGING JUST LIKE SUN EXPOSURE. PHOTO AGING IS REAL, STUDIES SHOW THAT VISIBLE LIGHT CAN AFFECT OUR PIGMENTATION. MAKE SURE YOU ARE WEARING SUNSCREEN FROM YOUR REGIMEN, ESSENTIALS DAILY BODY SUNSCREEN SPF 30 AND ALSO APPLYING PRODUCTS WITH ANTIOXIDANTS THAT CAN HELP FIGHT ANY REACTION YOU MAY HAVE.

HEALTHY HABITS CAN BE HARD TO KEEP UP BECAUSE OFTEN RESULTS MAY NOT BE IMMEDIATELY VISIBLE. BUT NOW IS THE TIME TO THINK AHEAD AND DO WHAT KEEPS YOU AND YOUR SKIN FEELING AND LOOKING ITS BEST IN THE (VERY NEAR) FUTURE.