Detox your skin in five simple steps
Written by Shonagh Walker
Want to detox your skin? It involves a little more than a simple cleanse and exfoliate once a week. Don't let that stress you out though. Thankfully, you can restore radiance and refresh your skin's youthful glow in just a few simple steps. Implement these into your everyday routine and you'll detox your skin without even realising.
1. Detox your skin by watching your diet
Eating clean, fresh whole foods is one of the most important things you can do when you want to detox your skin and keep it clear, radiant and youthful looking. Of course, we all enjoy a little treat from time-to-time (what's a movie without a giant tub of popcorn and choc top?), but for fresh, clear, glowing skin, perhaps stick to the 80:20 rule.
This is a rule that supermodels like Gisele Bundchen swear by and it is as simple as this - 80 percent of the time you eat clean, lean protein and whole foods like fruits and veggies, and 20 percent of the time, you indulge in the treats you love.
Too much processed food or fat and sugar-laden drinks will quickly show on your skin, so this rule works perfectly. Aside from remaining satiated, you'll also enjoy clear, glowing skin!
2. Get your cardio on
Few things detox your skin better than a good, old fashioned cardio work out. Think: a boxing class, jogging, spin class, swimming laps... anything that raises your heartbeat and gets your blood and lymph flowing through the body. It helps to enrich the skin cells with the oxygen they require to function properly, while the boost to lymph flow helps to remove nasties from the system, thereby detox your skin! Aim for about three to five sessions a week. 30-45 minutes each session is plenty, and if you make a playlist you love, it'll feel like it's over in no time!
3. Dry body brushing
Aside from sloughing away dry, dead skin cells, daily dry body brushing helps to detox the skin by boosting the movement for lymphatic fluid throughout the body. The lymphatic system is a network of tissues and organs that help rid the body of toxins, waste and other unwanted materials. It sits beneath the skin's surface and is responsive to light pressure and movement, such as specialised lymphatic drainage massage, or in this case, dry body brushing.
Before your morning shower, sweep your body brush over dry skin. Begin at your left ankle and move in firm but gentle, long strokes up towards the heart. Move from your leg to your left arm, then to your abdomen, in which case you should use circular motions. Continue to your right arm and right leg, again using sweeping movements towards to heart.
Do this daily to detox your skin and achieve smooth, glowing skin all over.
4. Drink plenty of water
We know, this advice is as old as the hills and you're probably yawning at it right now. But, as old and as repeated this tip is, so too it is equally beneficial, especially if the aim is to detox your skin.
Drink up to three litres of water a day to flush out internal toxins and wastes and keep all organs, including the skin, healthy and well-functioning. You can even ramp up the benefits by adding a sachet of Vida Glow Original Marine Collagen, a natural form of collagen which works to promote a stronger, more youthful looking complexion while you detox your skin.
5. Mask up
Applying a premium quality, clay-based face mask weekly will help purge the skin of toxins and debris that may clog the pores and detract from your skin's natural glow.A truly great mask that draws out impurities, pollution, deep seated dead skin cells and debris, as well as oil that has solidified in the pores, is required to keep skin clarified, bright and youthful looking.
Enter, Minenssey Deep Cleansing Clay Mask. It's an antioxidant-rich clay facial mask that relies on green clay, parsley seed oil and Tasmanian pepper berry to purify pores, detox your skin and leave your complexion glowing with wellness and vitality.
Its rich and creamy texture won't dry and ‘crack’ on your skin, rather, it gently draws out impurities, debris and excess sebum so they are whisked away when you wash off the mask, leaving radiant, more youthful and beautifully detoxified skin.