Five Skincare Resolutions for the New Year

The New Year means a fresh start. A chance to take stock and make positive changes. These changes may include New Year skincare resolutions.

Deciding what to include in your skincare routine and what to ditch depends on many things in addition to your skin type.

Here are five easy skincare resolutions that you can incorporate into your routine straight away.

Wear Sunscreen

Probably one of the most important skincare habits to adopt is wearing sunscreen. Even if you live in a country where the sun doesn’t make a regular appearance (boo hoo) you should still wear protection.

The sun is the number one cause of skin ageing and UV rays can penetrate clouds and impact your skin so wear a good sunscreen to prevent wrinkles and age spots.

Sun causes a loss of collagen which gives our skin a fresh and youthful glow so your goal should be to prevent this from happening.

I found a really nice sunscreen last year called Original Sprout which is not greasy and doesn’t contain parabens. It is suitable for sensitive, acne prone and dry skin. Use it alone or under your usual moisturiser.

Get More Sleep

Getting more sleep is vital for healthy skin as this helps your skin to restore and repair. Anti-ageing activity also happens while you sleep.

According to a recent study sleeping for only six hours a night for a few days increases the appearance of wrinkles.

To improve the quality of your sleep make sure you have a relaxing bedtime routine to encourage your body to unwind. Turn off all your devices and sip a soothing cup of herbal tea. Take a warm bath or do some gentle yoga and breathing exercises to encourage your body into sleep mode.

Keep Your Phone Clean

Keep your phone clean. What does that have to do with skincare I hear you ask? Dirt and bacteria can build up on your phone and transfer to your face leading to breakouts.

I have read some statistics that your phone has more bacteria than a toilet handle. Whether this is true or not, it is good hygiene practice to clean your devices regularly.

Drink More Water 

Drink more water to help rid your body and skin of toxins. There is no consensus that drinking water can improve skin but it can’t hurt and drinking an adequate amount of water daily is important for overall health because it aids circulation and digestion.

You can include tea and coffee in your count. You can also hydrate with water-rich foods like watermelon, strawberries, celery and even soup.  

Do More Walking

Do more walking. It is one of the easiest and most economical forms of exercise available.

Walking offers many skin benefits as it improves blood circulation to give you a healthy glow, balances hormones and offers anti-ageing benefits.

There are many additional benefits to walking. Being outdoors during daylight stimulates the production of serotonin and cortisol. These substances play a vital role in determining our physical and mental health. Insufficient levels of serotonin can result in depression, lack of energy and sleep problems. This can be more of a problem in winter when the number of daylight hours are reduced but even a brisk ten minute walk during your lunch break can make all the difference.