Suffering from dull, tired looking skin? Unfortunately, permanent highlighters don’t exist (yet) but the good news is that there are plenty of other dermatologist-approved beauty tips that can help you wake up to naturally glowing skin each and every day.
If you’re looking to get naturally plump and gorgeous skin (hey, who isn’t?), then we’ve done the hard work for you, slathering our cheeks in butter, drinking more water than we thought physically possible, and sleeping on our backs even when we were desperate to roll over, to arrive at this; our all-in-one guide to maintaining plump, glowing skin naturally.
Use A Natural Exfoliant A Couple Times A Week
Chemical exfoliants have been growing in popularity in recent years, but the thought does seem a little off-putting at first. When you hear ‘chemical’, does your mind also automatically picture the green and blue fizzing liquids that you’d mess around with back in your chemistry class? Imagine putting that on your face.
In fact, these chemical exfoliants essentially sit on your skin and gently remove the dead skin cells without you having to scrub at your skin. Look out for exfoliants with AHA’s and BHA’s (alpha and beta hydroxy acids) that are the most popular and effective forms of chemical exfoliants. Just be careful not to use exfoliators – start off slowly and build up your skin’s tolerance to exfoliate up to 2-3 times a week.
If you’re new to chemical exfoliants or have super sensitive skin, you can try PHA (polyhydroxy acids) that are slightly milder exfoliants.
That said, we said ‘maintaining plump, glowing skin naturally’ in the title, and it would certainly be a stretch to call chemical exfoliants ‘natural’.
If you’d like a true-natural exfoliant, rest assured; you can make one at home. Ingredients you’ll have around the house that are popular to use include caster sugar, ground coffee, ground cinnamon, finely ground salt, and baking soda. Check out our tips on natural remedies for glowing skin for more advice on the subject.
Wash Twice Daily – Without Fail
Think about all the different surfaces your hands touch each day (or even each hour). Regardless of whether you have dry or oily skin, the skin on your face is exposed to pollutants, UV, dirt, sweat and make-up not to mention all the microbes that are sitting on your skin all day.
Having all those pathogens festering on your face can cause a variety of skin issues, from acne to inflammation, uneven skin tone and blocked pores. Washing your face not only keeps your skin feeling fresh and clean, removing the dirt and grime that has accumulated throughout the day, but it also helps your skincare routine penetrate deeper, helping you get better, more effective results.
Additionally, applying skincare products to a damp face, as opposed to a dry face, can also help lock in an extra layer of moisture and allows your skincare to work faster as well keeping it looking naturally plump and healthy.
Add A Vegan Collagen Supplement To Your Routine
The last couple of points have focused on helping the uppermost layers of your skin with topical treatments, your glowing skin strategy should ideally have a holistic, multi-pronged approach where you target your skin from the inside out.
One potential way to add an extra veneer of radiance is by adding a collagen supplement to your routine. Vegan collagen supplements are packed with plant-based superfoods to help you build and protect collagen, nourish your skin with vitamins and minerals and provide a generous helping of antioxidants that could neutralise free radicals and physically brighten your skin.
Collagen is produced in the body and is its most plentiful protein, making up a full third of the body’s protein composition and a massive 80% of your skin. Collagen lends structure to the body, especially to bones, ligaments, tendons and the skin.
As we get older, our bodies produce less quality collagen over time, which is why we begin to notice a deterioration of the skin (lines and wrinkles), the nails (becoming thin, yellow, or brittle), and the joints (hello, weird aches!). Collagen is also damaged by environmental factors such as sunlight exposure, smoking, and poor nutrition, with processed foods particularly detrimental.
And whilst you can enjoy a collagen-rich diet, as Dr Bradley at the Cleveland Clinic advises ‘’As you age…your body may no longer absorb nutrients as well or synthesize them as efficiently. To make sure your body has enough ingredients to make collagen, you may need to change what you eat or take dietary supplements.’’
This is why supplements may be beneficial to our skincare routines, particularly as we get older.
Read: How to get more collagen in your diet
Focus On Hydration
Be it internally or externally, making sure your skin is hydrated is key to maintaining plump and glowing skin. Your skin cells are surrounded by collagen and hyaluronic acid – and at least 60% of these molecules are made up of water. So, ensuring you are drinking enough water will plump up these molecules (think of a balloon being filled with water) and essentially push your skin cells out, helping you don that naturally glowing, plump and healthy complexion.
You can enhance your skin’s hydration even further by using skincare products with hyaluronic acid and aloe vera. Hyaluronic acid can help the uppermost layers of your skin absorb water from your moisturisers, serums and even the environment while aloe vera deeply nourishes and soothes your skin, keeping it plump and hydrated.
But that’s not all; drinking plenty of water also supports your kidneys in flushing out toxins, leading to better overall health and, accordingly, a brighter, perkier complexion.
Get Enough Sleep
They say the best things in life are free and this could not be more true for sleep. Other than feeling like a brand-new human after a good night’s rest, catching enough sleep can help your skin tremendously. Your skin mainly works to defend itself against environmental and physical stressors during the day (pollution and microbes – we’re looking at you).
But at night when you’re resting, the blood supply to the skin increases and this is when your skin repairs any marks or scars, builds new skin cells and collagen and essentially rejuvenates itself. When you don’t get enough sleep, your skin doesn’t get the opportunity to repair itself, causing it to look dull. So make sure you’re getting at least 8 hours of shut eye (and that’s 8 hours of sleep not 8 hours in bed, 2 of which are spent mindlessly scrolling through social media).
On the subject of catching those all-important Zzzeds, do check out these smart ways to make your sleep deeper and more restful. You won’t regret it!
