Is It Time For A Detox?

A Skin Detox May Be Just What You Need

Everyone is detoxing all aspects of their life. You hear about people doing juicing cleanses to detox their systems and relationship detoxes to get things on a healthy track. You even hear about people purging their friend lists to detox their social media.

But what about a skin detox? Is that even a thing? Your skin is the largest organ of your body, shouldn’t it get in on the detoxing trend too?

It 100% can! Skin detoxing is a thing. In this article, we are going to lay down the whats, the hows, and the shoulds of detoxifying your skin.

What Does it Mean to Detox?

Detox literally means to “rid the body of toxic or unhealthy substances.” When it is used in terms of skincare, it means that you are getting rid of all the things that your skin can accumulate like:

• Dirt
• Sweat
• Dead Skin Cells
• Sebum
• Pollution
• Free Radicals

All of these impurities can clog up your pores which can lead to breakouts or acne. The free radicals and the pollution can also be damaging to the skin and cause premature aging.

While outside, the biggest danger to the skin is harmful UV rays, but pollution can also cause some nasty effects. Diesel exhaust and soot are the two biggest offenders to your skin’s healthy glow. They contain polyaromatic hydrocarbons which bind to the cell receptors on your skin. This stresses your skin and activates wrinkles, inflammation, and uneven pigmentation.

Besides pollution, there are a few other toxins that can accumulate in your skin. Cigarette smoke and the chemicals in some of your makeup products and sunscreens can also lead to pore congestion.

Do I Need to Detox?

All the products out there with detox on the label can leave you feeling confused. Do you actually need all of these products? Probably not.

According to dermatologists, the best way to rid your skin of all the pollution that it accumulates during the day is to wash it at night. The cleanser you choose is important though. Creamy cleansers are great for keeping your skin more moisturized, but the foaming cleansers tend to remove the nanoparticles of pollution better. If your skin is too dry to handle the foam, use the creamier cleanser with a cleansing brush. It will help get all the day’s gunk out of your pores.

That being said, if you haven’t been diligent with washing your face day after day, it is possible that you have a bit of buildup in your skin, and it may need a little bit of help to get it back to square one.

Related: The Truth About Apple Cider Vinegar

How Do I Know When I Should Detox?

Just like any other part of your body, your skin will attempt to communicate the need for a detox. There are a few signs that you should be on the lookout for, things like:

• Sudden skin changes. If your skin is suddenly really dry or really oily, it could be time to give it a good cleanse. This is especially true if there aren’t any new environmental factors that could be the cause.
• New breakouts. There are a lot of reasons why your skin may be breaking out, some of them are hormonal. However, if your normally clear skin is now always breaking out and covered in blackheads, you may need to clean out your pores.
• Dull skin. Last week your skin had a lovely youthful glow, then suddenly this week it is looking dull. It is probably time for a deep cleansing.

There is no hard and fast rule for how often you need to give your skin a deep, detoxifying cleanse. Some people like to do it at regular intervals, and others wait until their skin is crying out for help.

How to Give Your Skin a Thorough Detox

If you are ready to give your skin a good deep and nourishing cleanse, you need to dedicate a little time and effort to the cause. You will be removing all kinds of nasty stuff from your pores, and at the end, you should have a revitalized and beautiful glow.

Step 1: The Facial

A professional facial can really give your pores a deep cleansing treatment. It is much more thorough than what you can do at home by yourself. Plus, it is very relaxing when you sit back and enjoy all of those facial massages. A good way to get a great facial if you can’t handle the expense is to find a local training facility. Places like the Aveda institute offer highly discounted facials in order to help their students train. Another option is for you and a friend to give each other facials. It may take a few youtube tutorials and a skincare product shopping trip, but it can be a fun way to spend a girl’s night. It may take a few youtube tutorials and a skincare product shopping trip, but it can be a fun way to spend a girl’s night.

However you choose to get your facial, it is the best way to start your skin detox because it gives you a very clean starting point.

Step 2: Daily Cleansing

Hopefully, you are already in the habit of keeping your skin clean, but if you aren’t this weeklong detox should put you in the habit. You will want to develop a cleansing routine in the mornings and in the evenings. Your day and night routines may not (and probably shouldn’t) be the same.

For example, those that have skin on the drier side should probably use an oil-based cleanser in the morning and then a gentle foam cleanser at night. People with oilier skin or those prone to breakouts might want to stick to a water-based cleanser for both the day and night cleanings.

Related: 10 Steps to a Flawless Face

Step 3: Steaming

During your detox week, you will want to add a steam session to one of your daily cleansings. Steam will open up the pores of your face and allow your cleansing products to extract a lot of the toxins and grime lurking inside.

Boil a pot of water, and carefully pour it into a large bowl. You will want to sit with your face directly in the steam from the boiling water with a towel draped over your head. The towel will keep the steam concentrated on your face instead of dissipating into the air. Allow for about ten minutes of steaming time per day.

Step 4: Mud Masks

Masks with mud or clay in their formulas actually have the power to draw out a lot of the impurities from the upper layers of your skin. You should use a mud mask every other day of your detoxifying week for the best benefits.

In the past, you may have left your mud masks on until they harden and crack. However, skin care experts warn that this is actually not a good practice. Keeping the masks on this long will actually deplete your skins nourishing oils. The best practice is to remove the mask when it is still a bit soft. Don’t wait until you can’t even move without feeling the pull.

There are a ton of mud masks on the market. You may even have a few in your medicine cabinet right now, but if you are looking to go with a DIY method, you can find an abundance of recipes online.

Related: Face Mask Showdown: Sheet Masks vs. Mud Masks

Step 5: Hydration

Your regular skincare routine should include plenty of hydration. All types of skin can benefit from good quality serums and moisturizers. During the day, your routine should look like: cleanser, serum, moisturizer, sunscreen. In the evenings it should be cleanser, serum, night moisturizer.

During your detox cleanse, you will want to add an extra step to your hydrating routine. A facial oil should be used at least twice during your detox. A good quality oil won’t clog your pores even if you have oily skin. If your skin is dry, you may also want to add a hydrating mask into the mix at least twice.

Going From the Inside to the Outside

Trying to do a skin detox week will work all the better if you also control what you are putting inside your body. For the absolute best results, you should drink only water for the entire week. Obviously, that isn’t going to fly with a lot of people. Coffee is truly life for many of us. So, if you can’t stick to only H2O, make sure you are at least getting the required amount of ounces for maintaining healthy hydration. That means you need to drink an 8-ounce glass of water eight times per day.

What you are drinking isn’t the only thing that matters. The diet that you are eating every day can also impact your complexion. There are many foods that act as dehydrators, and there are others that can cause you to have inflammatory reactions. Here are a few diet tips on what is good and bad to eat while detoxifying your skin.

Foods That Are Good For Your Skin

• Olive Oil
• Tomatoes
• Dark Chocolate
• Oatmeal
• Sardines
• Green Tea
• Kale
• Walnuts
• Rosemary
• Almond Milk
• Soy
• Oysters
• Yellow Bell Peppers
• Kiwi
• Pumpkin
• Sunflower Seeds
• Chickpeas

Foods to Stay Away From

• White Bread
• Processed Sugar
• Alcohol
• Salt
• Hot Sauce
• Soda
• Caffeine

General Changes You Can Make

The toxins and pollutants that your skin gains from the environment are hard to combat. Sure, you could move out to the country or barricade yourself indoors for the rest of your life, but those aren’t always practical moves. There are some general lifestyle changes that you can make, however.  to keep your skin from needing to detox quite so often.

The chemicals inside your makeup products don’t simply sit on top of your skin until you wash them away in the evening. A lot of them can penetrate your skin’s layers and clog up your pores. In order to keep this from happening, you can be more aware of what is inside the products you are putting on your face. Don’t rely on labels like “natural” either. That is basically a marketing word and doesn’t actually come with any guidelines. Read the labels to help you make the best choices. You also want to be on the lookout for products that contain excessive oils or oils that aren’t really beneficial. Some moisturizers like shea butter can be great for your body but are a little too heavy for your face. It is better to stick to the less pore-clogging options like jojoba or rosehip.

There are a lot of lifestyle activities that can lead to clogged pores: airplane travel, gardening, baking, and smoking just to name a few. If you are a smoker, you should think about quitting for your skin’s sake and for your overall health. Your doctor can help build a cessation plan so you can kick the habit. Gardening and baking can get small particles of dirt or flour into your pores, but a good cleansing habit will help protect you from those. Airline travel brings a whole lot or recycled air, the best thing to do is shower as soon as possible and give your skin a good exfoliating scrub.

Finally, stress can be an absolute skin wrecker (not to mention all its other negative effects.) Spend as much time busting your stress as you can whether that means doing yoga, reading books, or going for a hike. Whatever you can do to keep your stress levels at a minimum should be a priority for your skin and for your life.

Toxin Free Skin Can Be Yours

While there may be a lot of hype around the word “detox,” the principles of thorough skin cleansing are solid. You only get the one skin to live in, might as well make it as beautiful and as healthy as possible. Regular detoxifying sessions can be a good choice if you know what ingredients are inside the products you are using. Remember that you can’t always trust advertising jargon, and you need to check the ingredients on the labels.

Be conscious of what you put into your body and onto your skin while washing away the pollutants you accumulate in your everyday life, and you can have the healthy glow you always desired.

More Great Clear Skin Detox Resources:

What Does it Mean to Truly Detoxify Your Skin?

26 WATER DETOX RECIPES FOR WEIGHT LOSS AND CLEAR SKIN

Foods to Eat (and Skip) to Get Healthy, Glowing Skin—from the Inside Out