You might have tried fasting to detox your body, but did you know fasting can do wonders for your skin too?
Yep, skin fasting is essentially when you forgo skin care products and excessive cleansing to strengthen its protective barrier and normalize the secretion of natural oils.
Want to learn more about this beauty technique? Here’s everything you need to know.
What is it?
“Skin fasting is a New Age technique where a person avoids every kind of skin care product like lotion, toner, and serum. The duration for skin fasting varies from one person to another because everyone has different skin types – oily, dry, or normal,” says Dr. Alka, an Ayurveda specialist. On its own, your skin produces a natural oil called sebum, which works to counteract moisture loss. With too much artificial moisturizer, aka all those beauty products in your cabinet, you’re training your skin to stop producing its natural oils. Therefore, skin fasting is rooted in the idea that you must allow your skin to “breathe.”
How do you do it?
Skin fasting is basically ridding your skin of any and all kinds of product. This means no cleansers, toner, serums, moisturizers, or makeup for the duration of your skin fasting process. By eliminating these products for a period of time, your skin can heal and return to its natural state. Then, you can slowly re-introduce products to figure out what works best for your skin.
What are the benefits?
In the process of skin fasting, you’re protecting yourself from dryness and external factors like UV rays, air pollution, and harsh temperatures, whereas excessive beauty products actually strip your skin of its ability to renew skin cells. Weakened skin leads to wrinkles, dark spots, sagging, and aging, so eliminating skin care products for a period of time helps your skin begin making its own natural oils again, leaving your skin revitalized and vibrant. It can even help clear up acne and eczema.
Are there side effects?
“Skin fasting helps in rebooting the skin naturally. However, if someone has any kind of skin problem or is using any medicated products for their skin, they should ask their physician first,” says Dr. Alka. Other side effects of skin fasting in the first few days can include dry or oily skin patches, but as your skin begins to neutralize, its natural maintenance system will kick in.
Not sure why you’re dealing with itchy and irritated skin? Here are five common causes of skin chafing (and how to fix it).
xx, The FabFitFun Team
