W L
WELLBEING
DO YOU TAKE TIME TO DETOX...?
By Alison Quinn
After being home for so long this year, a few weeks into
lockdown I felt that I really let my routine fall to the wayside,
every day seemed to blend into the next without the welcome
punctuation of work and my lovely friends and clients, things
started to seem quite dull.
Yes I still got up, got dressed and worked online everyday, but being
at home not able to work, I personally found, it was very different
than the norm! So to inject a spark into the sedentary, sluggish
feeling that was creeping up as lockdown continued for more
weeks I decided that I needed to look after one very important
thing, my skin! I usually have a simple, toxin and cruelty free, lowmaintenance
skincare routine, it keeps my skin bright and clear,
so I decided to up my game now that I had a little more time on
my hands, and really focus on ME and what I needed, mentally,
physically and emotionally. When I was able to see people again
for a coffee and a catch up, everyone commented on how glowing
my skin was, and how well I looked! I was so delighted, I decided
that I needed to share this feeling as it was so easy to achieve with
my selection of Super Serums and masks, so at the end of July a
small cohort of friends and clients embarked on a ‘5 Day Skin
Detox Challenge’ a culmination of what I’d been focussing on the
previous months that had really made me shine from within.
The idea of the challenge was to focus on introducing one simple
thing each day, implement it and log how you felt about it. We
focussed on ourselves for just 15-20 minutes a day, to cleanse
and nourish our skin, morning and evening, to take the day off
before bed and to invigorate ourselves when we woke up ready for
the day ahead, then we added little tasks each day to keep it each
so achieve. Now that might sound like a strange suggestion for
something we all do each day, washing our faces, but I always find
that for busy working women and mums, as you ladies know, you
literally might not get even 10 minutes a day to focus on yourself.
How many times a day do you find you have done simple things
on automatic pilot? Spending a little time consciously focussing on
yourself each day makes a massive difference to how you feel, how
you look, which again helps how you feel about yourself, your self
confidence, self worth etc. If you feel better about yourself you are
happier and more content. So THAT was the challenge really. To
focus on YOU!
Some of the tasks we added each day were:
To get at least eight hours of sleep - First and foremost, you
should understand that sleep is the time when your body repairs
itself. This is true for your epidermis as much as it is for your brain
or your muscles. During sleep, your skin’s blood flow increases,
rebuilds its collagen and repairs damage from UV exposure,
reducing wrinkles and age spots.
Drink at least 8 glasses of water - If your skin is not getting
sufficient water, the lack of hydration will show itself by turning
your skin dry, tight & flaky. Dry skin has less resilience and is more
prone to wrinkling which is exactly what we are trying to avoid.
Your body depends on water to survive. Every cell, tissue, and
organ in your body needs water to work properly. For example,
your body uses water to maintain its temperature, remove waste,
and lubricate your joints. Water is needed for overall good health,
but sometimes its the last thing on our busy mind to grab that
bottle and drink, so find something that works for you!
Switch off occasionally - It's difficult to let ourselves have some
down time and recharge our batteries. As Thomas Moore, author
of Care of the Soul, says, "We seem to have a complex about
busyness in our culture. Most of us do have time in our days that
we could devote to simple relaxation, but we convince ourselves
that we don't."It can feel like there is always something that you
need to do or someone that needs your support. "Unfortunately,"
Moore says, "we don't get a lot of support in this culture for doing
nothing. If we aren't accomplishing something, we feel that we're
wasting time." For me switching off is essential so we must support
and encourage each other to do "nothing", to find some time for
some self-care, to re-charge your batteries, whatever that looks like
for you. You deserve it and you'll be more productive for it!
At the end of the week we compared how we felt and how our skin
looked at the end of the week compared to the beginning, everyone
who took part was delighted to see a marked improvement in the
skin and in how they felt themselves, it was lovely to share how I
felt with others, knowing it in turn made them feel more positive
and happy. If you would like to join in our next ‘5 Day Skin Detox
Challenge’ please drop me a message at [email protected]
66 wirrallife.com