BODILAB believe that loving your skin is as essential to staying hydrated, eating wholesome foods, maintaining healthy sleep patterns, moving your body or living your best life.
Therefore, in this sense, beauty is intrinsically tied to our overall health and wellness.
Our skin is the window to your body that reveals the stories and journey of your life. From acne breakouts during your teenage years, to the radiant glow of pregnancy and the sunspots of ageing. Both your age and your health are reflected in your skin.
Our skin is the body’s largest organ and has many functions, such as regulating body temperature, maintaining fluid balance, controlling moisture loss, acting as a barrier and shock absorber, recognising pain sensations to alert us to danger, and protects us against the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.
Overall, this makes our skin an ultimate multitasker of the human body. Our skin's primary role is being the first line of defense between our body and the outside world. It tirelessly works to protect us from bacteria, viruses, and pollution and chemical substances that we encounter in the workplace, on the streets and at home.
When healthy, our skin's layers work hard to shield us, but when compromised, the skin's ability to work as an effective barrier is impaired.
Health conditions that affect the way you look and present yourself can sometimes have an emotional impact. Learning to live with and manage these conditions and their symptoms can be an important opportunity towards feeling better both physically and psychologically.
A HOLISTIC APPROACH
A holistic health approach simply means looking at and treating something as a whole and not just certain segments. The underlying notion is that all parts of the body are interrelated and interdependent, meaning that overall health can only be achieved if all the parts are working properly and in harmony.
This also means looking for the cause of the concerns as opposed to simply just treating symptoms. It acknowledges that not only our environment, but also our inner imbalances (physical, emotional, mental) can have serious consequences for our health. We need to take a holistic approach to life in order for balance to be restored and maintained.
In the case of skincare, a holistic approach means that putting a moisturiser on your face is purely not enough. It only treats one part of the skin - the outer layer - and only temporarily. The overall health of our skin depends on so much more than that. It’s merely not enough to treat from the outside only, we must nurture ourselves from the inside as well.
The condition and appearance of your skin depend on many factors. From internal influences such as genetics, ageing, hormones and medical conditions, all of which can affect the skin. External influencers such as sun exposure and washing frequently with water that is too hot can damage skin, some of these factors are beyond your control, but there are external factors that are manageable. An unhealthful diet, stress, lack of sleep, not enough exercise, dehydration, smoking, and certain medications can all impact the skin’s ability to operate as an effective protective barrier.
BODILAB'S 10 ELEMENTS OF HOLISTIC SKINCARE
- Maintain your defenses against sun exposure and environmental pollutants
- Eat your skin beautiful
- Make time for pampering yourself
- Quit smoking
- Exercise and move your body
- Try to stress less
- Water, water, water
- Nourish your skin with the right ingredients
- Pay attention to the signs and changes in your skin and body
- Remember your beauty sleep
THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF CARE
Whether your skin care routine is solely for beauty or other reasons, no matter the purpose, the very act of looking after your skin is comforting and soothing. Mindfulness automatically becomes part of your skincare routine, you are alone in the bathroom, just you and the mirror… a time for contemplation or meditation, just being there, is a time for you.
Any act of skincare can be considered self-care. It doesn’t matter if it’s taking a timeout to do a face mask or adding a dollop of oil to lock in moisture to the skin. By having a set routine, one knows what to expect, and this can be a relief. The more a routine it becomes, the less stress and in the process, you also look and feel great about yourself.
Self-care has many facets, we think that skincare is an easy step to begin to practice much bigger acts of self-care, like finding things that you love to do. Applying your skincare routine is an act of wellness, in the literal sense, as it benefits your skin's health. Holistically this can be seen as a ritual or sacred time.
Self-care can be an initial step to possible improvement in your mental health. Remember, what’s happening on the inside is often showing on the outside. In other words, learn to read the signs your skin and body are sending you. If your skin is dehydrated, don’t just drown it in a moisturising product, up your water intake. If you have dull skin, don’t just rush to get the next glow-promising product, take a look at your diet and whether it provides enough vitamins and nutrients for your body.
As we grow older, the term “me time” resonates with us a lot more than it did in our younger days. Busy schedules and overloaded workloads can increase your chance of becoming burnt out. The most important thing is that we listen to our bodies and our minds, it’s ok to take time to recharge, make time for yourself each week. Get some much-needed personal time. Your skin, your body, your soul will thank you in the long run.
A little more about BODILAB:
BODILAB is Australian owned and established in 2018. The collection brings a distinct focus on eco luxury and quality and is derived from organic and natural ingredients in packaging sourced from eco-friendly suppliers.
Born with the vision to shake up your routine and turn it into an experience to provide overall balance and wellbeing in your life. A healthy glow comes from within; therefore, we want to create an experience which enables you to relax, rejuvenate your mind, body and soul.
To shop BODILAB's range of skincare visit their website https://bodilab.com.au/ and for an exclusive RY Discount, use code RYAUTUMN at checkout for 20% off storewide (Expires 1st October 2020).