5 Easy Wellness Habits To Add To Your Skincare Routine

Guest Post By Thalia-Maria Tourikis

PSA: Your skincare routine doesn’t need to be expensive to be effective. It also doesn’t need to look like applying numerous products and creams to your face daily. 

While using high-quality skincare products can be important, your routine can be as simple as drinking 2 liters of water a day or getting between 7-9 hours of sleep a night.

Achieving good skin health is affordable and within reach. Here are 5 essential wellness habits to add to your daily skincare routine ASAP.

Benefits Of Practicing Wellness On Skin Health

Wellness is all about moving towards a healthier lifestyle. A lifestyle that positively impacts your physical health, both inside and out.

This essentially means that wellness is intrinsically linked to skin health, and understanding this connection is crucial. The skin, your body’s largest organ, is what protects you from external factors. 

Think of it as the first barrier of defense. It shields you from environmental stressors and serves as a warning system for potential dangers. When your skin is under attack, this also has the potential to threaten your physical wellness and vice versa.

If you eat a poor diet or don’t get enough sleep, then you are also causing problems with the health of your skin.

But if you actively prioritize your wellness, you are ultimately supporting long-term skin health and other benefits, including:

• Clearer and healthier-looking skin
• Protection against environmental stressors
• Maintained a healthy and youthful glow
• Reduced inflammation and risk of chronic skin conditions
• Prevention against breakouts
• Boosted confidence and well-being

Ever wondered how to glow up? These 5 wellness habits can provide you with just that!

5 Wellness Habits To Add To Your Skincare Routine

Drink 2 Litres Of Water Per Day

One of the simplest and most affordable daily wellness habits for healthier skin is to stay hydrated. It’s a must for everyone.

Water is essential for keeping the skin’s moisture in balance and flushing out any impurities or toxins.

It also helps you to maintain a clear complexion and boost your skin’s natural glow. When you’re hydrated, your skin is less likely to become dry and break out.

To incorporate this habit into your daily skincare routine, aim to drink 2 liters of water a day.

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

• Set a reminder to prompt you into taking a “drench” break
• Track your water intake
• Use a reusable water bottle (bonus points if it has motivational pointers on it)
• Take your water bottle everywhere you go
• Drink more coconut water

Eat A Balanced Diet

Good nutrition supports all aspects of your life, from boosting energy levels and immunity to supporting long-term skin health. What you put inside your body can have a serious knock-on effect on your skin.

Foods that are overly processed (fried food, processed meats, etc.), high in sugar, and full of refined carbs (cookies, cakes, etc.) are known to damage the quality of skin tissue and destroy collagen, which can lead to wrinkles, premature aging, inflammation, and breakouts.

Eating a well-balanced diet rich in REAL food like fruit, vegetables, and good-quality meat can provide your skin with essential nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, minerals, and antioxidants so it can thrive.

These nutrients help repair and protect collagen as well as rejuvenate skin, reducing the appearance of spots, fine lines, and redness.

To add this wellness habit into your skincare routine, eat nutritious meals that include:

• Vegetables and dark leafy greens (think broccoli, spinach, kale, etc.)
• Fruits, including ALL the berries and ones high in citrus
• Bone broth, wild fish, grass-fed meat and free-range chicken
• Healthy fats (think coconut oil, grass-fed butter and nuts)
• Zinc-rich foods such as yogurt, lamb, chia seeds, and chicken

Side note: I’m not saying you can never enjoy pizza or fries again because YOLO you want to enjoy life. However, it is essential to be aware of what foods can negatively impact your skin.

Think about keeping a food diary and making a note of how your skin feels and looks every morning to establish if certain foods are making you break out in blemishes, spots, or redness.

Get Between 7-9 Hours Of Sleep A Night

There’s a reason why we call it beauty sleep.

Getting enough sleep each night is not only essential for your well-being so you can avoid morning grogginess, but it also boosts skin health and allows you to wake up without any dark circles under the eyes.

During sleep, your body has the time it needs to properly recover and heal itself from daily external environment factors. Production of the growth hormone is increased, helping to repair skin cells, prevent further damage, and boost collagen. (Patient, 2022)

It is recommended that adults need between 7-9 hours of good quality sleep a night. And take it from someone who gets a solid 8 hours every day that IT IS possible.

The key to preparing your mind and body for rest is to create a relaxing sleep environment and dedicate time to an evening routine.

This might look like:

• Going screen-free at least 1 hour before bed
• Stretching
• Listening to calming music
• Dimming the artificial lights and using candles
• Sleeping in a dark room and wearing a silk eye mask for its anti-aging properties

Practice Mindfulness

Stress can wreak havoc on your skin.

When you’re stressed out, your body releases stress hormones like cortisol, which can lead to inflammation and breakouts.

And thanks to busy schedules, long daily to-do lists, and the general demands of everyday life, we’re constantly stressed out. Which basically means our skin is stressed out, too.

That’s where mindfulness comes in.

Practicing mindfulness promotes relaxation and helps you to prioritize your needs and well-being over everyone else’s so you can find a moment of calm in a busy world.

When you feel less stressed, your body reduces cortisol levels, which in turn helps to keep skin inflammation at bay. You’ll also find that by practicing mindfulness, you’ll have more energy to dedicate time to your skincare routine, which is basically a win-win.

To incorporate mindfulness into your daily skincare routine, I suggest starting small.

Choose your ideal activity and commit to just 3-10 mins a day:

• Build a mindful morning routine
• Meditate
• Take a break after completing a task or work meeting
• Do a yoga flow
• Try the 54321 grounding method

Move Your Body Daily

Daily exercise keeps you healthy – both mentally and physically.

It gets your body moving, improves energy, boosts mood, reduces stress, and promotes healthy skin.

When you exercise, the body increases blood flow to the skin, nourishing its cells with oxygen and vital nutrients, leaving it feeling and looking rejuvenated.

Plus, when you sweat, you’re flushing out any impurities embedded in your skin (dirt and makeup) and unclogging your pores, helping to prevent potential breakouts.

To incorporate this wellness habit into your daily skincare routine, aim to move your body for at least 150 minutes per week.

But before you do, I want to emphasize that exercise doesn’t need to look like slaving away at the gym at 5 a.m. every day or powering through a sweaty HIIT class.

It can be easy and fun!

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

• Find activities you actually enjoy (your exercise routine doesn’t need to look like everyone else’s)
• Create a consistent schedule and exercise at the same time each day
• Commit to just 20-mins a day
• Workout with a friend or find an accountability partner
• Track your progress

Final Thoughts On Wellness Habits

Taking care of your skin is a wellness habit within itself.

The more you give your skin the nourishment and hydration it needs, the better it will look and feel, boosting your overall health and well-being.

And despite popular belief, your skincare routine doesn’t need to be overly long or expensive to be effective.

You can boost and maintain daily skin health by adopting these simple wellness habits:

• Drinking 2 litres of water a day
• Eating a well-balanced diet
• Getting between 7-9 hours of sleep a night
• Practicing mindfulness
• Moving your body daily

Because wellness is holistic, each one of the above practices doesn’t just positively impact your skin but also supports overall well-being. And for that reason, adding these simple wellness habits to your skincare routine just makes sense!