Many factors can contribute to dull skin. If you find yourself having a serious case of the blahs about your lackluster skin, don’t fret! We know exactly how you feel and are going to reveal what causes dull skin and give you a step-by-step guide on how to treat it.
What Is the Root Cause of Dull Skin?
As your body’s largest organ, your skin is bound to require some serious maintenance. Aside from the day-to-day wear and tear your skin takes, several other components factor in how your skin performs. Think of a flower: it thrives in the right environment, hydration, and some sunlight.
If you think of your skin as it relates to that analogy, it goes without saying that you’re in for some maintenance, and that’s perfectly ok! It’s all about knowing how to manage the situation and prevent dull skin from happening in the first place.
Quench Your Skin's Thirst
Your skin requires plenty of water to keep it hydrated, and we don’t just mean the spray of water from your daily shower. Drinking enough water can help give your skin a boost from the inside out. When you’re not drinking enough water, your skin can appear more harsh than necessary.
In a desert, you can see every crack and crevice because of its lack of water. Wrinkles and fine lines can appear more prominent when your skin lacks the proper amount of hydration. Dry skin can come from dry climates, hot showers, lack of enough moisturizer, and even the air indoors.
Not only can drinking enough water help keep your skin supple, but making sure to apply moisturizer can also prevent it from becoming dry and dull. You may even want to do so more than once a day depending on the climate you live in or the time of year. Any time the weather is dry or cold you can see a noticeable difference in your skin.
Dead Skin Is Not In
The way your skin sheds dead skin is not always a perfect process. If they don’t shed in a timely manner, it causes a backup, and the dead cells tend to pile on top of one another creating a dull appearance. Flakey is a word you want to be associated with your favorite biscuit, not your skin.
Sometimes your skin needs your help. Exfoliation is an important process and you can count on us to have you covered when it comes to the process.
Aging
We cannot control the fact that we will inevitably age. What we can control is a skincare routine that can hydrate and nourish our skin to the best of our ability.
A diet rich in nutritional food full of antioxidants, a great skincare routine, and plenty of water can go a long way in helping our body have the tools it needs to keep our skin looking healthy as we age.
Tobacco Is a No
When it comes to speeding up the aging process, studies have shown that smoking can degrade the connective tissue in your skin, break down the elastic fibers, and impair how collagen is produced. This heavily influences how your skin appears.
The combination of chemicals such as nicotine, and others, and behaviors adapted while smoking such, can cause premature aging and contribute to unwanted wrinkles.
How To Tackle Dull Skin
Your skin doesn’t begin and end with one specific body part. While it’s true your face is a sensitive place and has its own skincare routine, the rest of your body needs to be taken care of as well.
Gentle Is Best
Whether you are looking for a skincare routine for your face, or one for the rest of your body, gentle is best. Body wash or wash for your face should nurture your skin in a natural way. You want ingredients that are free of harsh chemicals and can work with your skin’s natural barrier.
Soaps that are drying and harsh scrubs can really do a number on your skin. It can cause flaky skin, tightness, redness, tiny tears in your skin, and overall irritation. Gentle cleansers can remove dirt and makeup without damaging or stripping the outer layer of your skin.
Lukewarm Water
Hot water can be very drying to your skin and strip it of its natural oils. A gentle routine includes cleansers free of harsh chemicals and ingredients and making the switch from hot water to lukewarm or cool.
Get Rid of Those Dead Skin Cells
We told you that we would dedicate an entire section to exfoliation! It’s that important. If there were ever a key to that ethereal glow we all crave, its exfoliation.
To circle back, dead skin sitting on the surface of your skin is a traffic jam you don’t need or want. It’s preventing all those gorgeous new cells from surfacing.
Exfoliation on a regular basis is the preventative holy grail. If you want to even out your skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines, and keep your skin looking in tip-top shape, you have to incorporate exfoliation in your routine. Before you even consider moisturizing a spot on your body, you really want a fresh layer of skin revealed to apply it on.
Exfoliation can be done chemically or physically.
- Chemical exfoliation is done with certain types of acids that break down the dead skin and allow it to peel or slough off. These can include citric acids, lactic, alpha-hydroxy acids, or beta hydroxy acids.
- Physical exfoliation can include sponges, gloves, scrubs, or brushes.
With regular exfoliation, you can expect healthier skin as it stimulates collagen production and helps your body increase its cell turnover.
Keep Your Eye on The Prize and Moisturize
After all the hard work of cleansing, exfoliating, and preparing your fresh new skin cells, they need moisture! With the right products, your skin will thank you. If you want to help protect your skin and repair it at the same time, moisturize.
Did we mention the importance of moisturizing? All jokes aside, focusing on locking in any moisture onto your skin is key in offering your skin the most supportive environment to look its best.
We can’t discuss moisturizing without making sure you know to incorporate sunscreen into your plan of action. Protecting your fresh new skin from the sun’s damaging rays is imperative.
Helpful Best Practices
If you really think about it, there are a lot of ways we can take better care of ourselves, and our skin. It is easy to get so caught up with life that we forget that the little corners we cut can result in challenges we don’t want in the long run.
We are totally guilty of getting complacent when it comes to self-care. Here are a few other things that go a long way in the health of our bodies.
Exercise
If you have ever felt sluggish from lack of exercise, it’s with good reason. It feels like everything in your body kind of slows down. After you exercise, have you ever noticed that glow you get? Your heart is pumping, which gets your blood flowing and it is carrying much-needed oxygen and nutrients to all the right places.
Exercise can help you reduce your stress levels and feel like your best self. All of these things can help you maintain your fresh new glow.
Nutritious Diet
It’s time to load yourself up with vitamin-rich food. If you are interested in changing your skin, it may just be from the inside out as well. We already know how important it is to get plenty of water, but adding fruits and vegetables to your diet can also provide much-needed nutrients and antioxidants that help your cells stay protected and healthy.
You can incorporate your new love of fruits and veg into breakfast smoothies, green bowls for lunch, or even snacks and healthy sides throughout your day.
Humidity Can Help
We aren’t saying you need to convert your house into sweltering jungle humidity, but some extra moisture in the air can work wonders for your skin. Dry climate, harsh winters, and other environmental factors can make it feel like the moisture is sucked directly out of your skin. A humidifier is an inexpensive gem that can help add moisture back to the air and your skin.
Dull Skin Be Gone
As you can see, dull skin is not just the result of one thing. The good news is that there are plenty of things you can do to influence how your skin feels and looks. By incorporating our guide into your daily routine, coupled with the right products your skin will be glowing in no time!
Sources:
Environmental Influences on Skin and Aging|nih.gov
Dull Skin Causes: 9 Steps to Rejuvenate Your Skin|healthline.com
