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7. Should You Consider Skin Fasting?

Dermatologist Dr. Pallavi Sule shares with GlobalSpa how important skin fasting really is.

While we’re at home, how about a little skin detox? Coined as skin fasting, here’s all you need to know about this amazing tip.

Dr. Pallavi Sule, Dermatologist, and Aesthetic Physician shed some light on the concept saying, "Skin fasting is a concept where one stops application of one of the skincare products mostly the night cream for one or two nights. This helps the skin to recover from the weekend process of production of natural oils etc. It is in a way detox for the skin. At the same time, the skin does not need a detox from all the products. Another way to look at skin fasting is to stop applying a particular product which does not suit your skin in that particular season (weather changes)".

SKIN FASTING FOR DIFFERENT SKIN TYPES

Different skin types have different skincare regimes. “One must never try to stop everything and leave the skin to breathe. This is because there are certain products that skin needs and we must not deprive our skin of them. For example, dry skin needs moisturizer, skin that gets tanned easily needs sunscreen and so on.”

Skincare has to be in sync with the natural structured skin pattern in order to produce the right amount of sebum and allow the exchange of substances via the skin. Application of different products on the skin reduces the skin porosity resulting in blockage of pores which leads to inhibition of skin's ability to breathe.

“I would look at it this way: sometimes application of skincare products masks the underlying pathology. For example, if anyone is suffering from dehydrated skin which means the internal moisture is less; we need to take care of the water intake. Improving the water intake to optimal levels helps recover skin from dehydrating, replenishing the water content in the skin cells and hence reducing the need for heavy moisturizers!”

SIDE EFFECTS

A dermatologist is the best person to judge the skin and set up a skincare regime for you. “Optimizing the use of skincare products is necessary. Hence if one is not following a good regime or we observe any overuse of products, we suggest a skin fasting from that product and not the whole regime.”

“If anyone has a good regime and the skin is flawless and glowing, I would say abstinence from all the skincare products is not worth it. Skin fasting will be missing out on important ingredients of your daily care routine.”

SO SHOULD WE CONSIDER SKIN FASTING?

“I would definitely suggest skin fasting in a manner that the skin changes its needs according to seasons. Hence if one of the products does not suit you for that season I would stop it and reintroduce after some time.”

So that’s that! Much like your body needs that detox, give your skin the same replenish.

Disclaimer: This article is authored by Dr. Pallavi Sule - Dermatologist and Aesthetic Physician. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not represent those of GlobalSpa.