Skin Fast Once a Week

What’s a great way to take care of your skin—take a break from your moisturizer—really!

Most of us are familiar with the concept of fasting, and the many benefits achieved by it. In case you don’t know, fasting is abstaining from all food, or sometimes allowing yourself nothing but small amounts of fruit juice or other flavored beverages. Fasting is thought to be beneficial as a preventative measure to increase overall health, vitality and resistance to disease. There are many reasons that fasting is a benefit to one’s health--including the elimination of toxins, repair to damaged organs and contributing to a longer life. This is because the anti-aging growth hormone is produced more efficiently during a fast. In fact, Hippocrates believed fasting enabled the body to heal itself.  With this in mind, it’s logical that the same applies to your skin.

So, what exactly is “skin-fasting?” It’s as simple as sleeping without moisturizer just one night a week!  Our skin has an inherent ability to take care of itself. In fact, it is common for pimples and other skin conditions like eczema to clear up faster when a person fasts. In fact, you may see evidence of toxins leaving your body in the form of a blemish. The purpose of skin-fasting is to strengthen the skin’s natural protective barrier that is weakened by excessive cleansing (particularly with synthetic ingredients) or excessive nourishing, to normalize the secretion of natural oils and support the natural rejuvenation process. This natural barrier protects your skin not only from dryness, but also from any other outside stressors, like UV rays, pollution, and cold temperatures. With weakened skin protection, you’ll be more prone to sunspots, wrinkles, sagging or other skin-aging symptoms. You become more dependent on products that provide hydration, as well as oils, skin care aids and makeup. This lessens your skin’s natural maintenance system. Overuse of make-up and moisturizers interrupts the normal skin cell renewal, which occurs every 28 days.

The Japanese have studied the skin’s monthly regeneration and have proved that ‘skin-fasting’ will improve your skin’s condition and detoxify skin impurities. Dry skin is dry on the skin’s surface. The moisture inside the skin becomes dehydrated because there’s not enough protection (natural oils) to keep the moisture inside. With too much added artificial moisturizers, the skin ceases to produce its own natural oils. This leads to even drier skin. 

How to Effectively Skin-Fast

1. Wash your face gently at night. Of course it’s important to clean off make-up, but excessive washing can remove ceramide or the NMF (natural moisture factor) by breaking the natural protective barrier, resulting in dry or sensitive skin.

2. Try sleeping one night a week without any skin care products. This will help strengthen your skin’s recovery power. If you use moisturizer every day, it makes your skin become lazy, because it doesn’t have to produce natural oils on its own. Without moisturizer, the skin will begin to produce natural oils without relying on moisturizer.
3. In the morning, wash your face gently, using only water.  There is no need to use face wash or cleanser. Just use lukewarm water to keep the natural oils on your skin.

4. Skin-fast only once a week. Excessive fasting can cause drier skin, so do it once or twice a week at most. Skin-fasting can be applied to your body, too. Generally the face is more affected because of sun exposure, make-up, and overuse of synthetic skincare and harsh cleansers, but if you usually moisturize your body every day, your skin might be in a lazy mode as well. Why not skin-fast on your body, too?

6. Remember that hydration is key to the health of your skin.  Drink plenty of water, eat healthily and be sure to get enough sleep while you’re skin-fasting. Or even when you’re not!

Skin-Fasting Do’s & Don’ts

• Do make sure that your room has the proper humidity and is not too dry, particularly in the winter.

• Don’t skin-fast if you have atopic skin or any other serious skin condition, or have had a recent chemical peel or face treatment.  When in doubt, consult a dermatologist.

• Don’t skin-fast if you’re not feeling well.

Do you know your skin type? It's important that you know. Here's a great simple way to find out. Place a tissue on your face. If it falls off your face just as soon as put in over your face, you have dry skin. If you put in on your face and lean over and it falls off, you've got normal skin. And if it doesn't fall off your face, even when you do lean over, you have oily skin. Choose your skin care products carefully.  Be sure that you are using moisturizers that are specific to your skin care needs.