You don’t have to be a meditator to relieve your stress. Many of us don’t have the quiet time to even think, yet alone, meditate, but we can still accept the idea of mindfulness into our consciousness. Slowing down for a few brief moments daily, connecting with your breath, becoming more aware of your body and surroundings – that’s doable. Since you can do this anytime, anywhere, why not use your skincare routine as the ideal opportunity for a moment of mindfulness.
We recently had the chance to welcome Dr. Kiera Barr, board-certified dermatologist and somatic skin care specialist, to one of our healthy Dose of Stamina IGLives to discuss this connection and more holistic approach to skin care. Dr. Barr had so much insightfulness to add to this topic and we highly recommend you go back and replay the video. But, today, we are sharing some of the key points taken from the interview that can help you empower yourself on how to gain control, clarity, and confidence, especially as we come out of this long global pandemic that has had a significant impact on our emotional wellbeing
Most of us have spent most of our life believing that we need to cover up or camouflage the flaws we see on our skin. But it’s important that we stop ignoring the everyday lifestyle we have chosen to each live and how it may be affecting our skin. Stress and trauma are related to our skin and more often than none, especially if we fail to address these issues in our life. The brain and the skin are developed from the same tissue, so there is a very close connection to how they function together. The mind and skin are communicating all of the time, and, unfortunately, most of us use stress as a normal adaptor response which has become innate and activated all of the time. What does this mean? We are stuck in the chronic stress loop!
The skin is a target for stress response. Think about these scenarios; when you’re scared you may get hives or sweaty armpits, when you’re in an uncomfortable position you may get flushed redness in the cheeks. Your body is reacting through the skin and through stress responses. We are all wired for survival, and this acute stress response is your body instinctively preparing for flight or fight. However, many of us have the tendency to stay in this state of stress response which leaves our skin more leaky, more vulnerable to itch and irritation, stimulates oil glands which may lead it to develop acne and activates inflammation.
So how do we use mindfulness? Here are a few tips:
- Examine your lifestyle. This means everything from our sleep, nutrition, and physical lifestyle. All of this plays a significant role in stress and chronic stress within our life. Subtract the harmful habits and add the beneficial ones gradually.
- Our skin is a window to our nervous system. It is a reflection of our overall health. The underpinning of what’s driving inflammation, rashes, or acne is often STRESS. Everything in our environment can stress our body. Some everyday stresses on our skin can be eating, not enough sleep, UV exposure, and even air pollution.
- Stress is even related to social media. By absorbing too much content we can keep ourselves in a hypervigilant state.
- No matter the significance of your trauma, it’s important to remember that it isn’t what happened to you, it’s what happened inside of you as a result of what happened to you. It’s what didn't happen at the time that you experienced this event. Trauma can cause the nervous system to get dysregulated, which raises cortisol levels and eventually it shows in your skin as reactive skin as breakouts, irritations and blemishes, disrupts your sleep, and leads you to craving caffeine and sugar.
One of the most important foundations for Stamina Cosmetics is marrying skincare and wellness. With an integrative skin practice like Stamina Synergy, you can move towards stamina and wellness. Our ingredients have been developed into the skincare line to help overcome the stressors and encourage mindfulness. Stamina Cosmetics is an invitation to get curious and be aware. You can incorporate mindfulness into everything that you do, especially while you apply your products. You are already doing something, so it isn’t like you are adding to an already long ‘to-do’ list. Practicing mindfulness during your skincare routine can help you:
- Pay attention to the present moment without judgment. Let your hair down!
- Notice what’s inside of you and make the choice to not change it. This is you. Don’t focus on marks, blemishes, or any other skin “problems.”
- Breathe in this self-care moment and relax.
- Truly care for your skin. Feel connection to the ground as your standing, really feel yourself putting on the skin care products, the aromatherapy and visualize immediate gratification of skin brilliance of the Stamina Mask, the texture of the Intention Moisturizer, feel the temperature of the water, the massage therapy of the Stamina Serum (https://www.staminacosmetics.com/collections/all/products/maskne-sleeping-serum-1.
- All of this can bring you to the gratitude for the appreciation that this skin is protecting you from the outside world.
Both Stamina Cosmetics’ Founder, Dr. MBK and Dr. Barr want everyone to realize that a moment of your skincare routine can be a moment of self-appreciation and self-reflection. We need that moment to slow down, to get off that hamster wheel of stress – to love ourselves. If there is one thing that you do today, take your five-minute skincare routine and focus on the beauty of you staring back in the mirror.
Follow Stamina @staminacosmetics for more tips on skin resilience, brilliance, overall wellness and a healthy #DoseofStamina.
