Winter, and December in particular, can be a time of excess. This can wreak havoc with our skin, so let’s step back, breathe, and detox our beauty regimen.

Written by Amy Goldsmith

All of us have, at some point in our lives, felt that short jolt of panic as we noticed a change on our body. Damn, when did I get that grey hair? Why is the scale so mean to me today, I can’t weigh that much, can I? Is that… is that another wrinkle? That’s it. I’m clearly an old crone. It’s time for me to buy six cats and yell at kids around me to keep it down; dammit, grandma’s trying to watch her show!

And now that the holidays are coming? Ah, all those delicious festive turkeys, drunken New Year shenanigans, late nights, hangovers, heavy makeup and falling asleep without taking it off. Girls, we’re gonna be in a dire need of a beauty detox, and now’s a great time to pick up a few tips on how to do one properly.

Why you need a detox

The unhealthy choices we make can take a toll on our skin pretty quickly if we don’t react. You might think, well, okay, I’ll just throw some moisturiser on it and fix the problem, but it doesn’t really work that way.

Our outside appearance is influenced by our inside health, and that damn Christmas candy and momma’s chicken in gravy will come back to haunt us. Sallow complexion, dark under-eye circles, wrinkles, acne, inflammation – all of this is common after the holidays, and a beauty detox is the best way to address it.

Exfoliate

And not just your face, but your whole body! Time to slough off that sweat and grime and help your skin out a bit. It’s our biggest organ and it helps eliminate toxins from our body, so try dry brushing or a sugar scrub to give it back its luminosity.

Safe ingredients for a safer you

From Miranda Kerr and Gisele Bundchen to Angelina Jolie and Julia Roberts, going green is the ever-growing celebrity trend that shows no signs of stopping. That’s great! If famous people are becoming ingredient-conscious, why wouldn’t you?

Those radiant complexions and smooth, unblemished skins of celeb ladies are to die for, and their secret is this: they read the labels on the back. Seriously, it’s not unicorn blood, or human sacrifice!

They just talk to their nutritionists and personal trainers, and they’re well educated about some things. Things like parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, phthalates, artificial coloring, triclosan and others can really wreak havoc on hormones and a lot of these have also been linked to cancer. Read about the dangerous ingredients here, and bear this in mind when you buy gifts for others (and especially yourself) for Christmas.

The power of antioxidants

So, if all of these are bad, what are some of the ingredients that you do want in your products? Hello and welcome the much-touted antioxidants! The best thing about them? They prevent the breakdown of collagen, smooth out fine wrinkles, fight oxidative damage, and are appropriate for pretty much any skin type.

The best things to use would be vitamin C and other nutritional, reliable and cheap supplements. Vitamin C, especially in serum form, is one of the most powerful antioxidants around. We’re not letting holiday craziness make our skin tired and grey, let’s bring back our brightness!

Cut back on sugar

Candy, grandma’s famous sweets, cocktails, and a million other ways you ingest excessive amounts of sugar during the holidays is going to lead to a puffy face, indigestion, and possibly quite a few acne breakouts. Time to take a break and eat a diet of veggies, fruits, and drink a few cups of green tea daily to let your body rest.

Have a relaxation day

Hey, we pretty much told you which products are great for you, so it would be really mean of us if we didn’t give you this little idea: have a spa day! Whether you go to an actual spa or just stay home with your favorite scented candles, beauty products, and some DIY masks, it doesn’t matter. This gives your skin a great chance to recover, so sink into that luxuriously warm bubble bath and relax.

Clean out your makeup bag

This is the perfect time to go through your makeup bag and your bathroom cabinet and throw away all the stuff that expired and that you’re no longer using. No need for any of this to take up space, and that dried up lipstick really isn’t very healthy for your lips.

The nice thing about these tips is that you can totally use them only after the holidays have passed, but they work just as well to give you a sexy pre-holiday glow. Try these out even before the partying begins and you’ll look radiant the entire time.

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