“Drink a gallon of water a day!”
“Exercise at least 30 minutes a day!”
“Eat a healthy diet!”
“Turn your shower to freezing cold for a minute before you get out!”
We’ve heard them all before; “simple” ways to keep your body healthy, while looking and performing it’s best. What many of us don’t realize is that these tips are not only important for our body’s performance, but for the appearance of our precious skin. So what exactly are these tips and tricks for? Well in short, they all contribute to increasing our blood circulation.
Considering how blood circulation affects our skin may seem like a strange thought - I know myself, I’ve never quite considered it before learning the amazing ways I could get my skin to look more dewy and vibrant with a few minor changes to my lifestyle. Being a former professional figure skater, I always led a fairly healthy lifestyle both with my diet and activity levels, and would absolutely never leave the house without my water bottle. Even still, I’d often experience dullness, dryness and skin imperfections. After some trial and error, and much research, I found some solutions and I am so excited to tell you how you can transform your skin from dull to dazzling by improving your blood circulation with a few simple steps!
To start, let’s take a look at blood circulation and what it does. Our blood carries oxygen and nutrients around our bodies, which benefit our heart, brain, lungs and all cells throughout the body, including our skin. For our skin, a lack of good blood circulation can cause many unwanted effects such as paleness, dryness, itchiness, blotchiness, a slower healing rate for wounds and blemishes and even a higher risk for infections.
When our blood is circulating efficiently, it is moving slowly, with a high viscosity, allowing it to flush our veins and repair all tissues. Blood circulation delivers the necessary nutrients to our skin to defend itself and fight not only breakouts and dryness, but the signs of early aging. Poor circulation means a sort of slippery blood that runs quickly through our veins and leads to decreased reparative qualities. Inefficient blood flow inhibits the waste removal system and healing process our circulation should be providing us, leading to inflammation of the skin and increased vulnerability to breakouts. As our blood also carries oxygen through our bodies, poor circulation can also lead to blood that is not oxygenated sufficiently, leading to unsightly dark circles under the eyes.
This may all sound a bit daunting, so I’m sure you’re wondering as I was.. how can we add simple steps into our busy schedules to ensure our skin stays luscious?