How working out improves your skin
Weight loss, improved muscle tone and increased energy levels. Some of the obvious reasons we hit the gym or the park for exercise. It may be surprise you, though, to hear about another benefit of working out; a more radiant complexion!
If you need a bit of an extra nudge to embrace your gym membership, read on to find out how working out will improve your skin.
Increases circulation
Great skin needs an abundance of nutrients and a well-functioning circulatory system.Exercise ramps up blood flow and delivers a surge of circulation throughout your body. That hot, red face might not look so great in the moment, but its a sign that extra blood is flowing to your skin. That’s a good thing. During exercise, increased blood circulation delivers an increase of oxygen and nutrients to the skin while flushing out toxins. When circulation is poor, the delivery of minerals throughout the body slows down. The result can be a pale, dull complexion. Toxin build-up effects skin too, when we can’t properly eliminate toxins, this can lead to chronic inflammation and, in turn, causes wrinkles. The increase of oxygen to skin cells will help them reproduce and fire up the repair mechanisms in your skin, speeding up the healing process.
Lowers stress levels
While you're slogging it out in a spin class, exercise may not seem too relaxing (especially on those hill climbs!) but it's a fantastic way to lower stress. Exercise reduces the levels of adrenaline and cortisol, the body’s stress hormones. What does this have to do with better skin? According to research, when you’re dealing with high levels of stress on a daily basis, it takes a toll on your skin. Stress affects the body in many ways, but as the skin is the body's largest organ, it makes sense this is where visual indicators of stress make an appearance. When stress hormones in your body rise, it leads to decreased skin blood flow, and altered immune and inflammation function. These changes show up in your skin in the way of breakouts, acne and exacerbate existing skin conditions like excessive dryness or eczema. It makes sense then that exercise helps keep stress levels in check and in turn, your skin looks better for it. In many cases, creams and lotions may do little to improve chronic skin issues unless the problem of underlying stress and tension is dealt with first.
Sweat helps clean out pores
Working up a sweat encourages the pores to dilate. The sweat then pushes out any dirt trapped inside the pore. It’s kind of like having a steam facial. Sweating the dirt and oil out of your pores will promote a healthier looking complexion; you’re clearing out the grime that causes breakouts and blackheads. Blackheads appear when sebum (your natural facial oil) gets stuck inside a folic and becomes hardened. As you sweat and the pore opens up, smaller blackhead will soften and become loosened from the pore. Just remember to wash your face immediately after working out. Leave the salty sweat on your face to dry off and you’ll increase the chances of irritation, redness, acne flare-ups and clogged pores. Basically, you’ll undo all the skin beautifying benefits of your work out!Use a gentle cleanser post-sweat session, steer clear of cleansers containing sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate, these are chemical ingredients which can over dry skin. Lase Skincare’s Purifying Cleanser gets rid of dirt and oil without stripping skin of its essential oils. Follow up with a refreshing toner to cool and calm a red, workout face.
Can increase collagen production
When it comes to natural beautifying remedies, we love the words ‘more collagen.’If you’re a fan of resistance training, we’ve got good news. This type of training increases the production of growth hormone, which can stimulate the fibroblast cells to create more collagen. Think of collagen as a building block, it keeps your skin looking firm and plump. The second layer of your skin, the dermis, has plenty of collagen and elastin when we’re young. As we continue to age, less collagen is produced by the skin and this is one of the main causes of wrinkles. While there are many expensive synthetic products available with big claims to increase collagen, exercise is a free, natural way to help fight wrinkles. Plus, you’ll reap all the other benefits of exercise - for your mind and body - at the same time!
The healthy eating side effect
If you’ve prioritized physical fitness in your life, it’s likely you’ll make more healthy eating choices too. For the best results, it makes sense to fill your plate with the types of foods that support your workout goals - weight loss, building muscle tone or simply increased energy. This habit of healthy eating, in turn, has a knock on effect for your skin. Eating more veggies, proteins and good fats not only benefit your sweat sessions, increasing these types of foods in your diet will do wonders for your skin too. Great skin isn’t about a single cream or supplement. The most effective skincare routines are holistic - taking care of yourself physically in addition to paying attention to what you put on your skin. These healthy habits and lifestyle choices work together to create a beautiful, happy complexion.