Rest, Reconsidered
Why better skin may begin before your skincare routine does.
A considerable amount of thought has been put into how we care for our skin, from the use of retinoids to peptides, layering serums with intention and paying closer attention than ever to the health of the skin barrier. Yet one of the most familiar pieces of advice remains remarkably uncomplicated:get some rest.
“Beauty sleep” may sound like an old cliché, but there is more behind the phrase than its name suggests. Sleep is a period in which the skin undergoes important restorative processes, while consistently poor sleep has been associated with slower barrier recovery and more visible signs of skin ageing. Perhaps, then, our idea of a beauty routine should extend a little further than the bathroom shelf.
The Beauty of Doing Less: often times a thought comes to the mind, particularly when our skin looks tired, to add something. A brightening serum. An exfoliating treatment. A richer moisturiser. Another mask.
However, a tired-looking skin is exactly what it is: tired.
A late night can reveal itself the following morning through puffiness, dark circles and a complexion that simply looks less rested. Over longer periods, inadequate sleep may have more significant consequences.
This does not make sleep a substitute for skincare. SPF still matters. Cleansing still matters. Ingredients chosen for your individual skin concerns still matter. But caring for the skin goes beyond what we apply on it.
When Stress Shows Up on the Skin: the connection becomes even clearer when stress enters the picture.
There is a reason why your skin can seem quite unpredictable during an exhausting week. In Vogue’s “Is Your Skin Stressed? Here’s How to Deal,” New York surgeon Dr. Lara Devgan explained that stress can raise cortisol levels, which in turn increases inflammation and potentially exacerbate existing skin conditions. Similarly, Dr. Whitney Bowe from ELLE Magazine elaborates how stress slows down digestion, creating a shift in bacteria that can compromise the integrity of your gut lining, eventually leading to inflammation in the body, acne flare-ups and premature aging. Furthermore, Bowe iterates how the stress hormone cortisol breaks down collagen.
Beyond the Skincare Routine: The evening skincare ritual may help support the barrier from the outside, but what surrounds that ritual matters too: the hour you finally put your phone down, whether you are sleeping enough, and whether your body ever gets a genuine opportunity to move out of a constant state of stimulation.
Rest introduces something different.
It asks us to stop.
A slower evening. Clean skin. A moisturiser that makes the skin comfortable rather than a complicated succession of actives. Fresh sheets. Lower lights. Less screen time. Enough hours between closing your eyes and the alarm going off.
None of this needs to become another elaborate wellness routine to perfect. Sometimes, the reset the skin needs is not another step in the routine, but simply enough time to rest, recover and begin again.
Photo Cr: Theglwguide, Maison Poeta