Health & Wellbeing: You Ain't Nothing But Your Skin
During my teenage years, my mum tried to educate and remind me to take care of my skin, as she herself learned the hard way through doing silly things like putting coconut oil all over her body to get that Summer tan. Now she's living with those consequences of not protecting and nourishing the most important living cell in our bodies, our skin.
I wish so bad I had listened to Mum way back then. Mums are always right, I don't know how, or where they get their training but they are right in their teachings. And of course at the time - being a typical teenager - I didn’t pay attention to what mum had to say. It barely registered on my radar, I was too concerned about other trivial things like dropping massive txts to the honey I met at the social the night before with my unlimited txt via Boost mobile. Remember those deals?!
It wasn’t until I started seeing a girl in my early twenties who worked in skincare and cosmetics that I got slapped in the face (figuratively speaking) to the necessity for a skincare routine and what the various products like a cleanser, exfoliator, and hydrator do for your skin. It was then that I started to help my skin out - but it wasn’t daily and it was just the gary basics. Maybe a foam face wash and sometimes throwing on a dousing of moisturiser. There was room for major improvement and that's been my story ever since. Until now.
Getting an appointment at Haven has been a critical turning point. Haven invited me to experience and learn about my skin. I received expert advice, got a better understanding of my unique skin, its condition, its needs and how a plan would be designed to get the best results for my skin. It’s not something you’d ever get from just swinging by the supermarket and grabbing a moisturiser off the shelf alongside picking up your toothpaste.
My initial Haven consultation was a smooth and relaxing process. You step in, off the busy streets of Mt Eden and you're welcomed with warmth, calmness, and a delightful smell from the burning candles - all creating some zen. You forget there's a world outside which is refreshing. During my consultation with the skin specialist, we discussed the climate of my current skincare routine and listed out the products I use which helped paint a picture for the future. Importantly along the way, we uncovered some interesting observations about my skin.
There were a couple of areas that had particularly suffered, with collagen loss - which was my forehead and around my eyes. Collagen so you know is what makes your skin strong and elastic and losing collagen can lead to wrinkles. While what I’m experiencing is a natural aging process, the degree to which you’re aging can be protected against and delayed, and topline I could be doing more to give my skin a better shot at living the good life.
For me I hadn’t been loving my skin properly or nearly enough and the signs of aging were catching up. I was suffering due to a lack of a consistent and good skin regime. I’m 31 and now is a good a time as any to get serious about not only my skin but really look at my internal health too, which I’ve been doing lately with the balance of regular high-intensity F45 training, taking daily Red Seal supplements and improving my diet.
End of the day, just like you feed your body with good food (hopefully), it's about feeding your skin with the best possible nutrition too. It 100% starts with what you put inside your body and apply to the outside. Do a better job of these two things and your skin will start to reflect the improvements. It’s about being preemptive not waiting for some miracle cure or fix it cream. They don't exist.
Stick around for part 2 of my Haven skincare journey where I'll take you through the details of my initial treatment and ongoing skincare therapy and routine to help combat ageing and give your skin the good things it deserves.
You only got one skin, so look after it.
J
This post is sponsored in collaboration with Haven, who invited me to experience and see the results of skincare therapy designed specifically for my own skin needs. Every word I've written is my own and I encourage anyone who wants to care more for their skin to try Haven, and learn more about the importance of your skin health.
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