We’re always on the lookout for new and exciting things to pamper ourselves with while staying at home. Skin fasting is a new concept we’re looking into to get clear, beautiful skin without any expensive salon treatments:
What is Skin Fasting?
Skin fasting is essentially a detox period where you give your skin a break from your usual skin routine to improve your skin’s natural function. The theory behind it differs a bit depending on who you talk to, but the most popular school of thought claims that skin fasting “detoxifies” skin and allows your skin’s “natural maintenance system” to work more effectively by taking away the “skin care aides” that it has become dependent on. How much is this true? Does this work for everyone? Read on.
How to Do a Skin Fast?
There is no specific rules. You can do it for as little as one day by simply giving up your face moisturizer or abstaining from your entire skin routine for a few days. Advocates of skin fasting believe doing so allows the skin to reset and inherently take better care of itself—even though there’s no hard research showing that to be true.
Is Skin Fasting for You?
If you’re using a great skin care routine for your skin type and concerns, a skin fast isn’t worth it. There’s no reason to do it; skin doesn’t “adapt” to well formulated products and “forget” what to do naturally.
More to the point, trying a skin fast likely means your skin will be missing out on important ingredients it needs on a daily basis.
Can Skin Fasting Detoxify Skin?
Debunking the myth that skin fasting detoxifies skin is actually pretty easy. All you need to do is understand how the body works. Toxins don’t get broken down and leave your body through your skin (that’s handled by your and liver and kidneys as part of the body’s excretory system).
Can Skin Fasting Help Dry Skin?
A common argument for skin fasting goes something like this: With too much “added artificial moisturizers,” skin stops naturally producing sebum (oil) on its own and hence, becomes drier. The belief is that refraining from using a moisturizer encourages your skin to make its optimal supply of oil naturally again.
To be frank, this logic is faulty. It doesn’t take into account the many reasons skin can become dry, from sun damage to skin disorders like eczema, seasonal dehydration, and age-related changes that impact how much oil skin produces. If you have dry skin on your face or body, stopping moisturizer for some random period of time does not and cannot signal your skin to make more of its own oil.
Besides, keeping skin soft, supple, and hydrated takes more than our natural oil; we need replenishing, emollient, and restoring ingredients, too.
Is Skin Fasting Good for Acne?
Skin fasting is a particularly bad idea for acne-prone skin, as a break from your anti-acne products (a good cleanser, salicylic acid (BHA), and benzoyl peroxide) could result in greater breakouts. A consistent anti-acne routine is imperative for keeping breakouts at bay.
Is Skin Fasting Not Good for Anything?
There are a couple circumstances where a skin fast can prove to be beneficial (but not for the reasons claimed all over the internet). If you’re using a new skin care product or combination of products and experiencing a negative reaction, you need to eliminate (or take a “skin fast” from) the product or products that you suspect might be the culprit. This process of elimination is necessary to determine what’s causing the problem, and then you can adjust your routine accordingly.
Another instance where skin fasting is beneficial is if you’re using the wrong products for your skin type or if you’re unknowingly using irritating/harsh/drying ingredients to begin with. If you “fast” from the products that aren’t good for your skin, you’ll see a visible change. The key is to then find the right combination of products that can help your skin. Therefore, use it for adjusting your skin routine if it isn’t working but do NOT give up your skin routine at all – be it using branded products or even DIYs using natural ingredients.