Can Our Skin Benefit from Exercise?

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror after a good, badass workout and noticed the skin glow? See, it’s not just sweat; it’s actually your skin telling you - I feel amazing! The natural body detox process gets the extra push & your circulation improves, causing your skin to look & feel vibrant and plump! So, can your skin benefit from exercise? It most certainly can! Read on.

“Today, with more toxins in the environment than ever, it's critical to detox," says Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D., the author of Detoxification: Programs to Cleanse, Purify and Renew. The detox process in our bodies is mainly done through our liver, but the toxins are also eliminated through the kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymphatic system, and skin. For this topic, we are particularly interested in our skin, and learning new ways on how to make it more efficient. Skin is our largest organ, and therefore, has a huge surface we can use to promote toxin elimination. One of the best ways we can do that is by sweating. There are multiple ways to sweat, and my favorite include:

• Exercise

• Hot yoga

• Infrared Sauna

• Regular Saunas (Turkish and Finnish)

Whenever our bodies get warmed up, our blood circulation improves, which in addition to stimulating toxin release, also helps nourish our skin cells with oxygen and other nutrients which keeps them vibrant and vital. Exercise is special in the way that it also lowers our stress hormones, which results in lower inflammation & skin breakouts. "We tend to focus on the cardiovascular benefits of physical activity, and those are important. But anything that promotes healthy circulation also helps keep your skin healthy and vibrant," says dermatologist Ellen Marmur, MD, author of Simple Skin Beauty: Every Woman's Guide to a Lifetime of Healthy, Gorgeous Skin.

Now, all that sounds amazing, right? Well, exercise is only one part of the equation, as it works with the body from the inside. Nutrition is a major step 2, but a natural & high quality skincare routine is step 3. As I normally always talk about nutrition, I decided to skip that step today and go straight into skincare, as I’ve recently started using Burt’s Bees line for sensitive skin, and using it after hot yoga classes has been a life saver! My favorite products include their detox & exfoliating clay masks, as well as the sensitive facial cleanser and night cream. Right after a hot yoga class, my skin craves for deep hydration, but since the pores are wide open, I don’t want to clog them up, so that’s where the hydration mist comes in handy! Their incredible skin soothing formula includes Aloe Vera which refreshes and revitalizes the skin. I take my skincare very seriously and use only products that work with my skin, and not against it!

All in all, like I said, a healthy looking skin is a 3-part process, and you can’t have results without a proper diet, a good exercise regimen & good quality skincare routine. I definitely recommend you give these Burt’s Bees products a try and let me know how they made you feel!

And thanks so much to Burt's Bees for sponsoring this blog post! #SelfCareWithBurts

Xx,

Karla