Train the skin? Sounds exhausting, but it is extremely pleasant and even has anti-aging effects. The trick: promote blood circulation – with massages, masks or dry brushes.
Production: Sarah Harms
Wash mornings and evenings and then, zap, put the cream on your face and the lotion on your body? Of course there is nothing wrong with that. In the meantime, however, the daily beauty routine is increasingly becoming a care ritual. So it's hardly surprising that jade rollers for the complexion, for example, are now part of the standard range of drugstores and online shops such as Niche Beauty offer a lot of so-called tools in addition to classic cosmetics, with which skin care can almost be professionalized. Even grandma’s beauty tips such as alternating showers or dry brushes are used by beauty gurus like Dr. Barbara Sturm celebrated on Instagram.
"While my customers used to expect me to get their skin problems under control, today they are happy when they can do something for themselves at home. Because they know that it depends on regularity," says Jana Dobric. Beautician and owner of the "Reviderm Skinmedics" institute in Hamburg. "That means not only using the right care products, but also activating the skin on the face and body, for example with massages."
Get some real momentum
Whether it's a jade roller, a dry brush or a silicone LED device: All three do pretty much the same job, because they stimulate the blood circulation in the skin and get your circulation going. "This is really immensely important for all skin functions," explains Tanja Kubena, beautician and owner of the Hamburg-based “Delightful and Pure Medical Spa”. "This is the only way to remove metabolic products and at the same time bring nutrients, messengers and oxygen to the cells."
Alternating showers or the classic dry brush, which also removes flakes of skin, are wonderful for the body. "Two to three times a week it helps to strengthen the connective tissue and prevent cellulite"says the Düsseldorf doctor Dr. Barbara Sturm. "Scrubs with coffee, coconut oil and salt are also recommended, because caffeine also ensures good blood circulation. For the head area, it is great to do a headstand or the yoga exercise 'downward facing dog' every day."
On the face, however, you should be careful with brushing – the skin is much more sensitive here than on the body, and bristles that are too hard or even pointed can irritate them and cause micro-injuries. Jade rollers from Asia are safer. So that the lymphatic system gets going, you should first stimulate the lymph collection basin on the collarbone and then stroke from the ears to the neck, where there are also lymph nodes. On the face, work from the center outwards, from the chin up. You don't need to exert a lot of pressure – a light stroke is enough. As with all stimulating massages, the first thing to do is the right side, further away from the heart, then the left.
Rosy instead of stressed
It is of course no coincidence that care rituals are so hyped. Fulfill two, actually contrary, wishes at once: effectiveness plus me-time. Regular care simply achieves better results and at the same time drives us down – which brings us back to blood circulation. It improves when we relax. Stress, on the other hand, puts the body in flight mode: it pumps all the blood into the organs that are essential for survival. The result for the skin: it is undersupplied. U.S. celebrity dermatologist Dr. In his new anti-stress skin care series, Dennis Gross did not use mushroom extracts that promote blood circulation for nothing and combines the "De-Stress Facial" in his New York practice with lymphatic drainage massages.
The Shiseido beauty company even dreams of being able to keep the capillaries responsible for supplying skin cells healthy in the long term – with the help of cosmetics. "Our scientists have been working on the subject of blood circulation for 20 years. We now know that the number of skin capillaries responsible for supply decreases with age. Also, they don't work as effectively anymore, they start to leak. We were able to prove that this in turn has an influence on how the skin ages, "says Nathalie Broussard, Scientific Communications Director at Shiseido." The good news: There are certain receptors that are responsible for the thickness of the capillaries and proteins that are very important to their health. Our goal now is to find new active ingredients to act on these factors. "
Be careful
If good circulation is so important for the skin, it is surprising that the subject is only now in focus again. "My clients have often worried that their face might be reddened after the treatment, which is why I prefer to talk about stimulating the complexion's microcirculation rather than promoting its blood circulation. Somehow that's a more affectionate term, "says Tanja Kubena." We beauticians used to work differently, there was a lot of steaming, and this heat overwhelms some skin. If you proceed cautiously, a stimulated metabolism is good for almost every complexion. "
Good to know: Such treatments should be discussed with a doctor in the case of venous or other vascular diseases and inflammation – even if we now know that they themselves improve skin conditions for which it has long been advised against. "By stimulating the skin's capillaries, you strengthen them and make them more resilient. This can even alleviate rosacea in the non-inflammatory stage. It also removes congestion," says Jana Dobric. "But it is important to do it in a controlled manner." The beautician therefore begins almost every treatment with a blood circulation-enhancing mask – for unstable skin without essential oils. "It is crucial to leave the product on the face long enough, because this not only gently stimulates the blood circulation, but also slowly slows it down again. After that, the skin absorbs the care much better."
By the way, Sebastian Kneipp advised against extreme stimuli. The father of cold casts only propagated "well-measured" temperature changes, after which the skin is neither bright red nor blue – but simply rosy.
With water or a brush: this is how you activate your skin metabolism
Take a shower tired
For those who don't necessarily like it icy under the shower, the Kneipp knee pour is a good thing, which also promotes falling asleep. It always starts with a warm round, then comes the cold one. Guide the water jet from the right little toe on the outside of the foot and lower leg to the hollow of the knee, circle there for five seconds, then over the calf to the heel. Repeat on the left leg. Then from the right little toe over the outside to the kneecap, let it circle there, then over the inside of the leg back to the foot. Now it's turn to the left. For the last cold round, shower the soles of your feet with cold. Then put on thick socks or warm up in bed straight away.
Scrub yourself awake
Since dry brushing has a more stimulating effect, it is best to start the day with it. Here, too, start on the right foot and work your way up in circular movements, increasing the pressure in the direction of the heart. First outside, then inside. After the feet, the lower and upper thighs come on, also only outside then inside. Then hips and buttocks. Continue from the hands along the arms, the upper body forms the end. You did it correctly if the skin is only slightly red afterwards. You should leave out sensitive and irritated areas of the body such as nipples or varicose veins and spider veins.
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