Stopping facials to have beautiful skin, such is the promise of skin fasting. But what is this trendy cosmetic fast really worth?
When it comes to beauty and skin care routines, all schools of thought are the same and are happy to steal the show according to trends. After being seduced for a long time by Japanese facials and complex rituals like the layering which invites you to multiply the layers of care on her face in search of a perfect epidermis, beauty fans have become fond of routines skincare more minimalist. And it is clear that they have made a place for themselves in our daily lives, especially during a period of confinement where outings are rare and laziness to prepare is felt. But their latest beauty fad – the skin fasting – goes even further by completely disrupting our facial care routine.
What is the skin fasting ?
The skin fasting or skin fasting in French, consists in no longer applying any cosmetics to your skin (and by extension to limit the latter as much as possible) for a certain time by relying only on your natural capacities to self-regulate and regenerate to regain glowing skin and even heal a whole bunch of skin problems (pimples, rashes, excess sebum, acne, irritations). In other words, this skin fast would be a suitable method for everyone, no matter what type of skin we have. Disregarding the usual beauty products that are applied daily to our face to hydrate, tone, firm our skin and locally treat imperfections would indeed prove to be very beneficial for the epidermis according to followers of the practice. And it is true that we have all been able to observe with astonishment at least once for ourselves these wonderful natural mechanisms of our skin which come to our rescue during a forgotten make-up removal or when we occasionally skip the application. of our daily moisturizer. Sometimes, we have to admit it: the skin actually comes out more beautiful. What makes us wonder about the need to accumulate serums, creams and specific treatments for the eye contour and pimples, and clearly make us want to give in to the trend which would allow us to save money in the process.
The height of the temptation: the benefits of this cosmetic-free beauty routine are even supported by some dermatologists (including dermatologist Heather D. Rogers and dermatologist Anthony Rossi), who prescribe it to their patients to reset skin counters after years. unsuccessful skin care. And examples of the effects of skin fasting that abound on social networks are often enticing.
The skin fasting tested by Olivia Muenter, beauty journalist at Glamor US
As proof, take the case of the beauty journalist from US glamor, Olivia Muenter, who experimented with skin fasting and who shared his experience on the online magazine as well as his social networks. The young woman, an expert in skin care, decided to take the plunge after conducting her survey with dermatologists and unearthed many cases for which skin fasting has been a miraculous skin care. In the beginning "terrified of giving up products from her skincare routine after months of battling her hormonal acne breakouts and stress-related breakouts ”, the journalist nevertheless considerably lightened her skincare routine and she noticed a subtle change in her skin from the start: "I noticed that I had fewer and fewer acne breakouts every week".
A post shared by Olivia
Pleasantly surprised to see that her skin problems are rarer and therefore that her skin quality is improving, she continues the experience of skin fasting. After a few months of this momentum, she says her skin texture and skin tone have both “Visibly improved”. She then draws her conclusions: “Today, after about three months, I am only using three products: a cleanser, a tonic and a moisturizer. That's all. I could see that these three products made the biggest difference, so these are the ones I kept. When I have an occasional rash, I almost always know what caused it – and it's never the products I use.”. For the beauty journalist, the effects of skin fasting or cosmetic fasting were therefore actually beneficial.
But can we therefore conclude that the skin fasting is THE answer to all our skin concerns? Not really.
The effects of skin fasting on the skin: mixed results
If stopping over-straining your skin with various and varied creams that contain powerful active ingredients (and sometimes not always compatible with each other) has undoubtedly proved its worth, we must not forget that each skin is different and can therefore react in a completely different way to the sudden end of a facials ritual. And the risks that the skin fasting does not turn out as you intended is all the more important if the latter treats certain specific skin problems such as acne, irritation and redness since the skin sometimes still needs to be helped by cosmetics to fight against bacteria responsible for pimples, rebuild its natural protective barrier and calm down. The trend in skincare and the stunning results it sometimes elicits should not make us forget the basics of taking care of our skin. A total absence of hydration could indeed have harmful consequences for dehydrated, dry or atopic skin, which naturally has difficulty in retaining the hydration it receives and which has a defective natural protective barrier that needs the protection. help care to replenish daily. Adopting a beauty routine without any cosmetics would be the best way to weaken it, that it becomes even drier, less soft and more uncomfortable. Fine lines from dehydration and lack of radiance could even quickly turn into itching, overheating and why not, eczema from dryness.
In addition, if the skin is indeed able to compensate for the lack of care from time to time (at least when it does not present any particular problem), it should be remembered that it often does so to the detriment of its cellular regeneration mechanisms which leave room for those of first necessity like self-cleaning or producing a little more sebum so as not to dry out. Letting your skin fend for itself in the long term would therefore also present a risk that it renews itself less well and no longer regenerates optimally. In short, she may well age faster if she compensates for the lack of care.
How to adopt cosmetic fasting without leaving your skin there?
If our research is to be believed, the promise of regaining flawless skin while letting it live naturally is not completely illusory. The key to a successful skin fast ultimately seems to lie in giving the skin more autonomy without giving up all care. It may therefore be useful to test the skin fasting on condition that you do it in full awareness of your skin type and adapt the method by using it in a more reasoned way, that is to say more moderate. So there is no question of letting your skin regain fat without reacting in the hope that it will regulate itself and have smoother pores or let go of hydration to see what it is. It is best to promote the deployment of the skin's natural defenses by limiting the number of cosmetics you apply to your face but still helping it to regulate itself so that it can continue to regenerate itself effectively, especially in the event of small skin problems. We cannot recommend enough a very minimalist beauty routine rather than a total absence of care which has a good chance of upsetting your fussy skin. Preferably keep a cleansing step as well as sufficient hydration depending on your skin type (i.e. a light cream on oily skin or a rich cream on dry skin) at a minimum.
Aloe Cleansing Mousse de Physiodermie
Face cream light by Dr. Barbara Sturm
available on ebay.com
Cell Revitalize Day Moisturiser by Aurelia Probiotic Skincare
And do not hesitate to adopt in addition a targeted treatment if necessary such as concealer or local treatment for pimples to be drawn when the need arises.
Hydrosmose Eye Contour by Mary Cohr
Intensive Anti-Blemish Corrector – Pur Paradisi by Saeve
But the best is still to observe and listen to your skin according to its reactions to refine the skincare selection that really suits you and not to limit yourself to a number of beauty products per week that does not suit you. Confinement is also a good time to simplify the care routine in the sense that you will not have to assume the possible small failures of this new routine in the event of an acne breakout or a persistent redness in the skin. stop this or that treatment. What to start this approach of skincare lighter mind.
Also, keep in mind that over time the skin's defensive and regenerative capacities decrease and that complete skin fasting is not a good idea for mature skin that requires nutrition, protection as well as good dose of antioxidants to stay on top of their beauty. Enrich the routine skin fasting of a few products in the optic of a less thorough cosmetic fast is therefore certainly the most recommended on this type of skin. The goal is not to deprive your skin of what it needs in the name of the trend.
If you had incorporated it into your beauty routine before, the skin fasting perhaps the ideal opportunity to stop for several weeks the application of certain active ingredients such as retinol or its derivatives which are known to be effective because they generally offer good results, but which sometimes also tend to attack the skin and trigger irritations. Eruptions and droughts that are not necessarily attributed to them at the outset since they do not always appear from the start of their use. This break will therefore be the perfect opportunity to see how your skin is reacting, and possibly adapt your facial skincare routine if you realize that the effects of certain active ingredients are both positive and negative on your skin.
In any case, know that there is no point in trying the "zero care" method for a weekend to best follow the trend without taking too many risks. It would take at least an absence of skincare for two consecutive weeks to be able to concretely assess its effects on your skin because this is about the time it takes for the skin on your face to regenerate.
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