Beauty

How to detox your skin care routine

Feel like you aren't getting the same results from your skin care routine? Switch things up with a skin care detox.

by : - Jan 15th, 2014

Story by Alix Strauss.

Your skin wants you to start dating other products. Much like switching to a relaxing yoga class because you are tapped out at the gym, alternating your skincare routine with products that have new ingredients and “time-sensitive” technology might get you great results. “Skin can often adapt to certain ingredients,” says Debra Jaliman, a dermatologist in Manhattan. “It can reach a new baseline where your products are no longer actively stimulating your skin.”

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What are the most common ingredients to which skin builds a tolerance? Retinol and benzoyl peroxide—but biological changes like hormones or stress can also affect the effectiveness of your regimen. Rotation products, a new crop of creams and serums that make use of the body’s natural processes, might be the answer. Consider them a way to cross-train your skin but without the hard work.

ONE MONTH: DETOX PLAN
Who hasn’t attempted some kind of coffee-and-carb cleanse after too many nights of junk food? Taking a time out from the norm can also benefit your skin, says José Ginestar, scientific director for Sisley. He cites fatigue, a chaotic lifestyle and pollution as having negative effects on healthy skin function, causing oxidative stress and knocking skin out of balance. “These internal and external issues diminish skin’s ability to rid itself of toxins,” he says. “Skin becomes dull, clogged and unable to regenerate healthy cells.”

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Get your glow back with a month-long intense skin-detoxifying cream like Sisley Botanical D-Tox Detoxifying Night Treatment; plant extracts like ginkgo biloba, rosemary and einkorn wheat get circulation going and help to purify skin. Guerlain Abeille Royale 1-Month Youth Treatment uses ouessant honey and royal-jelly concentrate, ingredients that help the lipids in fibroblast cells fight off toxins and repair damage. Or, go natural with Marie Veronique Organics Pacific Topical Marine Treatment, a high-performing organic serum that focuses on releasing and increasing the fibrocytes in your skin while stimulating the production of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid.

ONE WEEK: YOUTH FIX
Much like the “days of the week” undies that made life so much easier when we were in grade school, try using a specific seven-day assignment of creams to take the guesswork out of great skin. 7 Days of Wonder is a “rotation therapy” system that tackles various signs of aging. “Monday addresses refining and concentrates on skin’s texture,” explains Suzanne Grayson, the company’s creator. “Wednesday’s job is re-firming, and it focuses on loss of firmness and elasticity. Sunday is about renewing stressed and damaged cells and skin.”