4 signs your skin needs a little TLC

It’s Women’s Health Week, and we hope you’re celebrating by doing all the things that make you feel happy and healthy on the inside and out. At cocokind, we believe that your skin and the way it feels can be a direct reflection of your health - and breakouts aren’t the only way to tell that both you and your skin might need a little extra TLC (treatment, love and care).

Here are some other signs to watch out for, what they mean, and what you can do!

sallowness

Sallow skin might appear off-color, or slightly more yellow than usual. A good rule of thumb is to compare the skin on your face to the skin on your body, to see if your face appears more yellow in color. And what causes sallowness in the skin?


smoking

When you smoke cigarettes, harmful chemicals including nicotine can hinder your blood flow, disrupting the movement of oxygen to your skin. The result is skin that appears sallow and tired.


diet

There’s always talk about how your diet affects your complexion. Dairy can be inflammatory, caffeine can be dehydrating, and a diet that’s lacking in vitamins and nutrients can leave your skin looking a bit dull. If you’re not getting enough vitamins in your diet, your skin cells can’t get the valuable nutrients that keep them healthy - over time, waxy, yellowed skin can result.


To combat this, make sure you’re eating enough vitamin-rich foods. We recommend lots of dark leafy greens, citrus fruits, broccoli, nuts, berries, and the like.


skin that feels thin

What we’re generally looking for here is skin that feels or appears noticeably less resilient than it used to be. Over time, external factors like pollution and lifestyle choices like excessive drinking can affect your collagen levels, resulting in weaker, thinner-feeling, sometimes even translucent-looking skin.


oxidative stress

Harmful UVA and UVB rays, excessive drinking, and smoking can negatively affect your skin by causing oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is caused by free radicals attacking chemical compounds in the skin, damaging it and decreasing its elasticity. This can make skin feel and appear thinner and weaker, while also leaving it more susceptible to visible, premature wrinkles and fine lines.


Antioxidants, which are compounds that have the power to neutralize free radicals, can help you combat the effects of oxidative stress. Some of our antioxidant-packed go-tos include our golden elixir, matcha face moisturizer, and chia facial oil.


To prevent free radical damage caused by sun exposure, we also recommend wearing sunscreen - and we always make sure to consult EWG to help us choose sunscreens formulated with only good ingredients and no harsh chemicals.


skin that feels tight

Despite what you might have heard, that taut, “squeaky clean” feeling after you wash your face can actually indicate something negative about the state of your skin or the choices you’re making in your skincare routine.


harsh cleansers

Cleansers that are too harsh can strip all of the natural oils from your skin’s surface and disturb it’s delicate acid mantle. If your acid mantle is disturbed, your skin’s natural barrier won’t be able to function as effectively, and your skin will be more susceptible to moisture loss. The ultimate result will be that uncomfortable tight feeling, especially right after cleansing.


To avoid this, we recommend choosing gentle, non-disruptive cleansers, like our oil to milk cleanser.


dehydration

You might have guessed this one! Dehydrated skin is lacking moisture in its top layer, which is where that dry, tight, and sometimes rough feeling comes in. This one’s common and can be caused by a myriad of internal and external factors, like not drinking enough water, intense indoor heat or air conditioning systems, exposure to harsh temperatures, too much time on airplanes, excessive caffeine or alcohol, and more.


It might sound overly simple, but our best advice is really just to hydrate as much as possible, from the inside and out! That way, you can keep the top layer of your skin hydrated, and avoid tightness or discomfort.


dullness

Have you lost your glow? Dull skin that seems to have lost its radiance might be trying to tell you something.


dead skin cells

A quick way to get your glow back is to exfoliate. We shed skin cells constantly - and if you aren’t sloughing these dead cells away, they’ll just chill on your skin’s surface, causing dullness and texture irregularities.


Exfoliating 2-3x week can help fight dullness and keep your skin smooth and soft. But beware - harsh exfoliants with large particles can create tiny tears in your skin, irritating it and opening it up to bacteria. Gentle exfoliators like our sea moss exfoliator are always the safer bet!


pollution

Especially if you’re living in a city (hello SF!), polluted air can wreak havoc on your skin. Cars, buses, factories, and the like release harmful chemicals and pollutants into the air, which can irritate skin and cause free radical damage. Excessively unclean air can even leave a film of dirt, particles, and airborne chemicals on the top layer of your skin - no thanks! To combat these effects, we recommend using a healthy dose of antioxidants to protect your skin, and a thorough nightly cleanse to help remove any residue or grime that polluted air might have left behind.


We hope these tips have helped! If you have any more questions, always feel free to email us at info@cocokind.com or DM us on Instagram :)