Sleep is the Beauty Secret for Mature Skin

The quality and length of sleep you receive every night can have a profound impact on your skin’s overall health. When we sleep, our bodies recharge. 

During the first three hours of sleep, your body will start producing the human growth hormone, HGH,  from the pituitary gland. This hormone is necessary for the maintenance of youthful and radiant skin. As we age, the level of hormone production decreases. Without this hormone release, skin is not repaired from daily damage.  Our skin also begins to lose elasticity, and oil glands produce less oil, making the skin drier. Years of sun damage shows up as age spots, hyper pigmentation and sagging skin.

Melatonin is a hormone that is responsible for regulating your circadian rhythm (in other words, setting when you wake up and fall asleep) but also acts as an antioxidant that helps protect the skin from damaging free radicals. As we age, our bodies naturally produce less melatonin, which affects our skin’s ability to repair itself at night.

In the final three hours of a night of rest, during the active REM sleep stage, levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) decrease. The skin’s temperature also drops to its lowest point, allowing muscles to relax and become immobile, giving skin its deepest recovery of the night. 

In conclusion, a full night of sleep is essential. Our bodies need to fully relax, by reaching the REM sleep stage, in order to reach full restorative potential. Restorative sleep, in turn, helps accelerate and optimize the skin’s repair cycle. 

Holistic care focuses on viewing the entire body as an interrelated system, rather as individual parts. The skin is the largest uninterrupted organ of the body, so caring for the skin goes hand in hand with caring for the body. 

SB’s approach is holistic, incorporating vitamins, nutrients, super fats and antioxidants to support healthy skin. My approach and philosophy to health, well-being and skincare is based on the same principle! Our skin is part of our entire body. Just like the rest of the body, our skin needs three basic pillars of self-care in order to maintain optimal health: cleansing (or removal of waste), nutrition, and effective rest.

Cleansing

In skincare, healthy skin is achieved by balancing proper cleansing with gentle exfoliation as methods of removing waste like dead skin, outside pollutants, and cosmetics. I love Sade Baron’s products as they multi-task and transition easily between face and body, eliminating the need for several different products. The cleansing bars are nutritious enough for mature skin without the usual adverse effects from traditional bars.

My Method

First, I use an oil-based cleanser or coconut oil to remove my makeup. The oil breaks down the waxes and polymers effectively. Use a gentle non-soap cleanser to rid your skin of any leftover residue. 

After I have removed my makeup, I do a second cleanse with either Blue Lemonade or La Rose French Pink Clay Bar. Both contain superfats like shea butter, almond and coconut oil. These hydrate and offer plenty of anti-aging properties to support and nourish transitioning skin. Vitamin K helps heal the skin barrier and support the healthy turnover of new cells.  

The Vulcano Activated Charcoal body cleanser is a must after a long work out or hot yoga.

Nutrition

After a gentle cleanse or exfoliation, it’s time to feed your skin with— superfats, Vitamin B5, Shea Butter, Meadowfoam Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, etc.

All skin repairs itself while we sleep, but mature skin in particular needs to be fed while sleeping. Choose products with ingredients free of toxins and full of supportive nutrients. 

My Method

I love the Pro-Vitamin Lotion B5 range by Sade Baron. My go-to day lotion scent is Velli. Superfats like shea butter and avocado oil deeply penetrate for softer and healthier skin while nourishing with natural antibacterial properties.  

Here’s a rundown of some important nutrients that I look for in skincare:

• Edelweiss Extract. A powerful antioxidant, it has even more potency than vitamin C. It helps skin stay wrinkle-free, supple, and firm.
• Honeysuckle Extract. Improve uneven skin tone, dullness and soothes skin irritations.
• Vitamin B5 - Panthenol. A vitamin that deeply penetrates the skin, delivering essential moisture that helps hydrate, soothe and encourage self-healing.
• Shea Butter. A powerful moisturizer, with a high concentration of fatty acids and Vitamin K to help skin barrier heal faster and support the healthy turnover of new cells.
• Avocado Oil. A beauty food containing vitamins A, C, E, and K.
  A antioxidants that protect your skin from environmental damage and contains raw monounsaturated

Effective Rest 

Like explained above, sleep is key to helping our bodies regenerate. And, since many of the hormones that rejuvenate our skin decrease in production as we age, it’s even more important to get a full night of rest when we mature in order to maximize our energy and healing every day.

During sleep, not only do our bodies recharge, our skin does as well. During sleep, we heal, restore, and eliminate toxins from the skin. If sleep is compromised, so is the body’s ability to carry out these essential skin functions. 

My Method

At night, I slather on Vera body cream. It has a light lemongrass and citrus scent and is deeply nourishing, improving the texture of dry skin.

Infusions of vitamin E and superfats like Camellia oil and Meadowfoam oil help to reduce the signs of imperfections. 

While all these are my tips for keeping your skin looking fabulous from the outside, remember that great skin also needs hydration from the inside. Don’t forget to hydrate with clean water free of toxins and start your day with a warm glass of organic lemon water for detoxification and an extra hit of Vitamin C! 

Michelle B., Guest Contributor 

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