Christmas involves lots of fun and feasting with friends and family. But how do you ensure you look good while catching up with your nearest and dearest?
The need to detox before (or after) Christmas is real. If you’ve got the discipline to practice some self-care at home, try taking daily health supplements and practicing a detoxifying skincare regime.
Those who like sweet drinks or sugary cookies should look for alternatives to prevent inflammation of the skin that can cause acne or contribute to early signs of ageing, and we all know the crash after a sugar high.
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Detoxing is important due to all the extra stress your body will experience during the festive season – from requiring more energy when socialising, late nights out, consumption of larger meals and more alcohol.
Processed foods, sugar, alcohol and caffeinated drinks can overwork the liver and cause a buildup of toxins, leading to fatigue, headaches, gas, constipation, acne and bad breath. A detox can relieve these symptoms by lightening the load on the liver. Here are five ways to flush out the build-up of toxins in your body and skin:
We often celebrate the best snacks of the season – for example peppermint lattes and cookies with icing – since it’s only available once a year. But these goodies are packed with sugars that are not good for your body.
A peppermint latte is often made with flavoured syrup that’s high in sugar, sugar can trigger irritation and inflammation in your body, and in the long-term contribute to signs of ageing.
So try getting a peppermint tea latte instead. It’s not only on-brand with the Christmas season, but it’s the same flavour without the harmful sugar, and peppermint helps eliminates harmful waste from bowels. Milk can cause breakouts, so try substituting with almond or coconut milk. Similarly, cookies with royal icing or buttercream are full of sugar, so try looking out for cookies that are made from almond or coconut which reduces the amount of sugar!
To reduce everyday bloating or indigestion after a big meal, taking Amazing Grass’ Green Superfood Alkalize & Detox powder with lemon peel, turmeric, ginger, fennel seed and more alkalizing greens can be added to a glass of water, juice or smoothie to promote detox, aid digestion and give you a boost of natural energy.
If you’re tight on time and need to look good for all the Instastories at a Christmas party, try these quick and easy tricks you can prepare at home:
Get radiant and dewy skin with Starskin’s Master Cleaners Detoxing Sea Kelp Leaf face mask (left) which has powerful organic ingredients to deliver up to 72 hours’ hydration and enjoy the natural detoxifying properties of sea kelp leaves.
Or throw on a pair of Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Detox Depuffing Eye Cubes to reduce puffiness, dark circles, fine lines and wrinkles around the eye area that hinder you from looking your best. The blend of cucumbers, arnica, green tea, chamomile, aloe, caffeine and hyaluronic acid in a fuss-free frozen“ice-cube” form will refresh and awaken fatigued eyes.
For a little more pampering, try Ikeda Spa’s Ganbanyoku Detox massage which involves you lying on a special heated Hakone volcanic rock bed while the therapist works on the knots. When heated to 49°C, these Hakone volcanic rocks bathe skin in infrared rays and negative ions to accelerate metabolism, boost the immune system and improve blood circulation to give you a glow.
An hour of this treatment is claimed to be equivalent to running 15 km, which means burning up to 1,500 calories. 80-85 per cent of the sweat you lose during this treatment is water, the rest consists of cholesterol, fat-soluble toxins, sulphuric acid, sodium, ammonia and uric acid.
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Before you go to sleep after a night of drinking, take some activated charcoal which is odourless and flavorless and cannot be absorbed by the body.
It goes through the digestive tract binding to toxins and alcohol before they reach your bloodstream so this reduces both inflammation, dehydration effects on your skin. Don’t forget about the sugars in mixed drinks or white wine, which can lead to further inflammation of the skin.
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Photo: 123RF
Text: Debby Kwong, HerWorld