Dear Santa - Dec 08

DEAR SANTA, DON'T GIVE ME A WRINKLE TREATMENT!

The average Christmas Day can age us by up to two years

A day of goodwill and peace for all men it might be, but Christmas Day can age the average woman by up to 2 years and leave her needing a wrinkle treatment.

Non surgical skin treatment clinic SkinGenesis has estimated the effects of the stress of Christmas Day on the skin, as well as advising on measures that can be taken to prevent the problems.

Hangover skin from Christmas Eve, coupled with a day spent slaving away in a hot kitchen, as well as an abundance of sugary snacks and more alcohol can leave the skin looking tired and grey and by the time Boxing Day rolls around, you look twice as old as you did at the start of the month.

Too much sugar in the diet on Christmas Day will lead to increased blood sugar, aggravating inflammation in the skin. And it’s not just the obvious sugary snacks that cause the problem, but also hidden sugars in a number of other foods.  The huge amounts of food we put away on Christmas Day can significantly push the recommended sugar level up, with a real detrimental impact on the skin.

Increased alcohol consumption will also be evident in the skin, as it expands the blood vessels causing redness.  By depriving the body of anti-oxidants, alcohol slows the skin’s healing capacity and therefore prevents recovery.

Prolonged exposure to heat from the kitchen and the transition from hot to much colder outdoor environments will dehydrate the underlying structure of the skin leaving it looking dry and tired.

The festive season as a whole can wreak even more havoc by aging a woman by up to four years if no measures are taken to protect the skin. Lack of beauty sleep, stress, mad-dashes between the cold outdoors and heated shops and offices, as well as copious mince pies and sweets can also deprive the skin of the nutrients it needs to look fresh and youthful.

And many people won’t deal with the ravages of Christmas skin until well into the New Year. The leftover Christmas chocolates and lack of exercise or fresh air means our skin will not recover until we start our New Year’s Resolutions on January 1^st.

SkinGenesis recommend a number of measures to help protect the skin from the chaotic festive season. Increasing the number of “super skin foods” in the diet, such as nuts, seeds and oily fish will help it recover from the odd excess. Also, making sure you get enough sleep will help with the skin’s healing, reducing the effects of hangover skin.

SkinGenesis’s Director of Treatments, Peter Beard comments “Christmas can have a devastating affect on the skin that people often don’t take the time to deal with until the New Year. Making a few small changes during December can prevent serious damage and ensure the skin remains healthy throughout the Christmas season.”