You've probably heard of a "rest day" when it comes to fitness. A day where you let your muscles rest and recover to promote growth. Your skin could use some of that too.
After a summer of intense sun, sweat, or over cleansing or application of harsh actives it's important to plan some recovery days for your skin. Here's how.
DON'T SLEEP ON REST DAYS
Any fitness coach worth their money will recommend at least one rest day per week to let your muscles recover. While not a muscle, your skin can use a rest day too.
If you're someone who likes to experiment with active ingredients (think acids, retinols, vitamin C) it's important to know these products take a toll on your skin. This is why we recommend designating one day a week as your "rest day." Say... Monday, for obvious reasons... Keep it simple on this day: a gentle cleanser and moisturiser to give your skin barrier some much needed downtime.
Even if you don't have a particularly complicated routine, maybe you just use our ACID HOUSE serum between cleansing and moisturizing, you should still consider letting your skin rest. Between sun, sweat, or wind your skin still goes through a lot of stress. And even the simplest routine can be improved with some...
WEEKLY MASKING
You want to stay away from harsh actives on your skin rest day, but it is a great time to use a heavier moisturizer to give your skin some extra nourishment.
In general we want to think about our skincare routine as a "weekly" rather than a "daily" thing. Unless you're prone to dry skin, most people don't need an extra thick moisturiser every day. But giving your skin an extra umph once a week, that's a different story.
This is why we developed our ultra rich overnight mask BEACH GRASS, designed to give your skin all the nutrient it needs overnight while forming a protective layer on top. For added benefits, use the LE FIX (still on sale while stocks last) facemasks before and seal it all in with the overnight mask before bed.
NOTES ON SLUGGING
If you want to take things a step further than just a rich moisturizer on your rest day, let us (re)introduce you to slugging. Veteran readers of The Narcycisst will be familiar, but lets recap.
Slugginginvolves applying a thick occlusive, like vaseline, on top of your moisturizer as a final step in your night time routine. It may feel sticky and unnatural at first, but occlusives are great at minimizing epidermal water loss (hydration escaping your skin) and help your skin barrier heal itself.
Our personal favourite: diaper cream. You heard that right. The zinc-oxide is great for healing the barrier and sealing in moisturize (it also helps with redness if that's something you struggle with). It's nowhere nearly as sticky as vaseline, and while it does leave a prominent white cast you can rinse it off whatever is left in the morning with some cold water.
Give it a go!
OUR STORY
Narcyss is a wellness brand for the modern citizen that is inclusive, aspirational and inspirational. We believe it’s ok to enjoy a Negroni or two at dinner and to do yoga in the morning, it’s ok to get high and go running when you come down, it’s ok to do what you can to age in a healthy way, not in an ”anti” way. The Narcyss philosophy of “a life well lived”, modern wellness and healthy ageing is a welcome perspective in the beauty industry.
Narcyss is a wellness brand for the modern citizen that is inclusive, aspirational and inspirational. We believe it’s ok to enjoy a Negroni or two at dinner and to do yoga in the morning, it’s ok to get high and go running when you come down, it’s ok to do what you can to age in a healthy way, not in an ”anti” way. The Narcyss philosophy of “a life well lived”, modern wellness and healthy ageing is a welcome perspective in the beauty industry.
