Preventing Acne Breakouts Over the Holidays - Your Holiday Guide for Clear Skin

Holiday Food and Drinks  

During the holidays it is easy to over-indulge in high sugar foods and too much wine. High amounts of processed sugars like high-fructose corn syrup and white sugar found in holiday baked goods, candy, cakes, cookies, soda and processed foods can lead to acne breakouts. Sugar is inflammatory for the body and can cause imbalances in your gut - all leading to acne. Alcohol can contribute to acne breakouts by dehydrating your skin, depleting essential nutrients needed for your skin health, impairing your gut health, and the high sugar content can create inflammation in the body.

A holiday diet that is high in red meat, saturated fats, sodium, sugar and alcohol provides less nutrients per calorie than consuming a whole foods diet filled with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Over-indulging too much over the holidays can lead to triggering inflammation in the body and a deficiency of nutrients that is needed for optimal skin health.

Inflammation produced from the foods you consume can trigger acne breakouts to happen. You can also experience the following symptoms from overindulging with a poor diet: fatigue, brain fog, headaches, indigestion, constipation, mood swings and menstrual problems. Eating a healthy diet doesn’t just give you clear skin but also provides you with more energy, decreased cravings, better focus, improved digestion, painless menstrual periods, and an increased ability to handle stress. A healthy diet is key to allowing your body to fully enjoy life and protects you from serious diseases down the road (obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease, cancer etc.).

How you can maintain a healthy diet over the holidays, especially if you have any dietary restrictions?

1. Plan ahead and preview the menu at a restaurant. You can contact the host or check the restaurant menu and find out what accommodations can be made for you. A lot of restaurants now are more dietary friendly then ever before with gluten-free, diary-free and vegetarian options to suit your needs.
2. Bring your own food to someone’s house or you can prepare a dish or dessert for everyone that you know you’ll be able to consume without any acne side effects.
3. Eat a snack before heading over to the holiday party that contains a protein or fat so you’re not hungry when at the event. This way if there is food available at the party you can make the decision to pass on consuming what does not work for your body.
4. When drinking alcoholic beverages, opt for low sugar options. Remember to hydrate and drink lots of water alongside alcoholic beverages. This will help your body to process your alcohol and prevent the dehydrating effects alcohol can have on your skin.
5. Give yourself permission to indulge only if it’s worth it to treat yourself and as long as you do not have a true food allergy. Savour the experience when you decide to indulge, without feeling guilt or shame around your food choices.
6. You get to decide and make the conscious choice to fuel your body the way that is best for you. If there is a food that you know causes your skin to break out with acne, mindfully decide if the food is worth consuming over the holidays.
7. Remember you do not need to over-explain the reason for why you’re making healthy food choices for your body. You do not need anyone to make you feel bad for saying no to eating a certain food, as no means no! Honour what you need for your body, mind and soul.

Stress

The holidays can be a stressful time of year with holiday shopping in crowded malls, excess alcohol drinking, sleep deprivation, travel, financial strain, a fully packed social schedule or dealing with difficult family members. Whatever type of stress you may be dealing with, whether it is physical or psychological, can impact your skin health. A stressed-out nervous system keeps your body producing more stress hormone (cortisol), and this leads to an increase in androgen hormones produced in the body. Androgen hormones increase the production of sebum (oil) on the skin and this contributes to acne. Overtime, dealing with chronic stress that has built up over time, increases inflammation in the body and further creates havoc on the skin.  

Self-awareness is the first step to recognize when your body is stressed by noticing what symptoms are happening in your body. Also notice what your stress triggers are. Symptoms that your body is stressed includes an increased heart rate, gastrointestinal symptoms: bloating, constipation, and nausea, increased breathing rate, breathing shallow in your chest or holding your breath, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, fatigue, brain fog, teeth grinding, muscle tension, acne and eczema.

Incorporate stress management techniques into your daily routine to manage stress and the symptoms of stress created in your body. Take time to journal out what you’re feeling, meditate, take long deep breaths into your lower belly or take a yoga class to reset your nervous system. Carving out time for self-care is important over the holidays even if it’s for a 10-minute meditation reset.

Sleep

When going out to holiday parties and family gatherings, you may be wearing more makeup to cover up current acne or you have more makeup on for your glamorous night out look. When preparing for sleep, it is essential that you remove all of your makeup before going to sleep - no matter how tired you are coming home post-holiday party! You must let your skin breath after having on a face full of makeup. If you go to sleep with your makeup on you will clog your pores and you can end up with pimples waking up the next day. Using a gentle makeup remover and cleanser at the end of an evening is key to good healthy skin and skin hygiene.

Sleep Tips

All of the following tips can help you to have a more restful night’s sleep over the holidays.

• Aim for at least 7-9 hours of sleep/night.
• Listen to your body and nap when you feel you needs to
• Try going to bed by 11pm when you can. Your adrenal glands (stress glands) recharge and recover between 11pm and 1am at night. Going to bed before 11pm is even better for restoring, repairing, and rejuvenating your body.
• Give yourself time to wind down before bed, especially after a stimulating and exciting social holiday gathering you may have just attended.
• Dim the lights in your house, avoid high in sugar bedtime snacks, avoid caffeine before bed, avoid stimulating activities like tv watching before bed.

I hope this information keeps your skin happy over the holidays!

Happy Holidays Everyone,