Dr. Jill’s Weekly Tip – Why Exercise Is Good For Your Skin

Dr. Jill’s Weekly Tip – Why Exercise Is Good For Your Skin

Exercise is not JUST good for your physique, helping you to tone up and slim down, but it’s also GREAT for your skin!  Let me explain…

Regular exercise triggers many powerful physiological and biochemical processes that go far beyond just ‘building muscle’ or ‘burning fat’.  When we exercise, the heart pumps faster, blood vessels dilate, and more blood is sent throughout our bodies, nourishing EVERY cell in our bodies.  This nourishment is not only oxygen, but different nutrients of the foods we eat, myokines, interleukins, hormones, and a number of yet to be discovered factors that keep our cells fed and alive.  When the cells in our skin get more nourishment, they stay healthy, and can even increase in elasticity and thickness.  Vital nutrients ramp up collagen production. When the dermal layer of our skin is thicker, we will have less wrinkles and sagging.  In addition to providing more nourishment to the cells, the blood also removes waste products and cellular debris.  This removal of waste is like a detox for damage done to our cells so they can repair themselves. 

Beyond the fact that exercise helps to keep our cells well nourished, working up a ‘good sweat’ is another bonus feature to improve our skin.  Sweating is about the equivalent of getting a mini-facial.  So work up a sweat!  When the body heats up from exercise, our pores dilate to release sweat to cool us off.  When we sweat, the trapped dirt and oil in our pores gets expelled.  This naturally clears the skin and keeps it glowing and clear.

“Beauty Riche Tip of the week” —  I actually apply my skin products with growth factors/vitamins just before I exercise so the product can get absorbed more readily as my pores open up.  

Here are a few more reasons exercise is great.  Within an hour of exercise, anxiety and stress decrease.  Now, why this is good for our skin is that our sebaceous glands produce less oil if you are less “stressed”.  If you exercise regularly, less oil production along with cleaning the pores from sweating, can greatly improve problems with acne.

Exercise promotes better sleep at night.  Better sleep will reduce dark circles and puffiness. 

Word to the wise… Don’t forget SPF on the face, neck, and chest when you exercise outdoors.  Wear it even in cloudy weather.

Stay hydrated.  Water is the main ingredient to our cells and is needed to keep things working well. 

If you are prone to rosacea, you may want to opt for workouts in a cooler environment to limit the amount of capillary dilatation on the face.

Also, if you are prone to eczema or psoriasis, wear a moisturizer to protect skin from the sweat which may irritate and flare your condition.

And since I am giving the facts on exercise and your skin, I feel the need to mention this.  If you do long bouts of high impact exercise, such as long distance running, jumping, or high impact aerobics, BE AWARE of the pounding effects of gravity on your skin.  Unfortunately unless we can invent a ‘sport’s bra’ for the face, I’m not sure how to advise you on that one.  Consider mixing up your workouts if this is the case, not only your face, but your knees will thank you too!

                        Giving you tips and tricks to improve YOU inside and out

Enjoy your week!

Dr. Jill

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