Let your skin breathe

Dr Vikas Sharma

Skin, like rest of human body, has innate capacity to rejuvenate itself. The epidermal layer of the skin has special multi-potent cell lines, which can differentiate themselves into required lineage of cells and thus are responsible for repair of wear and tear of skin.

Fasting can be done for spiritual purpose or physical reasons. The purpose of both is same-detoxifying our body and let it realise the self-healing powers it has within. Similarly there is a concept of skin fasting i.e. breaking the strict skin care regimen for some time and let it regenerate on its own.

Our skin has all the revitalising properties when subjected to adverse conditions. When we deprive it of all external products being applied for some time, it can naturally normalise its innate sebum production in some which can become down-regulated due to over-usage or dis-usage of artificial moisturizers in those having sensitive skin. Too much moisturization and blocking agents can also further block the pilo-sebaceous ducts and aggravate comedones and acne on predisposing skin.

Since the past few years, the concept of skin care routine (cleansing, toning, moisturizing) is becoming popular. There are time to time modifications in this regime (serums, facial oils) with variation in the season and skin type. Now, being the time to switch from summer to winter skin care regime, it’s advisable to break the timetable and give it a zero period for some days so that it can breathe on its own.

Way to go 

Skin fasting simply means temporarily stopping use of all skin care products for a short period. It can be done twice yearly or before change of every season. During this period wash your face with plain lukewarm water. If required sun protection can be used during this period. When products are to be restarted, they should be introduced one at a time to assess if they are really needed or are allergic to skin or not.

Benefits of skin fasting

It’s a method to assess the efficacy of skin care products that you are routinely using and if they are really needed by your skin. It will cut off unwanted exposure to skin and you can restart only those products which are really needed by your skin.

n It also helps reveal certain allergens in the cosmetics that are problematic to our skin. Skin fasting is the best way to identify such hidden allergens (fragrances in skin care products, PPD in hair colours, parabens used as preservatives) as well as provides a washout period before switching to hypoallergenic alternatives of same. This is of paramount importance in skin disorders like cosmetic dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, urticaria, Riehl’s melanosis, etc.

n Sometimes our skin and hair care products tend to mask certain skin signals which can act as markers to our inner health. Skin fasting helps us to identify these signs.

n Skin fasting is also helpful in planning therapeutic strategies in chronic skin disorders like atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, skin eczemas, etc when switching from drugs having steroids to non-steroidal agents. Skin fasting helps in creating a wash-out period thus helping the newer agents maximizing their beneficial action once introduced on skin and hair cells.

Don’ts:

n Do not undergo skin fasting on your own if you are already on prescription drugs for a specific disease in between. Stopping medicines altogether can lead to flare up of disease.

n Consult your therapist before skin fasting if you had undergone any chemical peeling, laser or cosmetology treatment in near past.

(Dr Sharma is a Chandigarh-based dermatologist)