With the 10 and 12-step skincare regimes many of us are happily indulging during mornings and evenings, the Japanese are doing things a bit differently. Koko Hayashi, Founder & CEO at Mirai Clinical and Skin Fit Gym in Los Angeles, California reveals the Japanese way of skin fasting for optimal skin health.
In Stark Contrast To the 10 and 12-step Programs for Glowing Skin, What Is the Japanese Method of a Skin Fast?
Japanese skincare is ‘less is more’. The less products you use, the healthier your skin. Skin has the innate ability to rejuvenate itself, so skincare should be minimal to naturally support your skin’s own rejuvenation process, instead of adding lots of foreign objects. Skin fasting is a popular practice to improve your skin’s own rejuvenation by skipping any skincare cream (or very minimum application on dry areas)
before going to sleep. In the morning, you just splash water on the face, instead of face wash, so the skin’s natural oils stay on the skin.
How Does It Work?
By applying nothing or very minimum, your skin tries to produce enough moisture and oils by itself from within. When you apply too many skincare products, the skin becomes too lazy to produce its own moisture and oils. You don’t want to eat fatty ice cream every day. It’s the same thing. We call overly nourished skin ‘Skin Obesity’.
In Contrast to Serums and Toners
This is against skincare regimens that use so many products. Skin shows your internal organ’s health condition, and you cannot easily fix problems by applying things on the outside. Even if you can, it’s a temporary effect. Face creams can help with some wrinkles or pigmentation, but those ingredients might be damaging the skin’s protective barrier to reach deeper. Breaking the protective barrier is obviously bad. Your skin becomes more susceptible and sensitive to external stressors, such as UV rays or allergic reactions to foreign objects.
What Are the Results of A Skin Fast?
The skin becomes stronger, so you will need less skincare products. You can do it once a week or so, to start with. Then slowly increase the frequency to every few days. Some do it daily. It’s recommended to start in the rainy season or summer, so the skin slowly gets used to the situation. However, if you have severely dry areas on the face, you should always apply some moisturizer to these specific areas.
