What Is Skin Fasting & Why Do You Need It?

Are you tired of using various skin care products but getting zero results? Maybe your skin, just like your body, needs a break from your daily routine. Skin fasting is a no-nonsense way for your skin to take a break and heal itself without the help of any products.

Before that, remember to identify your skin type and learn whether you need absolute skin fasting or not.

“ Ayurveda highly values routines.  It is one of the best ways to maintain the health and equilibrium of the body. Contrary to what  most would think, the routine is not a monotonous lathering of the same products everyday, every season, geography and age. Ayurveda recommends purging the body every turn of season. Instead of abruptly stopping a routine for a particular season, detoxifying provides an important layover. During this period one can slowly let go off the previous routine and slowly adapt to a new one. Similarly for skin, fasting (a method of detoxifying) helps us understand what skin truly needs and give it the same.  “

Highlights:

• What Is Skin Fasting And How Does It Work?
• Benefits Of Skin Fasting
• How To Do Skin Fasting Safely?
• How Long Does It Take To Skin Fast?
• Dos And Don'ts Of Skin Fasting
• How Often Can You Do Skin Fasting?

What Is Skin Fasting And How Does It Work?

Skin is the largest organ in the human body and it is also your protector. It protects you from heat, injuries and diseases. Often the skincare products you use can stop your skin from breathing, because most products contain non-porous components like sulfates, alcohol, etc. Their continuous use may cause breakouts, dryness and make your skin dull.

Skin fasting is a very popular skincare routine because of its minimalism and natural effects. The concept behind skin fasting is to take a break from your skincare routine so that your skin can work on itself without external help from any product. When you reduce or eliminate the usage of skincare products and treatments for a certain period of time, your skin gets time to rebuild its protective outer layer and even heal from within.

Just like you fast sometimes to give your body some rest to revive your appetite and digestion capacity, your skin needs that too. Skin fasting helps your skin to revive its natural oil production capacity and healing qualities. [1]

However, much depends on the type of skin you have. For example, if your skin is highly sensitive to pollution and the sun, it is advised to keep using sunscreen. Also, if you have kapha dominant or very oily skin, it is advised not to eliminate the cleanser during skin fasting. Skin fasting works differently for every skin type and should always be monitored by a dermatologist.

Benefits Of Skin Fasting

1. Understanding Your Skin

When you do skin fasting, you let your skin work at its own speed. This balances the natural sebum production. Based on the sebum production, you can identify whether you have dry, oily or sensitive skin type.

2. Recovery

Most people often make skincare mistakes by choosing a product that does not suit their skin, making it dry, or causing breakouts. Skin fasting helps your skin to take a break from the adverse effects of such products. [2]

3. Revealing The Truth

Some people tend to use too many skincare products and perform various treatments in search of perfect skin. They don’t realize what their skin actually needs and in turn do more harm than good. When you take a break from all products and it does not bother your skin’s health, you realize what you didn’t need in the first place.

4. Water Therapy

Since skin fasting eliminates all skincare products from your regimen, it involves a lot of cleansing your face with water. If you wash your face with cold water in the morning, it promotes blood circulation, tightens your pores and adds radiance to your face. Cleaning your face with lukewarm water at the end of the day opens your pores and cleans all the dirt and oil clogged in them.

How To Do Skin Fasting Safely?

People often consider skin fasting as doing nothing for their skin. However, the truth is far from that. Just like your skincare regimen, skin fasting too has a process.

Step 1

Clean your face two times a day. Your skin goes through a lot throughout the day and it accumulates dirt, sebum and layers of dead skin. If you do not wash it at the end of the day with fresh water, it will tend to break out. Similarly all throughout the night, your skin accumulates a lot of unwanted naturally produced oils which need to be cleaned first thing in the morning.

Step 2

Eliminating all elements of your skincare routine suddenly can give your skin a shock and cause adverse effects. So, take one step at a time, by removing one product a week. Remember to keep a cleanser and one hydrating product in the beginning. Our dermatologists suggest that switching to homemade and natural or Ayurvedic cleansers and moisturizers is the best way to prepare your skin for skin fasting.

As for cleansers, you can use neem, ritha, shikakai, amla, besan, ubtan, triphala, aloe vera, etc. as they are all-natural. Neem is antibacterial and helps you prevent breakouts. Ubtan is efficient in absorbing oil, dirt and sweat from your skin. [3] Turmeric protects your skin from free radicals and removes tan, while triphala acts as an antioxidant and helps in preventing early signs of aging.

For hydration, you can use different ingredients based on your skin type. If you have vata dominant skin you can simply mix some rose water with honey and apply it. Honey not only controls the skin’s sebum production but also balances the pH levels in the skin. If you have pitta dominant skin, you can mix aloe vera gel with some grapeseed oil and use it as a moisturizer. For kapha dominant skin, you can use essential oils like tea tree.

Step 3

The last step is the tissue paper test. All you have to do is wash your skin with some lukewarm water and place a piece of tissue paper on your face. If the paper falls off you have dry skin, if it struggles to stay on your face you have normal skin and if it sticks to your skin you have oily skin.

Now that you know the type of skin you have, you can choose proper skincare products for yourself after you complete skin fasting.

How Long Does It Take To Skin Fast?

There is no right time to start skin fasting but the duration of the process will depend on your skin type. Our dermatologists advise you to skin fast once a month and follow all the procedures mentioned above. However, if you are going through any particular skin treatment, it is best to get your fasting process monitored by your dermatologist. Ideally, skin fasting should be continued for 7 days at a stretch.

Dos And Don'ts Of Skin Fasting

Although the benefits of skin fasting are high, there are some instances when you should avoid it:

• If you are suffering from ichthyosis, perioral dermatitis, psoriasis, and seborrheic dermatitis, skin fasting can make your skin crack and cause more inflammation. Also, your skin might produce an excess amount of sebum to combat the dryness and cause acne.
• If you have acne-prone skin, excluding retinoids and exfoliating acids from your skincare routine can suddenly hinder the process of killing acne-causing bacteria and trigger acne production. [4]
• If you have sensitive skin, this can go both ways. While giving skincare products rest is ideally a boon for sensitive skin, but if a certain product is acting as a shield for your sensitivity, then it is better not to eliminate it without consulting your dermatologist. [5]
• Collagen-induced skincare products are a must for aging skin or skin with pigmentation. So it is advised not to go for skin fasting if you have aging skin. [6]

Vedix Tip: Don’t take up skin fasting if you have undergone skin peeling recently or consult your dermatologist.

How Often Can You Do Skin Fasting?

There is no specific answer to this question. However, our Ayurvedic experts suggest identifying your skin type first and then beginning skin fasting to know how often you can go through this process. You can also consult your dermatologist for advice.

The Last Word

Skin fasting is all about giving your skin a break, but remember your skin needs to work with skincare products too from time to time. Creating a perfect balance between using skincare products and skin fasting is how you can achieve healthy and rejuvenated skin.