how a lack of sleep can affect your skin

While staying up till 2am in the morning trying to binge watch season 3 of Selling Sunset may sound like a good idea at the time, we can assure you that your skin is probably screaming at the top of its lungs and telling you to get your a** to bed. 

Want to know why? There's a very real reason why beauty sleep is a thing. Not getting the required amount of sleep a night will not only increase your under-eye circles so you resemble a raccoon more than a human being, but it will also have damaging and potentially lasting affects on your skin's health. 

In this blog, we'll take you through the affects of a lack of sleep and just how much havoc it's wreaking on your skin. To put it another way, your skin is the house that's hosting the party and a lack of sleep is the many gatecrashers that weren't invited who end up drinking all the alcohol and starting fights with each other before passing out on your living room floor. In other words, a total f*cking nuisance that can be easily avoided. 

But it's not all doom and gloom, there's a light at the end of this tunnel and the good news is that sleep is free and its available to be had tonight. Even better? Sleep is available every night for the rest of your life, giving you multiple chances to reclaim that glowin', healthy lookin' skin. 

your skin can become imbalanced

Not getting enough zzzz's every night can sap all of the moisture out of your skin and lower your skin's complexion pH levels which can make it look hella dull, lifeless and old. 

Also a decrease in your skin's pH levels can lead to an imbalance, causing your skin to become dry, flaky, and uneven which is a perfect breeding ground for redness and irritation, which is like, so not cute. 

What can help cure this you might ask? Yep, you guessed it, the magical 's' word that will be used a lot throughout the entirety of this blog. Let's say it together, S-L-E-E-P. However, a hydrating facial oil or moisturiser will also help your skin maintain cellular water flow, as well as lock in moisture that your skin might ordinarily be willing throw away. 

We recommend using our cactus + prickly pear hydrating face & hair oil if you want a magical brightening serum that will give you maximum hydration for your skin and hair (what a bonus). 

say hello to your new best friend, your under-eye bags.... 

Do you need some help carrying those bags under your eyes? They're looking a little heavy....

Unfortunately not getting enough sleep can be shown on your face pretty easily and quickly in the form of voluptuous and puffy under-eye bags that'll have you wearing sunglasses every time you go outside even though it's still Winter and the sun's barely out. 

Along with sleep deprivation, under-eye bags can also form when your body is holding onto an excess amount of liquid, which can cause your eyes to sag or swell, giving the appearance of puffy pouches of fluid beneath your eyes. 

To help minimise the sight of these uninvited bags, try getting some more sleep and  invest in a good eye cream. 

...and her roommate, dark under-eye circles 

Ahh, yes. The telltale, universal sign that you've had no sleep for at least 2 days and counting.

But why are you left looking like you've just cried your mascara off when you haven't changed out of your trackie pants once in the last few months let alone applied black paste to your eyelashes? 

Well, we all know that skin cells regenerate in your sleep (and if you didn't, well now you do), and that means that if you're staying awake and not getting your much needed shuteye, then the blood vessels under your eyes will dilate, forcing delightful blue and purple shadows to appear. 

This is obviously not ideal, and if you have to venture outside where the state of your under-eyes might frighten small children, then opt for a colour correcting primer with a peach undertone to help soften and reduce the appearance of the blue toned shadows on your skin. 

If you haven't got anywhere to be, try working on your sleep. We know this sounds easier than it looks but we've got a feeling that your spot on the couch isn't going anywhere so why not pause Netflix, turn off the tv and get yourself to bed at a reasonable time tonight? 

your complexion no longer 'shines like the light from the sun' 

Wise words, Paolo, wise words. 

We're all chasing that sun kissed, goddess like glow and a lack of sleep will have you falling over yourself at the starting line while your competitors are already 200 metres in front. 

When you skip out on sleeping, your cortisol levels (the hormone that's responsible for stress), can increase which may also cause inflammation. This nasty and unwanted inflammation can then force the proteins in your skin to break down so instead of being radiant and smooth, your skin now finds itself dull and as tired as you are. 

Your complexion could also be on the dull side of things because a lack of sleep can reduce the oxygen flow to your vital organs, making the blood flow step up and take one for the team, distributing itself to your vital organs instead of making it's way to your face. This can lead to pigmentation issues and skin that looks ashy or blotchy.

To help re-stimulate blood flow, try giving yourself a face massage when performing your daily skincare routine or opt for at least 8+ hours of sleep per night

another day, another pimple 

Your clear skin is gone and instead you've booked a one-way ticket to Breakout Ville, population: YOU. 

Instead of waking up lookin' fresher than Beyonce did on her Lemonade visual album, you better get used to lookin' in the mirror and pointing out another pimple friend that seems to have made your face their home overnight.

When you don't get enough sleep, your stress hormones are heightened and that means so is the chance of developing acne. Not only that but increased cortisol levels are also an indicator of increased oil production and we all know that this can lead to clogged pores and unwanted pimples and other skin irritations. 

You know what this sounds like to us? Just another reason to hit the hay, and to hit it hard. But you can also try to use a gentle face exfoliating scrub to help prevent bacteria from building up in your pores. 

Give our coconut + lemon sugar body scrub a go as it's bursting with antioxidants who want nothing more than to get rid of dead skin cells and reveal smooth, healthy and fresh ones underneath. 

your skin looks as if it's aged a decade overnight 

Instead of waking up lookin' 28 years old, congratulations! You're now not only 38 years old but you also have no memory of how you got here. Life really is a b*tch sometimes. 

As it turns out, raising cortisol levels have a direct correlation with the production pf collagen (a protein that affects your skin's elasticity and deals with your skin's ageing). When this production of collagen increases due to a lack of sleep, your skin can become thinner, less firm and a whole lot less smooth. 

This means that the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles are more likely to end up on your face waaay before they're supposed to, and hey, we know ageing isn't what it used to be and 'Suddenly 30' is a fun film to watch, but no one likes when it happens to them without their consent. Especially if there's something you can do to prevent it. 

And how can you do that I hear? By getting some big, fat, juicy hours of sleep. At least 8 of them a night. 7 days a week. 365 days a year.