Exercise and skincare: how to balance these conflicting forms of self care
Transforming your relationship with your body
Welcome to February: the time of year you’re often bombarded with your coworker’s/family’s/friend’s negative self-talk about “shedding winter weight” or “getting a bikini body.”
Because it’s still early enough in the year that the New Years Resolution-er’s are still self-assured about their new gym life and won’t stop telling you about it, you might be feeling extra pressure to work out (whether for self care or self hatred?)
Don’t get my tone of writing wrong, exercise is obviously good for your body! But in our capitalist society that creates an environment of constant comparison and loves a quick-fix, exercise can easily be used as a tool for naturally skinnier people to promote fat-phobia and body shaming.
So I want to preface this blog post with these disclaimers, but also offer a more positive mindset shift. Maybe your 2025 resolution can be transformed from
“exercising so I’m skinny/fit/attractive”
to
“moving my body every day as an act of self care and love for my body.”
Surprising (and unsurprising) benefits of moving your body
It’s probably not a shock to you that moving your body improves your physical and mental health; especially for my Minnesota friends! We are less active in the winter and less inclined to go outside in sub-zero temperatures to move our body and get Vitamin D from the sun!
And unfortunately, there are side effects that come with staying inside all the time and being sedentary: less energy, seasonal depression, less blood flow, less Vitamin D, worse sleep quality, etc.
We’ve all heard it before: five half hour sessions of moderate cardio per week is what our bodies need to significantly reduce our risk of developing chronic health conditions over time.
I know, I know– we hear the word “cardio” and immediately get turned off; but it’s simply about moving your body! I promise, you don’t have to become a marathon runner. You’ve heard of muscle memory… imagine how bad our muscles’ memory would be if we never used them!!
If you go on a 30 minute casual walk around your neighborhood five times this week and zero times next week, which week do you think your body will feel better?
If you simply have a JAMMIN dance session in your room for 15 minutes each day before you go to work, don’t you think your body would feel better, looser, happier?
Okay, I’ve made my point; back to the science!
Did you know that exercise has also been proven to improve your self esteem and sense of wellbeing? Not because of how we look if we exercise consistently, but because of how it makes us feel to move our bodies regularly. Also, people who exercise regularly have been proven to show slower rates of age-related mental decline compared to people who don’t move their bodies frequently.¹
Take it from the folks at Harvard Medical School, who found some unexpected benefits of regular exercise.²
Regular exercise/body movement…
Can reduce anxiety by modifying your brain's "fight or flight" system to be less sensitive
Can reduce symptoms of depression
Can boost a person’s mood by increasing the number of brain proteins called BDNF that help nerve fibers grow, allowing your brain to make new connections
Believe it or not, regular exercise also helps slow down the signs of aging! Maybe you’ve seen it on TikTok or maybe you’ve never heard of it, but increased levels of NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is associated with looking younger. Scientifically speaking, the aging of various tissues in the body is associated with a decrease in the concentration of NAD, partially because of its job of balancing the body’s energy usage.³
But instead of taking NAD supplements (how the capitalists want you to fix your anxiety about aging), you can literally just move your body! Take it from a 2023 study³ from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research in Copenhagen, which found that…
Your skeletal muscle and NAD levels moderately decline as you age
Regular exercise (30 minutes of raised heart rate five times a week) speeds up the natural process of creating NAD in your body, in both young and aged muscle tissue
Using NAD supplements is less effective at preventing signs of aging than simply exercising
Exercise and Skincare
Humans exercise for a lot of reasons: cardiovascular health, to lose weight, to get stronger/build muscle, to train for a specific sport, etc. A natural outcome to exercise is getting sweaty, and it’s important to factor that into our skincare regimen.
A lot of athletes and casual exercise-rs are very aware of the phenomenon of post-workout acne. Sweat acts like a pipe cleaner for your pores, pushing out any dirt and grime that would otherwise cause you to break out! BUT: letting that sweat dry directly on your skin allows it to settle back into your pores along with other zit-causing toxins.
Whether you suffer from facial acne, shoulder acne, or back acne, you understand the struggle. It can feel embarrassing, especially as an adult, to have visible acne in social situations.
But acne is not just something we all experienced once during puberty; it is very normal for adults to experience hormonal, post-workout, or chronic acne. You are not alone! You just need to take a few simple precautions after your workout to keep your skin clear and healthy.
I promise: it IS possible to keep skin clear while being an active person!
Prevent post-workout acne with these expert tips
Wipe sweat immediately after workout. (Even if that means a quick face wash in the bathroom, just water though!)
Only fully cleanse your face when you wake up and when you go to bed to avoid over-cleansing.
Avoid makeup wipes. (They’ll dry out your skin + they’re bad for the environment anyways!)
Invest in large silken 4x4 wipes to gently wipe away sweat, use dry or damp. Keep them in a fridge or container with ice so they’ll feel cool and refreshing.
Final Thoughts
Living in the United States in the year 2025 feels dystopian. Simply surviving the constant consumption that comes with living under capitalism, under a government that doesn’t care about women, children, People of Color and LGBTQ+ folks… is a difficult feat; and self care seems to be the first thing to go out the window!
If you remember nothing else from this blog post, I hope you take away these things:
Moving our bodies is good for our physical and mental health: not because of how it makes us look, but because of how movement heals our bodies.
Self care looks different for everyone, whether you prefer the gym or the spa or your morning walks around the neighborhood.
Sweating releases toxins from your body, and it's important to wipe away those toxins after you get sweaty! BUT PLEASE DO NOT OVER-CLEANSE YOUR FACE!!
If you have any follow up questions, send me a DM on instagram or book a skin consultation with me today!
If you know of a friend who struggles with skincare or negative self-talk, share this with them! I love bonding with friends by sharing books and articles I find valuable :)
With Love,
💛Xo, Sunni
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