Look in the mirror and tired skin looks back? You’re not alone. A tired looking face is something we’ve all experienced at some stage! Discover why your skin is fatigued and how to wake it up. 

Common Reasons For Tired Skin

“My face looks dull and tired.”

This is a very common skin complaint and signs of a tired face can include:

• Dullness
• Under-eye circles
• Fine lines and wrinkles are more pronounced
• Puffiness

Tired skin can be traced back to a number of factors and happily, there’s something you can do to address each of them.

Dehydration

We can’t say it enough - hydration really is your skin’s best friend.

Dehydration can cause skin to lose its radiance. Your overall complexion becomes dull and lacklustre when hydration levels are depleted.

Shadowy circles under your eyes may become more obvious too, as will fine lines and wrinkles.

Dry skin and dehydrated skin are not the same thing. Dry skin lacks oil and is a ‘skin type’ while dehydrated skin lacks water - it’s considered a skin condition. All skin types can experience dehydration, even oily ones.

The good news is dehydration is a temporary skin condition which means it’s very treatable.

Use hydrating ingredients in your skincare routine

Look for ingredients known as humectants. They work by drawing water to the stratum corneum (the skin’s surface) either from the atmosphere or deeper layers of skin, to hydrate the surface.

Hyaluronic acid has superior humectant properties, it acts like a magnet to attract moisture deep within the skin’s cells and can hold x1000 its own weight in water. Glycerin is also a common humectant.

We recommend: Hyaluronic Hydrating Serum (All skin types)

Drink plenty of hydrating fluids and eat water-rich foods.

Top your skin’s hydration levels up from the inside by eating plenty of fruits and vegetables with high water content such as cucumber, celery, watermelon, spinach, oranges, and mushrooms.

Sip on plain water, coconut water, and celery juice and limit your intake of dehydrating drinks like coffee and alcohol. 

Sun Damage

The sun’s UVA and UVB rays are enemies of bright, healthy looking skin.

Sun exposure speeds up signs of ageing including wrinkles, sun spots, pigmentation, sagging and rough, uneven skin texture. All these elements can leave your complexion looking tired and older than your years.

Don’t skip sun protection

This means wearing broad spectrum 30+ sunscreen daily, whether you spend a lot of time outdoors or not. Also, be mindful to cover your skin up during long days outdoors with a wide brim hat and remember to reapply sunscreen.

We recommend: Skin Shield Natural Sunscreen SPF 30

Treat your skin to a dose of brightening antioxidants

Lift tired skin out of a lacklustre state with the help of brightening antioxidants that target hyperpigmentation and uneven skin tone.

Vitamin C is excellent for skin brightening and its antioxidant properties also target free radical activity. Antioxidant Q10 spheres can also assist in fading dark spots and help to energise tired skin.

We recommend: Pomegranate Brightening Serum (Suited to most skin types)

You Need A Good Night’s Sleep

Your skin might be looking tired because you are tired!

The health of your skin and quality of sleep are intrinsically linked. When you’re not getting enough sleep, signs quickly show up in your skin.

Your skin switches to regenerative mode while you sleep. If it doesn’t get enough time to complete its restorative process, skin won’t look as fresh and bright.

Lack of sleep contributes to tired skin with dehydration. A study on the link between sleep and hydration revealed people who regularly slept for 6 hours or less each night were 16–59 percent more likely to be dehydrated than those who slept for 8 hours a night.

Your tired face treatment, in this case, is getting more quality sleep. Introduce sleep-easy bedtime rituals to encourage more restful sleep and treat your skin overnight.

Try essential oils

Relax your mind and body before bed with the therapeutic qualities of essential oils. A few famed for their relaxation qualities include lavender, chamomile, and sweet marjoram - enjoy the benefits with a diffuser or using skincare formulated with the oil.

We recommend: Lavender Skin and Body Care Pack (All skin types)

Include an eye treatment

Night time is ideal to provide the delicate skin around your eye with additional brightening support to wake up with a fresher eye area.

We recommend: Brightening Eye Serum (Suited to most skin types)

You Don’t Exfoliate Regularly

Tired looking skin can also be the result of dead cells building up on the surface. Nothing steals your glow like layers and layers of old, dry cells.

While natural exfoliation is part of the skin’s regenerative process it slows down with age so we need to give it a helping hand.

Exfoliation removes the dead cells and reveals the fresher, brighter skin beneath. An instant wake up call for tired skin.

We recommend: Hydrating and Ageless Volcanic Sand Gentle-Foliant (All skin types) 

Pollution and Smoking

While UV rays have long been on the ‘bad for your skin’ list, you may not be aware of the damage pollution can do to your skin. Especially air pollution.

Toxic nanoparticles of pollution can enter the skin cells - triggering free radical activity and inflammation which accelerate signs of premature ageing and dull, tired skin.

Your pollution solution? Double cleansing at night to remove all pollution debris and using an antioxidant-rich serum to neutralise free radical activity.

Smoking cigarettes? Not if you want healthy, glowing skin! Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide and nicotine and the combination impacts blood flow to the skin leaving it sallow, tired, and dry looking.

Best Face Mask For Tired Skin

Pamper tired skin with a face mask brimming with active ingredients to target dullness and help brighten a fatigued complexion.

The Bouncy Brightening Silky Booster Mask is suited to most skin types and can be left on for a 10 minute masking session or overnight to allow your skin to soak up the active ingredients. We recommend starting with a 10 minute application and work up to an overnight session as the active ingredients are quite concentrated.