Skin cleansers are necessary, serums are amazing for boosting our skin’s glow and helping to boost skin cell turnover, moisturizers are crucial for hydrated skin, and sunscreen is the most important product of them all to prevent UV damage to skin. But, as Dermatologist Dr. Dray explains, it’s time we stop having such “unrealistic” expectations of our skincare products — no one product can do everything.
“If I only had the right skincare routine everything would be going smoothly.” Dr. Dray repeats back a phrase we’ve all said at some point. But, while products can support skincare goals, there’s a limit to how much they can actually do. Instead of putting all of your eggs in one basket for better skin, Dray explains why you need to add exercise to your daily routine and how exercise is actually the number one thing to “slow aging.”
‘Zesty’ Grandma
Dray reminds us that the goal shouldn’t be to never age or never get a wrinkle — but to age well so that we have energy and a “zest” for life — a “zesty grandma.” Exercise is incredibly important and will help determine how well we age.
What is the point of exercising for your skin, though? When you exercise, it increases blood flow to the skin, which is important because, with age, circulation slows. Blood flow delivers oxygen so that your skin can heal and recover. If you have rosacea, Dray says exercise can trigger your skin condition, but sipping cold water and using cold compresses may help
Better Wound Healing
Why do you need to worry about wound healing? With age, this process slows down and if your circulation is slow, it is going to take even longer for your skin to heal. If you get a scrape or have to go in for a surgery, you want your skin to be able to heal as effectively as possible — not just for potential scaring but because when the skin is slow to heal it’s prone to infection.
Exercise also helps direct blood back to the heart and reduce lower leg swelling, while preventing more varicose veins from forming.
Inflammation Reduction
Consistent exercise reduces the risk of chronic inflammation. Many skin conditions, including psoriasis, rosacea, acne, and eczema, are linked to inflammation, which means regular exercise can help skin flares.
Exercise can even improve your immune function, which slows down as we get older. The first step of wound healing is an immune response to clear out damaged cells, including those from ultraviolet radiation. If your immune system is impaired, you are at a greater risk of skin cancer and exercise helps combat environmental stresses.
How Much Exercise Do You Need?
It can be stressful to hear that you need to start a new exercise regiment, but it doesn’t have to be. In order to get the benefits of regular exercise, Dray says it is recommended that you get 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week — that’s 30 minutes a day for five days a week. Moderate-intensity exercise is walking, riding a bike, and making sure you get in more steps each day. If you sit a lot during the day, try standing more. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. And don’t beat yourself up if you can’t get all of this time in each week — it’s about averages, Dray says, not about what you do each day.
