Does your skin feel dull while showing signs of premature aging despite healthy eating and a disciplined lifestyle? It may be a distress signal from your skin cells in want of oxygen. What does this mean and what can you do to replenish the oxygen needs of your skin?
Apart from keeping you alive, your skin needs oxygen for one main reason- to boost body’s natural healing capabilities. It also needs oxygen to firm up the working of collagen and elastin- two fibres that hold your skin tight. Maintain its texture and keep it looking young. Let us give you more reasons to make sure your skin is getting the amount of oxygen it needs.
Why does your skin need more oxygen as it ages?
When the skin is young, the oxygen received from nature suffices for it. But as the skin ages, naturally or due to overexposure to pollutants, the skin cell’s ability to process the oxygen from the external environment is compromised. This is also the time when functions of collagen and elastin weaken with aging. This starts showing on your skin in the form of dullness and wrinkles.
What can you do to increase oxygen supply to the skin?
1. For internal oxygenation, try deep breathing
While internally, you can increase oxygenation to each and every cell of your body by practicing a specific rhythmic deep breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya Yoga, practiced by 4.5 million people world over that facilitate the flow of oxygen into each cell of your body, apart from giving you a calm and peaceful mind. No wonder, Yogis who have been regular meditators and deep breathing practitioners seem to glow!
2. For external oxygenation, get the right face mask
Externally, to make more oxygen available to the skin, you can use natural facial masks formulated based on an ideal combination of Ayurveda and the western understanding of actives and antioxidants to stimulate oxygenation. What these face masks do is, they increase the amount of oxygen available to the skin cells, improve circulation, improve the skin’s vitality and complexion by getting rid of the dullness.
For example, Shankara’s Deep Pore Cleansing Mask, blended from structured energized water, white clay, glycine, glutamic acid, alanine, essential oils of exotic herbs like lemon tea tree, camphor, lemon basil, thyme, calendula, hyssop, meadowsweet, olive leafy and many other nourishing herbs, draws out impurities, absorbs excess oil, stimulates circulation and oxygenates the skin. The grapefruit seed extract and white clay make your skin fresh, clear and brings back the glow.
The many benefits of Oxygenation
1. Heals the skin
The body has its own healing intelligence. Your skin needs oxygen to enable and support the body’s natural healing process, thereby healing the infections and facial scars faster.
2. Reduces inflammation
Oxygenation through facial masks reduces inflammations, soothing and calming the skin. This is why herbal masks formulated for oxygenation of skin cells are a craze today.
3. Fights bacterial and fungal infections
You may have observed, where there is more oxygen, specific anaerobic fungi or bacteria are unlikely to survive. Oxygen removes debris and destroys bacteria (responsible for blemishes, irritation among other skin conditions), leaving the skin perfectly balanced and protected.
A study carried out by researchers at University of California, showed when acne causing bacteria like propionibacterium or Acne.P where stuck in environments with zero oxygen, they turned serum-oil from the skin-into fatty acids. These fatty acids were the cause for inflammations in the skin cells near the bacterial locations.
4. Collagen and elastin repair
The pillar fibers that hold the structure of the skin in place are strengthened by increased oxygenation to the skin cells. Oxygenation increases activity of fibroblastic cells that produce collagen and elastin in the skin.
5. Glowing and healthier looking skin
Want the skin of the radiant yogis? More oxygen is the way to go. It evens out the skin by reducing the fine lines and wrinkles.
