How to Brighten Dull Skin

Your skin is much more than just your body’s largest organ. It is also the most important feature of your face. Your skin also directly reflects the overall state of your health: Glowing and blemish-free skin is a sign that you are doing well all over whereas dull and sallow skin often signifies the opposite.

YOUR PATH TO GLOWING SKIN

Your skin isn’t only your body’s largest organ; it is the most important feature of your face. It also directly reflects the state of your overall health. When your skin is glowing and blemish-free it’s a good sign that you are doing well all over. Dull and sallow skin often signifies quite the opposite. So, before you apply another layer of highlighting make-up, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Are there aspects of your lifestyle and diet that could just as quickly improve your skin? Although it’s not the worst of skin conditions, dull skin can also let down an otherwise polished look. Dull skin causes your skin to look lifeless or tired. If your face isn’t looking great and you can’t quite put your finger on why, dull skin is most likely the culprit. Read on to discover the reasons behind dull skin, the best ways to fight it and pave the way to healthier, glowing skin.

WHY CAN SKIN BECOME DULL?

The sun, stress, dead skin cells, lack of sleep and cigarette smoking are among the biggest factors that affect the overall tone and appearance of our skin.

Protect yourself from the sun’s harmful rays

The UV rays from sun extract moisture from your skin and can leave it feeling rough and flaky. Excessive exposure to the sun will not only mute your skin tone, but speed up the ageing process as well. Always remember to protect your skin with sunscreen when you head outside.

Stressful situations

Stress shows up first in your skin. When you go into stress mode, your body releases stress hormones. These hormones trigger a number of responses in your body, including sending your organs and glands into overdrive which can cause breakouts and slow down the skin’s natural regeneration process. We can also get stressed from lack of sleep. Regular and adequate sleep helps promote the production of our natural growth hormones for our cells and collagen levels.

Too many dead skin cells

One of the simplest ways to brighten up your dull skin is to give it a good buff and polish.

Dead skin cells can build up on your face and become a nuisance. Excessive dead skin cells will also diffuse the light around you and make your skin appear dull.

Make sure you exfoliation regularly to gently remove any dead skin cells and reveal the healthy, light-reflecting skin underneath.

Cigarettes

Smoking isn’t good for any organ in your body, but it causes many internal and external issues with your skin. Smoking impairs your circulation dramatically. It prevents oxygenated blood from reaching your skin supplying it with nutrients it needs to regenerate.

Other problems such as broken blood vessels, dark circles under the eyes and an overall unhealthy-looking complexion are common in smokers, due to an overload of toxins in the body.

HOW TO COMBAT DULL SKIN

Your lifestyle and habits are the best places to start when trying to combat dull skin. Just changing or adding a few key steps in your everyday life can be the difference between a dull, lifeless complexion and a healthy, radiant glow.

Hydrate your skin: There are so many reasons why you should drink more water, and brighter skin is one of them. Drinking lots of water increases the blood flow to your skin, creating pinker cheeks and an overall healthy glow.
Minimise your makeup: Why would you do all this work to make sure your skin is bright and healthy, only to dull it with a layer of makeup? Go as light as you can on makeup so you can keep that glow shining through. Instead of a heavy foundation try using a tinted moisturiser, like NIVEA SUN's UV Face BB Cream, with light-reflecting pigments to even out skin tone and naturally brighten your complexion.
De-stress where you can: Stressed and dull skin needs extra care to restore it back to its naturally healthy state. It also needs physical and emotional help.

Consider indulging in a nourishing facial or body treatment to help shake the stress from your week and replenish your calm and energy levels. When you have time, look into taking up a new hobby or physical activity. Dedicating time to activities that you enjoy will help to significantly reduce your stress and get you back on track for getting your healthy glow back.

BEST PRODUCTS TO FIGHT DULL SKIN

After adjusting aspects of your lifestyle to support healthy, glowing skin, there are a few products you can invest in to enhance your skin’s appearance.

Look for two key ingredients when identifying skincare products for glowing skin:

Anti-ageing Q10 & Creatine: Q10 and creatine are powerful actives found naturally in the skin. As we mature, our levels of Q10 and creatine decrease, leaving the skin with less energy to regenerate. The products in NIVEA’s Q10 Plus Anti-Wrinkle skincare range help fight existing lines and wrinkles and increases the skin's own Q10 level. The intensely hydrating line of Q10 Plus products works in harmony with the skin to provide effective moisturisation and glow.
Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid: In skin, Hyaluronic Acid is known to increase our cells’ ability to bind water, giving our skin a plumper and firmer appearance. NIVEA’s Cellular Anti-age range of products helps to reignite your natural healthy glow. The formula helps to reduce fine lines and dull skin, increase firmness, and improve skin renewal with hyaluronic acid and magnolia extract.