“'Skin fasting' refers to the idea of not using any skincare at all for a certain period of time, to allow the skin to 'recover' from the overuse of products”, explains Dr Natalia Spierings, consultant dermatologist and author of Skintelligent.
As the name suggests, skin fasting is all about going cold turkey on your skincare products and replacing those complex routines with simpler ones. One of the newest skincare trends that have taken social media by storm is - Skin fasting.
Speaking at the Facial Aesthetic Conference and Exhibition (FACE), she explained that after a 4-5 days of fasting the body starts to clean out the dead cells and boost its new stem cell production. The result: fresher looking skin.
Step 2. The best way to approach skin fasting is by taking one step back each day. This will give you results without disrupting the natural flow of your skin. To see the benefits, you reduce or stop using any skincare product to enable your skin to rejuvenate on its own.
If you're using a product you really need and then you remove it to go on your skin fast, you might make your skin temporarily worse, per Dr. Jaliman. For example, if you tend toward oily skin with blocked pores and you stop using your exfoliant, you might wind up with more clogged pores and dead skin.
Bottom line. Fasting benefits skin appearance by keeping it firm yet flexible, reducing loose skin while losing weight. Loose skin is usually the result of decreased skin elasticity due to a decline in collagen and elastin production.
During fasting, the body goes into a state of autophagy, where it breaks down and recycles old, damaged cells. This process helps to remove toxins and promote the growth of new, healthy cells, which can result in clearer, more radiant skin,” added Mahajan.
Although there is no fixed rule on how frequently you should be doing skin fasting, do not do it more than once a week.
Caloric restriction with fasting has demonstrated improvement in multiple skin properties, including skin barrier function in both mice and humans [25]. Studies have also suggested that caloric restriction may improve the appearance of wrinkles and decrease the presence of oxidative stress [26,27].
When insulin level is high, your hormones receive a sign to produce a substance which is oily and clogs your pores and causes acne. These findings suggest that intermittent fasting, which increases insulin sensitivity, may have a role to play in reducing pimples and blackheads.
Fasting also has an anti-inflammatory effect. In addition to losing weight and strengthening the immune system, intermittent fasting helps the skin by detoxifying. Thus, the skin becomes cleaner and brighter, the irritations disappear, the fine wrinkles are attenuated.
Fasting regimes increase fat burning, which can lead to less cellulite, resulting in smoother skin on the buttocks and thighs. Fasting regimes reduce oxidative stress, which can reduce the negative effects on many of the various skin cells and proteins that increase aging.
Benefits of the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet
And like the rest, it also delivers anti-aging benefits. When you follow the ProLon FMD program, you go on a 5-day fast once every 1-6 months.
It's a lifestyle change. You will still need to eat healthy foods to maintain good health while fasting. Research is establishing that fasting and time-restricted eating can reverse visible aging signs in many people when done correctly and consistently.
Hair Loss and Skin Issues
Hair loss and skin issues are found to be long-term intermittent fasting side effects. If intermittent fasting is not practised properly for a prolonged period it will cause a lack of nutrition and body essentials leading to hair loss and skin issues.
Intermittent Fasting Increases Collagen Production
The skin begins to make less collagen as we age giving our face a rather deflated countenance and older looking appearance. Human growth hormone helps to build up and even repair collagen. Fasting is one of the most effective ways to raise growth hormone.
Studies have shown that fasting can increase the secretion of human growth hormone and promote the process of autophagy, both of which directly or indirectly influence the production of collagen. The intricate relationship between collagen synthesis and intermittent fasting impacts longevity and health.
Here's where the debate gets intense. "There is no scientific evidence it will detox the body. The issue of fasting to cleanse the body has no biological basis because the body is real good at that by itself," says Fernstrom.
Old skin cells naturally turn over and are replaced by new ones in 28-day cycles. However, skincare products block our epidermis (the outermost layer of our skin structure) and stop it from naturally peeling off. Due to the blockage, our skin fails to turnover, and its natural renewal cycle is disturbed.
Intermittent fasting and hair physiology
Fasting is also associated with temporary stress and hormonal disruption, as the body is adapting to the change. Even though intermittent fasting has many health benefits like weight loss, it is also directly or indirectly associated with increased hair loss.
Dry fasting is a form of intermittent fasting in which no liquid is consumed during the fasting window. Dry fasting is modeled after certain religious fasts. During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk for 30 days.