There are certain pursuits in life which are endless. The pursuit of happiness is an example of this – there is no ultimate summit you can reach with this emotion. By nature, it is fleeting and to experience it on a regular basis you must be well-rounded in your consistent efforts to achieve it. Chances are, you are familiar with at least a couple more never-ending pursuits. Thankfully, the remainder of this writing does not go nearly as deep as personal happiness. In fact, it is a much more surface-level conversation – how to fix and deal with dull, lifeless skin.

Like every other topic on the internet, there are enough skincare ideas online to make aliens believe this is the only subject matter humans care for. But as someone who is in search of how to best care for your skin in the midst of a North American winter, you are likely in search of the most effective of these ideas. By a sheer stroke of luck, you have found yourself in the perfect place to better understand all you can do to repair your skin – including a 5 day cleanse. So, without further ado, let’s dive into skincare!

1. The Cleanse

It would be extremely surprising to discover you have no idea what a cleanse is seeing as they are one of the more popular ideas in and around the health community. For good reason too – the number of potential benefits for fully cleansing yourself are enough to fill an entire article. But, for now, the focus will be on what a cleanse can do for your skin. In truth, a good cleanse holds the ability to rejuvenate and illuminate your skin. Now, be wary here. A cleanse might be a little more intense than you realize so be certain you know what you are up against. Provided that is taken care of, you might want to get going on that cleanse so as not to waste any more time on dull skin.

2. Skincare Routines and Products

Like the pursuit of happiness, there are an endless number of options at your disposal for products and routines related to skincare. This is a double-edged sword. Having so many options is wonderful as you have a higher chance of finding the exact product that you want. With the large variety in skin types across the world, this is actually more necessary than you might think. But who is to say all skincare products do what they say? Given their noticeable price-tag, you most certainly do not want to waste money on a product that has no effect on your skin. So, what is the solution here? Well, for starters, look for exfoliating products that contain scrubbing agents. After just a week or two the difference in your skin will be eye-popping.

3. Is Your Lifestyle Harming Your Skin?

The question above is not exactly a popular one. So much so that you may have never considered it until this moment. But it should be asked more often of those who are struggling with dull or lifeless skin. Why? Because the human body is so interconnected that even your thought life can have a direct impact on the health of your skin. As crazy as that might sound, it has been scientifically proven that noticeably higher levels of stress can cause all sorts of problems for skin. Obviously, you cannot snap your fingers and make these stressors disappear instantly or you would have by now. The first step in change is realization. So, moving forward, guard your skin with this information in mind.

4. What Do Your Meals Look Like?

If there was one word to sum up how skin maintains, or even improves upon, its health, it would be relationships. The topic found prior to this paragraph supports this idea – if you have a good relationship with stress, your skin will thank you. But this is not the only relationship your skin has with the rest of your body. Did you know your diet holds a large responsibility for the appearance of your skin? It is true which makes it very clearly in your best interest to feed your skin the nutrients it desires – zinc, omega-3, vitamin E, and much more!

All in all, this was probably more information than you were prepared to process. No one would blame you for giving this piece a re-read to best absorb all the information. But, if not, then just remember to be practical and deliberate in your skincare.