Skincare is very personal to the individual. No two should be the same, or at least the effects, feeling and results will not be . That is because we are experts of our own skin, or try to be, by knowing what it needs.
We are individuals.
In this blog I personally want to write and focus on the skin and how it changes or how skincare changes during Ramadan. For many Muslim who practice their daily salahs may already know this. However it has come to my attention that during the holy month of Ramadan, many "not so religious" people try their best to practice their daily salahs for the first time. Which means they encounter something different from their normal skincare routine.
Not understanding why all of a sudden their skincare products are not work like it used to. Why is their skin is looking worse or why has the skin-type changed completely.
Skin serves as the first protective line and barrier of the body. Skin can be affected by several external factors such as pathogens, ultraviolet light, and pollution, as well as endogenous alterations related to aging /or oxidative stress disturbance and fasting.
One of the most well-known caloric restriction diets is the Ramadan intermittent fasting, which is a radical change in the diet plan of person for the period of one month. Fasting increases the body's metabolic activity, which further leads to a healthy body and skin. Moreover, it also imparts anti-aging benefits. Fasting can regulate blood glucose levels. Regulating your blood sugar is indisputably important , from your overall mood to your skin's mood. When it's too high it can cause dry skin and even cause collagen damage.
With the lack of water intake during Ramadan, it is normal for your skin at first to look dry, flaky, dull and sometimes even wrinkly. Your body is doing though withdrawal from liquid. So any fluids trapped in the skin and body, the blood vessels and organs will be sucking them up to function. We also get many of our super charge and ingredients from food. This will also play a part in acne/oil production and skin sensitivity.
Now that we know skin will be changing, we now need to tailor make our skincare to work at its best. Like I mentioned before, not everyone will be the same. Some work indoors, some work outdoors ect. So if you are someone who has a higher potential of UV rays exposure, then opt for SPF re-application more.
You do not need to cleanse or tone your skin 5 times a day every time you pray. Cleanser and toner is cleaning your face. This only needs to be done when your face is at its most dirtiest. For example in the morning, waking up from a night sweaty face, face covered with duvet/pillowcases spreading bacterial ect. Or in the evening after a full days work ,wearing make and face pollution ect.
If you have the energy to do your full morning skincare routine after your Fajr pray, then well done !! or you can go back to sleep and wake up the normal time and do it then.
After Zhuhor pray (mid day pray) you will start to feel the skin pulling tighter, as you have just used water and your skin is natural expecting moisture to follow. seeing that your morning products have penetrated into the skin for approximately 5 hours, you should go back and applying some elixir to add moisture followed by SPF!! Some SPF give you a moisturising effect after. If this is the case then I would say that use SPF after your pray. This is more important than elixir especially for those who likely to be exposed to more to UV rays than some others due to work. So its best to be protected!.
After Asr pray (afternoon) I suggest in adding some hydration back into the skin. you have gone through nearly a whole day without water, you skin, lips and organs will be feeling it by now. Using Skin quench adds a injection of hydration topically to the skin. it helps to relieve the tightness and gives the skin a bit more ease. Again if you are still working outside then defiantly top up on your SPF again.
After Magrib pray (sun set/after iftar), I know your skin would feel as if it just been bought back to life with an electric paddle, especially taking that first sip of water. There normally isn't much time between Magrib and Isha pray, so I would recommend to wait until your final pray and then do your full night time routine before bed. If you are taking part in Taraweeh then you should wait until after that instead.
This goes without saying, try to listen to your skin and feel what it wants. The products you are most likely to re-applying after each salah are:
You do not need to apply all 3 at once but can alternate between different salahs. This way your skin is taken care off and has FULL and maximum amount of penetration of products into your skin.
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