5 Simple Ways To Lessen The Effects Of Holiday Stress On Your Skin

Whilst Christmas can be a lovely time of year, it can also be quite stressful. This takes its toll on your skin & hair as well as your body and mind. But there are some simple yet highly effective things you can do to lessen the effects of holiday stress. As well as ease the side effects of too much rich food, alcohol and late nights on your skin. The best bit is you can implement them now and start seeing the positive effects straight away.

Disclaimer: Some of these products contain affiliate links which means I may receive a small commission if you decide to purchase them. But this will have no extra cost to you. As you know, I only ever recommend products and brands that I absolutely love and use myself in both my professional and personal makeup kits. So that’s how I know how amazing they are and why I’m so excited to share them with you so you’ll get the same amazing results from using them too. 

1. Apply a Hydrating Face Mask

One very simple way to lessen the effects of holiday stress on your skin is to apply a face mask. And it can take as little as 5 minutes to apply. So even if your schedule is really hectic, you can still fit this into your day.

When to apply it

Prep your skin by applying the mask first thing in the morning. In fact, this is what the celebs do before a big event or night out. So if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for you. 🙂

You can do this before you put on your makeup. Not only will your skin look and feel great, but you’ll also be feeling energised and fabulous after a little self-care before heading off to your relative’s house for the day.

Or you could even apply the face mask last thing at night just after you remove your makeup. (which is also super important to have glowing, healthy-looking skin. More on that in a moment)

What kind of mask should I use?

In addition to the colder temperatures and central heating, too much alcohol and rich foods can cause your skin to look and feel dry and dehydrated.

So a quick and easy way to put some hydration back into your skin is to apply a hydrating face mask.

There are 2 products in particular that I’m a huge fan of that are perfect for the job.

Weleda Skin Food

The first one is the amazing Weleda Skin Food. It’s one of my skin heroes all year round. Especially in Winter. As it does an incredible job at keeping dry, flaky skin at bay.

Another thing I love is that it’s multi-tasking and can be used for a variety of things. And one of those things is a face mask.

I like to apply it to my face after cleansing which really allows it to soak into my skin and give it a super quick burst of hydration.

Pai Skincare Buriti Balm

Another product I love to use as a face mask is the equally amazing Buriti Balm by Pai Skincare. This is also a multi-tasking product with numerous uses.

You can literally apply this anywhere on your body where your skin is feeling dry and in need of a quick boost of hydration.

As well as using this on my face, I also use it on my elbows, hands, lips. And you can even apply a little bit to the ends of your hair if they’re looking dry.

Winter Beauty Tips

If you’re in need of tips on how to stay hydrated from head to toe in Winter, make sure to check out the Winter Beauty Masterclass.

You’ll not only learn how to keep the skin on your face hydrated. It also includes lessons on handcare, haircare, body care, lip care as well as a Winter makeup lesson too.

You can find out all the details about the Winter Beauty Masterclass here.

2. Eyes Also Show The Effects of Holiday Stress

Your eyes are most likely where you’ll notice the effects of holiday stress the most! But there are a couple of really simple things you can do to help with this.

The first one is to pop a couple of cucumbers on your eyes for 5-10 minutes. And for an extra bit of self-care, you can even do this whilst you allow your face mask to do its magic.

Cucumber is made up of about 90% water. So it’ll really help to rehydrate your eyes and remove any puffiness too.

Cold tea bags also work very well around the eyes and will leave you looking refreshed and awake in a matter of minutes.

For even more ways to lessen the effects of holiday stress on your eyes, make sure to check out these 9 eyecare tips to brighten and enhance tired eyes.

3. Drink Plenty of Water

Yes, I know I’m always talking about this. But I really can’t emphasise it enough!

If you’re not drinking enough water, you’ll immediately notice the side effects on your skin!

Fine lines and wrinkles will look more prominent. You’ll also notice dry, flaky patches on your skin. And it will even look tired and washed out.

Things such as alcohol and rich, sugary foods are not going to help either. They’re just going to dehydrate your skin even more.

Add in holiday stress, and it really doesn’t make for healthy, glowing skin.

How to drink plenty of water & stay hydrated during the holiday season

If you are drinking alcohol, the best thing you can do for your skin is to try drinking 1 glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you drink.

For example, if you’re drinking a glass of wine, keep a glass of water beside you too and sip from it every now and then. Then do this for every subsequent glass of wine you drink.

If you find that too hard to stick to or if it’s just not possible (because let’s be honest, it can be hard), try drinking at least 1 glass of water at some point in between your glasses of wine. And then drink as much water as you can once you get home before going to sleep.

When you wake up the next morning, make sure to drink a glass of water before drinking any drinks that contain caffeine such as coffee or tea.

The caffeine will just dehydrate your skin further. Then try to drink at least 1-2 litres of water throughout the day.

If you find that hard to do, make sure to check out these fun, simple and tasty ways to get into the habit of drinking plenty of water.

4. Always Remove Your Makeup

This may seem like another obvious one. But taking off your makeup is SO important. And trust me, it will actually help with your hangover. Really!

Because your skin will look and feel so much fresher than if you still had yesterdays makeup on your face. And it’s also going to make it look better too.

Now I realise that taking off your makeup after a night out is often the last thing you want to do. Especially if it’s late. Or after a long day at your relative’s house or entertaining guests.

Let’s be honest, all you want to do is just crawl into bed!

But it doesn’t have to be such a chore. And you can do it in about 5 minutes or less.

Quick ways to remove your makeup

At the very least, please make sure to remove your eye makeup.

It’s really not nice waking up with yesterdays mascara and eyeliner still on (or somewhere halfway down your face!). Let alone how bad it is for your eyes too!

If you’re really not up to standing in the bathroom for a few minutes to remove it, why not try removing it in bed. Bring some cotton pads and your eye makeup remover to bed with you.

Then whilst lying in bed, you can gently remove your eye makeup.

Something is better than nothing!

A cleansing wipe is better than nothing at all

Whilst I really don’t recommend them for everyday use, a cleansing wipe is another way you can remove your makeup quickly. They won’t be as effective as your usual cleanser.

And let’s face it, facial wipes are no friend to the environment either!

But again, something is better than nothing. And your skin will thank you for it.

Make sure to avoid cleansing wipes that contain alcohol, as they’ll only dry out your skin even further.

I like these Organic 3 in 1 Cosmetic Wipes by Simply Gentle. They actually do cleanse quite well for a wipe.

They’re alcohol-free and contain organic ingredients. So they’re actually good for your skin.

They’re also good for the environment as they’re made from 100% organic biodegradable cotton. Plus they’re budget-friendly too.

And you can also bring remove your makeup in bed with them.

Follow up the next day with a deep cleanse

Make sure to follow up the next morning with a thorough cleanse and apply your usual moisturiser. You could even apply a deep cleansing face mask as per tip number 1 above if you really want to take extra care of your skin.

I really love the Copaiba Deep Cleanse AHA Mask by one of my favourite skincare brands Pai Skincare.

Not only will it deep cleanse your skin, which is perfect if you haven’t cleansed properly the night before.

But it will also leave your skin looking bright, glowing and hydrated.

That’s why I love using it at this time of year, in particular. As it helps reduce the effects of holiday stress and late nights on my skin.

5. Stop and take a break from it all

Whilst you love them, entertaining or spending time with your relatives can be one of the biggest contributors to holiday stress.

So make sure you also schedule a little me-time for yourself. Even if it’s just for a few minutes.

Try going for a walk outside for a half hour to get away from the chaos. The fresh air will do you the world of good. And 30 minutes is just one 48th of your day!

When you consider you’re most likely spending approximately 12-15 hours caring for everyone else, it puts that thirty minutes of me-time into perspective!

Or schedule in an evening that’s dedicated entirely to yourself once your relatives have all gone home.

Maybe you can treat yourself to a nice, long, hot bath. It will be a great excuse to use some of those gorgeous gifts you received.

Or an evening just relaxing on the couch reading a book or watching a movie will do the trick too.

A good skincare routine is for life, not just for Christmas!

If you’re in need of even more tips to keep your skin looking and feeling glowing and healthy, not just at Christmas, but all year round, make you get your copy of my FREE Skincare Guide.

It’s packed full of tips for every single skin type.

So no matter whether you have dry, oily, combination or normal skin, you’ll find what you need in the guide.

If you want to take things to the next level be sure to check out the Winter Beauty Masterclass which has everything you need to nurture your entire body head to toe.

I really hope you find these tips helpful. You can literally start implementing them now to help reduce the effects of holiday stress on your skin.

Not only that, but they’ll also make you feel so much better.

Remember, when you look good you feel good.

But when you feel good you look even more fabulous.

Above all else, make sure you have some fun instead of focusing on holiday stress this year. xo