5 ways to achieve clearer skin that don’t involve topical skincare

Let’s face it, getting into skincare for the first time can be pretty daunting. Even for those of us who have been in the game since the notorious St Ives Apricot Scrub days, it can be the wild west. There’s no shortage of cleansers, creams, and serums that promise to do everything except your laundry. Couple that with endless skincare TikTok trends and it’s easy to spend an eye-watering amount of money putting your skin through the wringer for sometimes little to no return.

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While there’s no cure-all for perfect skin, taking a holistic approach to skincare can further support in addressing many skin concerns. This approach isn’t just about topical treatments, it’s about adopting certain habits and routines that give your skin its best chance for maximum glow. If dietary intake is inadequate then consider supplementing your diet with supplements like Swisse Beauty’s Multivitamin Beauty Complex, upping your water intake, sleeping well and reducing stress.

Change your diet

There’s no denying that your diet can and will impact your skin. This doesn’t mean denying yourself a mid-afternoon snack, but it means taking a balanced approach to your diet. Eat foods that make your body feel nourished and make sure you add skin-loving foods like fatty fish, avocados, nuts and sweet potatoes to your meal plan.

Embrace ingestible beauty

Despite getting many nutrients from the food we eat, we can often find ourselves with gaps in our diet. This is where introducing a daily multipurpose supplement, like Swisse Beauty’s Multivitamin Beauty Complex, can be beneficial. It contains marine collagen and sodium hyaluronate, as well as 13 vitamins, minerals and herbs.

It also combines some ingredients you’re well accustomed to applying topically like vitamin C which supports skin elasticity and regeneration, and retinol which supports skin health and structure. It also has a slew of other well-known skin, hair and gut ingredients including biotin to support hair growth, turmeric which is traditionally used in Western herbal medicine to relieve abdominal bloating, ashwagandha which has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to help the body adapt to stress and nicotinamide to help relieve tiredness.

This isn’t a passing fad; skincare experts have highlighted the importance of supplements for years. Brittany Corcoran, former Skin Specialist and Mecca Manager, knows how far a good supplement can take your regime.

“Skincare applied topically can only do so much and what you consume makes all the difference. Regardless of how expensive the products you use are or how extensive your routine is, your skin won’t improve if you don’t look after it from the inside out. Supplements help internally and that radiates externally,” she tells me.

Increase your water intake

Your skin is the largest organ in your body so it only makes sense that it requires a lot of hydration. Drinking your recommended daily dose of eight to 10 glasses of water can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, balance your skin’s pH levels and generally improve your complexion. It’ll also help your body function at its best and provide moisture to your skin from within.

Get some sleep

Do you remember your parents harping on about getting a good amount of sleep? They weren’t wrong. After a long day of fighting environmental stressors, your skin needs time to rest and regenerate and when is better to do it than while you’re asleep? During sleep, your skin cells regenerate, your body produces collagen (aka the closest thing to a fountain of youth) and it’s more receptive to products since it’s not busy fighting UV rays, pollutants and other external factors.

Mitigate stress

Have you ever had a pimple pop up right before a big work presentation? Increased cortisol production can lead to gut problems, breakouts, inflammation and other skin conditions. While advising you not to stress out may actually result in you stressing out, you can adopt a few measures to reduce your stress levels. Exercise is a great stress reliever but if that’s not your thing, you can try meditating, journaling or taking supplements.

Always read the label and follow the directions for use.

Swisse Beauty’s Multivitamin Beauty Complex is available as tablets and watermelon-flavoured powder.