YOUR SKIN PLAN
PHASE ONE
The focus for this first phase is to calm inflammation, support your skin barrier, reduce internal stress signals and get your foundations more consistent.
Because you have previously been on Roaccutane and your breakouts have started to return over the past couple of years, we want to look at the full picture rather than just throwing stronger products at the skin.
Your current key focus areas are:
- Supporting your skin barrier
- Improving bowel regularity
- Supporting blood sugar balance
- Reducing sunbed use
- Calming the nervous system
- Creating simple AM and PM habits that work around shift work
Important note on sunbeds
I know sunbeds can feel like they dry breakouts out short term, but they are not a safe or long-term solution for acne.
Sunbeds expose the skin to concentrated UV radiation, which can damage skin cell DNA, increase premature ageing, worsen pigmentation and increase skin cancer risk. For your skin specifically, sunbeds can also make post breakout marks last longer, increase redness, dehydrate the barrier and make the skin more reactive over time. Rather than trying to stop everything overnight, I would like you to start reducing from once per week to once every 2 weeks, then work towards stopping completely. We can replace the “I feel better with colour” feeling with safer options like gradual tan, spray tan or tinted SPF.
No tan is worth stressing your skin or your long-term health for.
YOUR
LIFESTYLE
You described stress as medium, but also said you always feel on edge. That “on edge” feeling is often a sign your body is spending a lot of time in fight or flight.
This can affect-
Skin inflammation
Oil production
Sleep quality
Digestion
Cravings
Hormonal balance
So the goal is not to remove all stress, because life doesn’t work like that. The goal is to teach your body how to come back down.
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TECHNIQUE ONE
Stop-Breathe-Be
Choose a small, mindless, and repetitive task you do every day. It's ideal to pick something that can be the initiator of a cascade of events such as making tea, cleaning your kitchen countertop, checking email or getting ready for work. The more mindless and repetitive the action, the better the result.
As you're about to start the task, say to yourself in your mind or aloud the word STOP. Intentionally, bring your body to a full and complete stop. Pause and be as motionless as possible and become aware of your stillness in that moment. Then say to yourself, BREATHE. Of course, you've been breathing all along, but take a few seconds to become fully aware of your breathing as you take one deep breath in and then let it all the way out. Try to relax your body as you take a deep breath.
Finally, say the word BE. Take the moment to ground yourself and be present. Bring your attention to that moment in time and relish the temporary pause. Simply become aware of yourself before you move on to the task you're about to do. The Stop-Breathe-Be technique only takes about five seconds of pause, presence, and stillness, yet it can be an amazingly effective way to reset your stress using the mind-body connection. It's like a personal check-in from you to you at moments throughout your day.
TECHNIQUE TWO
Diaphragmatic breathing
This is a technique I like to use when I am more conscious of my breath but don’t necessarily need it in an emergency, usually using it when I have more time such as my commute to work in the car. I will make sure the radio is turned off and focus on the inhale and exhale.
Take a deep breath into your stomach opposed to your chest. You can count to 4. Breathe in through your nose and let your stomach rise then on the exhale count to 8, meaning the exhale is much slower. You can exhale through your nose or your mouth. Repeat this at least 5 times or for as long as you have.
TECHNIQUE THREE
Extra Sip
This is a technique I learnt from the great Andrew Huberman (have a nosey on his Instagram and podcasts!). This is the quickest way to calm your nervous system in a moment of stress or anxiety.
Take a deep breath into your belly and once you feel like you can inhale enough, take an extra sip. Hold your breath for 4-7 seconds then exhale as slowly as you can using the count of 8-10. Repeat this for 2 minutes.
TECHNIQUE FOUR
Grounding
Get outside and put your feet on the grass. Being ‘connected to the earth’ has scientific studies to show how it helps to reduce inflammation. I know the weather may not permit this right now but, when possible, get in your garden! Failing that, there are grounding devices that can be bought and attached on your bed to sleep in or a matt.
TECHNIQUE FIVE
Nasal vs Mouth Breathing
How you breathe during sleep matters too. Nasal breathing is considered physiologically optimal because it supports nitric oxide production, improves oxygen delivery efficiency, helps regulate blood pressure, reduces snoring, and encourages deeper, more stable sleep.
Chronic mouth breathing, on the other hand, can contribute to issues such as snoring, dry mouth, fragmented sleep, and increased sympathetic activation, which can leave the body feeling more stressed and less rested overnight.
Some people find that gentle mouth taping can help encourage nasal breathing during sleep. If you choose to experiment with this, it’s important to use medical-grade micropore tape and apply only a small vertical strip rather than sealing the mouth fully. Mouth taping should be avoided if you have nasal obstruction, diagnosed sleep apnoea, or any existing breathing concerns. Safety should always come first.