YOUR SKIN PLAN
PHASE ONE
Beth, this first 6 weeks is all about calming things down, getting your foundations in place and giving your skin a better environment to heal in.
You’ve been dealing with your skin for such a long time, so I don’t want to throw a million things at you and overwhelm you. Your skin already feels reactive, red and frustrated, so the aim is to support it properly and start understanding what’s driving it.
From everything we spoke about, I’m looking at a few main areas -
• Long term acne history
• More recent redness and possible rosacea type inflammation
• Whiteheads/congestion around the nose, chin and mouth area
• Cystic breakouts
• Digestion and bloating
• Low calorie food habits and not enough nourishment
• Healthy fats and hormone support
• Stress load and nervous system regulation
• Makeup confidence and fear around making the skin worse
This plan is not about being perfect. It’s about building consistency, noticing patterns and giving your skin a bit of breathing space.
Your skin is sitting between acne and rosacea inflammation at the minute.
So rather than treating it like just acne, we need to be careful. Anything too harsh, too stripping or too active could make the redness and reactivity worse.
The goal over the next 6 weeks is to
• Calm the skin - MOST IMPORTANT
• Support the barrier
• Improve digestion and bloating
• Support blood sugar and hormones through food
• Add in more healthy fats and colour
• Stop under fuelling - ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT
• Help your nervous system feel less on edge
• Build a routine that feels realistic
I don’t think we need to rush into blood testing at this stage. I’d rather see what shifts when we get the basics in place properly first. If your skin still feels stuck after we’ve done this phase, we can absolutely look at whether bloods would be useful further down the line.
This plan is not medical advice or a replacement for your GP/dermatologist, especially with anything diagnosed like rosacea or if symptoms worsen, but it is a supportive skin, lifestyle and barrier-focused plan to help us start moving in the right direction*
YOUR
LIFESTYLE
Beth, for this programme to work, I don’t want you trying to change 100 things at once.
We’re going to focus on a few daily anchors that keep your body feeling more stable and supported. These are the things I want you coming back to each day, even if the day isn’t perfect.
Your main anchors are
• Morning light
• Food before coffee
• Protein and healthy fats at breakfast
• Proper hydration
• Colour with meals
• Eating slowly and chewing properly
• Movement without pushing your body into stress
• A calmer evening routine
• Weekly skin photos and honest feedback
These might sound simple, but they’re the basics that make the biggest difference when they’re done consistently.
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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.