YOUR SKINCARE PLAN
PHASE ONE
To keep the skin barrier strong and healthy
To improve hydration, texture and overall glow
To support ageing skin gently without overloading it
To prepare the skin for your son’s wedding in October
To safely manage the seborrhoeic keratosis now it has been confirmed as benign
To build a routine that feels realistic and not like another full-time job
Because you have a history of breast cancer and have previously been on hormone therapy, we are not going to be doing anything that tries to “push hormones” or interfere with that side of things. The focus here is skin health, barrier support, inflammation control, sleep, stress and consistency.
YOUR
LIFESTYLE
You are currently getting around 5-6 hours per night, and this is one of the biggest areas I would like you to gently improve.
Skin repair happens mainly at night. So if sleep is short or broken, the skin often looks:
Duller
Drier
More lined
Less fresh
Slower to heal
More inflamed
We are not aiming for perfection straight away, but I would love your first goal to be working towards 6.5-7 hours where possible.
Your stress is sitting medium to high, and this will absolutely show in the skin.
Not always as acne. Sometimes it shows as:
Dryness
Dullness
Redness
Slower healing
Tightness
More visible lines
A tired look in the face
This does not mean you need to go meditate on a mountain.
It just means we need small daily cues that bring the body out of fight or flight and into repair mode.
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH STRESS.
Stress has been highlighted as a prevalent factor that is negatively impacting your health and wellbeing. The following guide is here to help you understand and manage stress so you can start to physically feel and see results. Navigate the guide from the tabs above, or the buttons below.
STAGE OF STRESS:
TYPE OF STRESS:
You struggle with:
Emotional, Physical, Environmental
STAGE
O1.
ALARM PHASE
Your System Is In Active Fight-or-Flight.
Right now, your nervous system is in the early stress response.
Adrenaline and cortisol are elevated.
Your body is alert and reactive.
You may feel:
Wired but productive
Anxious or overstimulated
Prone to stress cravings
Reactive in decision making
Struggling to fully switch off
Blood flow is being diverted away from the logical part of the brain, which is why when stressed you may operate more on reflex than reason.
At this stage, your body is still adaptive — which means it responds well to calming support.
Our focus is lowering stimulation and signalling safety.
NERVOUS SYSTEM SUPPORT
Ashwagandha
L-theanine
Passionflower
Valerian
Holy basil
5-HTP (where appropriate)
Magnesium
LIFESTYLE FOCUS
Reducing caffeine
Breathwork
Gentle evening wind-down routine
Lowering stimulation at night
Essential oils such as lavender or lemon balm
TYPES OF STRESS
Stress can show up in 3 ways:
Physical Stress: Work pressure and overcommitment, being busy with no true rest, over-exercising, injury recovery, poor sleep, blood sugar instability.
Emotional Stress: Unhappy or unsafe relationships, loss or grief, past or present trauma, feeling unworthy or misaligned with your true self, living in constant self-criticism.
Environmental Stress: EMFs, pollution, endocrine disruptors, ultra-processed foods, free radical exposure.
REGULATING EMOTIONAL STRESS
Healing does not begin with elimination diets or new supplements. It begins with safety. Some foundational shifts include:
In relationships, friendships, and work environments.
If something consistently dysregulates you, it needs addressing.
REGULATING PHYSICAL STRESS
Healing often requires doing less — not more.
If someone is training five days per week with high-intensity cardio or HIIT, we may:
-
Reduce sessions to three days per week
-
Lower intensity
-
Replace some sessions with:
-
Pilates
-
Yoga
-
Walking
-
Strength training with longer rest periods
Exercise should regulate the nervous system — not overstimulate it.
REGULATING ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS
It is impossible to remove all exposure. But small changes compound over time. Supportive shifts may include:
Using stainless steel or cast iron cookware
Drinking filtered water
Choosing organic produce where possible (especially high-pesticide items)
Avoiding smoking and vaping
Improving indoor air quality with ventilation or air purifiers
Turning Wi-Fi routers off at night if practical
Placing phones on airplane mode while sleeping
Introducing indoor and outdoor plants
Reducing synthetic fragrances in the home
These are not perfection rules. They are load-reducing strategies.
YOUR DAILY ROUTINE:
This routine has been custom made for your needs and lifestyle:
5-10 minutes outside in the morning if possible
A proper lunch break away from your desk when you can
Slower breathing before bed
Short walks after meals
Less rushing between work and home mode
A clear cut-off point from work in the evening where possible
Even 10 minutes of regulation daily is better than doing nothing all week then feeling like you need a full reset at the weekend.
Evening aim
Screens off or reduced 30-60 minutes before bed
Keep the bedroom cool
Try not to work right up until sleep
Dim the lights at night
A small wind-down routine, even 10 minutes, is better than nothing
This is especially important because your job is mentally demanding. As a science lecturer, your brain is switched on a lot of the day, so your nervous system needs a clear signal at night that it is safe to power down.
ADDITIONAL LEARNING RESOURCES
These documents have been together as general educational tools to help you understand stress better, and therefore be able to control it.
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