Decoding common lockdown symptons

You may have noticed that, recently, your skin has been acting a little differently.

Whether it's all of a sudden generating too much moisture or simply not enough, you've definitely spotted that something is afoot.

Well - you might be surprised to hear that over the weeks that the nation has been confined to their homes, we've had more calls than ever about patients experiencing unpredictable skin.

That's why we've put together a rundown of the most common symptoms of what we - at the clinic - have taken to calling the 'Indoor Skin Effect' (...plus a little advice from the experts on how to improve it from home!)

Let's get started, shall we?

"MY FACE IS SO DRY"

People forget that skin is hypersensitive to environment,

'When you've gone from travelling into work, in and out of various temperature-controlled environments, to staying put for weeks on end - our skin feels the impact of this.'

'Things like central heating and air-conditioning extract moisture from our skin very quickly. We should be looking to replenish dry faces with products that contain ingredients like hyaluronic acid - ones that lock moisture in for longer.'

On the flip side, if you've been out in the garden more than usual, without adequate SPF, you might also experience dryness.

'Your skin may start to feel tight and a bit itchy, even if it's not visibly flaking,

'Think of applying SPF a bit like brushing your teeth - something to be performed as daily maintenance. It's vital we wear it come rain or shine. The consistent habit will help you regulate moisture.'

"I'M BREAKING OUT"

Being cooped up indoors can make one day begin to blur into the next.

As a result - it's very easy to let your normal routines start to slip. 'This can very easily lead to pimples and blemishes.'

Whether it's occasionally falling asleep with your makeup on, dropping down to just a morning skincare regime - or even missing out moisturising altogether a few days a week - our skin is hypersensitive to breaks in routine, too. 'Try to keep a consistent regime in place. This should help prevent any drastic breakouts.'

'We also shouldn't forget about the influence of stress.

'Our skin responds to stress by releasing a hormone called cortisol, which prompts oil production. This often is when we'll see clogged or enlarged pores, redness and pimples.'

Doctors suggest this is our cue to up our intake of calming agents; 'Drinking Black and Green tea can help here - as can meditation and yoga.'