Sporting dark circles, and lacklustre skin and yet you’ve had a full eight hours of sleep? Friends and family asking if you’re tired or flat out exclaiming ‘you look exhausted’, as soon as they see you? Well, there is a way to look less like you need a long snooze, because it’s not just a lack of sleep that can leave you with tired skin. “While you may not feel exhausted if you’re experiencing tired skin then chances are your “skin cells are exhausted and dehydrated,” shares Etre Vous expert and aesthetic doctor Anna Hemming.

The ‘exhaustion’ comes from age as the “natural exfoliation process that keeps the skin looking fresh and young slows down leaving the outer layer thicker then it should  be. This causes skin to look lacklustre on the outside and to become ‘lazy’ on the inside,” adds Hemming.

Other factors that contribute to looking tired when you’re not, can be caused by “environmental aggressors like over exposure to the sun, cold, high altitude and harsh weather elements that damage the outer layers of the skin and cause skin exhaustion. While lifestyle choices like smoking, a lack of vitamins, and minerals and not drinking enough water, along with stress can also contribute to skin tiredness,” explains Hemming.

But what might surprise you is that in a bid to look bright eyed and bushy tailed your skins biggest allies, aka skincare, could be doing you a disservice. “Moisturiser over use and the use of oils on the skin can block the natural exfoliation pathways of dead skin cells. Without losing these cells the outer dead skin layer becomes thick, creating more distance between the surface and the radiant inner living skin cells. Healthy internal skin cells should be full of moisture, but become dehydrated when they are covered in thicker and thicker layers of dead skin cells, which creates internal sensitivity. Often times people who experience this presume they have dry skin and they keep on over moisturising, locking themselves into a tired skin cycle,” explains Hemming.

Thankfully to give your skin a reset there are a plethora of in clinic treatments you can try, here are Hemmings’s top five…

Light treatment

Red LED light increases blood circulation, boosts collagen production and reduces inflammation giving lazy skin cells a kick. While Near-Infrared (NIR), also lowers inflammation, speeds up skin cell repair.

Hydrafacial

This medical grade facial removes dull external dead skin layers through microdermabrasion and infuses hydration back into dehydrated skin – making the Hydrafacial ideal for those with a tired skin condition.
 

Profhilo

Dubbed the injectable moisturiser, Profhilo is made up of a mixture of high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid and low-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid. But unlike dermal filler, which is also made from hyaluronic acid, Profhilo doesn’t add volume but rather it stimulates collagen and elastin to tighten and hydrates skin giving a major glow factor.

Laser Genesis

A near-infrared Nd:YAG laser with a wavelength of 1064 painlessly rejuvenates the skin by stimulating elastin, and collagen to improve the overall texture and tone of the skin.

Vitamin A peel

When used as a peel vitamin A derivative retinol helps to speed up cell turnover resulting in visible peeling of the skin, reducing hyperpigmentation, evening out skin tone, and revealing healthier brighter skin cells below.