It’s nice to have a reason to keep ourselves looking gorgeous, but be honest: You kind of liked taking a break from all those skincare rituals. Fortunately keeping your mug looking fabulous doesn’t have to be as complicated as doing your taxes. Here are five easy and healthy beauty tips to take with you into 2021.

Recovering from the skincare drought of 2020

Beauty took a backseat in 2020. Just applying chapstick felt like a win. “Why go through the hassle,” many of us thought, “of our daily skincare and makeup routines when we can just pump up the Zoom filter instead?" 2020 was not the year for elaborate routines involving dozens of products.

Now that real-life social gatherings are on the horizon, we find ourselves dusting off our menagerie of toners, ampoules, moisturizers, serums, essences and sheet masks … And we can hardly believe we used to apply all those things every day! Do we really need to live life that way again?

We love fancy face cream and take great joy in pampering. But if there’s one thing we’d like to take from 2020, it’s … perspective. And honestly, we’re starting to think there must be a better way to achieve that healthy skin glow without slathering on ten products each day.

‘Perspective’ on beauty for us in 2021 means thinking about how we can achieve more with less, in less time, with less money. The truth is, beautiful, glowing skin isn’t made on the outside. Healthy skin starts with what you put inside your body. That’s why we developed the Beauty shot -- to help you get closer to the “I woke up like this” look without tons of expensive lotions and potions. 

Rather than give you a beauty routine that reads like something from the IRS, we’ve compiled a list of simple and easy beauty fundamentals to help you get your glow back, from the inside out. And yes, you guessed it ... the first tip is to drink water.

How to get beautiful skin from the inside out

1. Drink Water to stay hydrated throughout the day

‘Drink water’ is a tired, predictable cliche on most ‘top five’ health and beauty lists. We know, we know, you’ve heard it before. Why, then, are you still not drinking enough water? Experts recommend 11.5 cups per day for women (almost 8 soda cans) and 15.5 cups a day for men. 

That recommendation is for someone who doesn’t drink three large coffees and a third glass of wine on most days. If that sounds more like your speed, you might want to increase your water intake a bit beyond the average. We know it can be a pain to keep up with, but we promise that drinking more water will only do good things for your skin and for the rest of you. 

Not convinced? Here are just a few benefits of staying hydrated … 

• It can help prevent acne
• It helps keep your skin hydrated and hydrated skin means younger looking skin
• It can help increase blood flow to your skin, which increases cell metabolism and keeps your skin looking younger and healthier
• It can help improve skin tone and increase skin elasticity (i.e. keep your skin taut and sexy)
• … and the list goes on …

Remember to space out those sips, thought, because your body can only absorb so much at a time. 

2. Exercise to keep cortisol low and collagen high

Guess what? Your favorite thing next to drinking water! Seriously, though, you can’t fight science, and science says: “Your face needs oxygen.”

Oxygen comes from the circulation of your blood and one surefire way to get that blood circulating is to move your body in a manner colloquially referred to as … exercise. Don’t blame the messenger: If we made the rules, chocolate ice cream and Netflix would be very healthy and make you look ten years younger!

All kidding aside, the good news is that exercise helps you feel and look better. The keys here are circulation and stress. Getting your blood circulating delivers oxygen to your skin cells which speeds up cell metabolism and results in fresher looking, newer skin. Better circulation also means healthier hair follicles, and faster growing hair.

Exercise is pretty powerful. It’s even known to reduce stress by helping us manage levels of the cortisol hormone. At elevated levels, cortisol breaks down the collagen protein, making your skin less elastic and even making your hair brittle. Collagen is foundational for skin health so we want to make sure to keep it from breaking down!

3. Take collagen for the skin win

We know what you’re thinking: “Exercise and drinking water is ok, but isn’t there a 2 oz bottle of juice that I can drink instead??!!” Over time your skin will naturally lose some of its luster. Combining hydration with exercise and intentional nutrition can certainly help slow things down, though. Collagen is an especially important part of the puzzle because it is so crucial for skin health. Collagen is what helps keep skin taut. Collagen depletion leads to more wrinkles and dryer skin. So, how can you boost your collagen? Here are some easy-peasy life-hacks …

How why you should your collagen production with … more collagen: 

• Collagen can be ingested and it’s one of the most important ingredients in our delicious Beauty shot. It’s added to a delicious blend of cold-pressed watermelon and strawberry juice, chamomile and jasmine tea, and a little cayenne to help get the blood flowing to your face.
• As a supplement, and when ingested, collagen actually stimulates your body to produce more collagen, and possibly more elastin as well.
• Collagen is good for your skin because of its natural function in your body, and collagen supplements have been clinically proven to reduce wrinkles and improve your skin’s appearance.
• Jasmine and Chamomile teas can’t hurt skin either; they are loaded with antioxidant properties, and foods with antioxidants have been shown to benefit skin health. Combine these with collagen and you’re on the way to healthier looking and feeling skin.

4. Wash Your Face

Just do it. Twice a day, and especially at night before bed. We realize you probably do this already but it is, in fact, very possible to wash your face incorrectly. Don’t (for example) use bar soap, or run the water too hot. (Click here for the rest of the do’s and don’ts.)

Proper face washing does more than just remove makeup, though. It also helps remove dead skin cells, oils and grime from the day that can clog your pores. Most importantly, it helps wash away environmental pollutants that can cause premature aging. Finally, a good face-washing is imperative if you plan on adding goops and gobs of lotions and good stuff. Because why would you want to slather anything on top of dirty skin?

5. Wear Sunscreen

Ask a Dermatologist for skincare tips, and they will likely tell you that the number 1 skin super-villain is the sun. Nothing harms your skin more than UV radiation. It breaks down collagen and elastin, and depletes proteins that keep your skin hydrated and smooth. In addition to causing dryness and accelerating the appearance of wrinkles, excessive sun exposure can also cause discoloration. Feel free to have fun in the sun SPF-free but be prepared to shell out an obscene amount of money trying to reverse the effects. Honestly, we would rather just a few dollars for a natural, safe sunblock with an SPF of 30 or higher, and take a few extra minutes to slather it on before heading into the sunshine. 

We think even these five steps can be followed by the less-than perfect human who nevertheless yearns for perfect skin and hair! Incorporating these products and practices into your daily routine are sure to give you the foundation you need for super healthy and beautifully glowing skin. So drink all the water, wash your face, remember sunblock, grab a Bailout Beauty shot, and stay hydrated.

Don’t worry, your over-the-top 13 step beauty routine will be right where you left it (somewhere in 2019).