"Beauty sleep is a real thing."

Lockdown is coming to an end and our skin has been through it all. Some of you will have noticed that your skin has been on the rollercoaster of life with you, and breakouts have been more common than ever. Now is the time to get your skin back in shape and looking fabulous for your ventures outside of the house. Expert skin specialist Eavanna Breen has some top tips for that post-lockdown glow. According to her, "people are finding that their skin isn't behaving as it normally would in general. "With lockdown has come an awful lot of stress and with stress, stress has this effect on the skin where it creates all this inflammation in your body and that shows itself on your skin." Eavanna suggests looking at your diet and changing what you've become used to in lockdown. "Everybody is eating a bit more than usual or drinking few extra glasses of wine and that takes an impact on the skin as well," she says. "I'm not saying that you have to cut out all the lovely stuff but just maybe to keep in mind that it can effect your sleep and therefore it can effect your skin." There is no quick fix but Eavanna says: "Try eat more of the right foods, so cut down on the amount of sugar. Limiting the amount of fruit that you're eating, two portions of fruit in a day." Vegetables, too, are your friend! "Eat lots of vegetables, getting a real variety of colour, trying to eat vegetables at every meal. If you have two veg in your meal, maybe think about adding another two." Vegetables, says Eavanna, "will give you the fibre, the vitamins, the nutrients that your body needs to heal and repair its tissue." Yes, we've become used to drinking a bit more while at home too, but remember: "Alcohol is so bad for the skin, aside from the fact that it has sugar in it it also disrupts your sleep patterns. Beauty sleep is a real thing. "Sleep hygiene is really important, so getting up and going to bed at the same time every day throughout the week is a good idea. As is not drinking too much coffee so that you are getting a good night sleep." You can find out more about Eavanna and her team at Akina Beauty and Laser Clinic in Dublin 2.