S Club and Dancing on Ice star Hannah Spearritt’s comprised immune system meant her skin wasn’t as bright as normal – so she visited aesthetics expert Lesley Reynolds, who is known as the Queen of Harley Street. Here, Lesley shares details of how she fixed the problem
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Dancing on Ice: Hannah Spearritt opens up on challenging year
If you’re feeling under the weather or stressed, it can show on your face – something S Club star Hannah Spearritt noticed in the lead up to her appearance on Dancing on Ice.
She thought her skin wasn’t looking great, so she visited my Harley Street Skin Clinic. Ahead of her time on the ice, she’d been dealing with a weak immune system for some time and the death of her beloved bandmate Paul Cattermole saw her stress levels skyrocketed. Hannah, who has just published her memoir, Facing The Music, also said she was dealing with vertigo and tiredness. Her usually glowing skin showed signs of this, appearing dull and dehydrated, with breakouts and sensitivity.
Our emotions, immune health, and skin quality are all connected. When we’re upset, our bodies release a hormone called cortisol that messes with our immune system and disrupts our skin’s natural healing process, reports OK!.
Stress can also cause us to make facial expressions that lead to wrinkles. It’s a tough cycle, as the worse our skin looks, the more it can affect how we feel about ourselves.
So, what’s the solution?
I advised Hannah to approach the issue from all sides eating well, exercising regularly, getting plenty of sleep, making time for mindfulness and generally being nice to herself. When your skin is under attack, high-tech clinical treatments can potentially make things worse, so it’s best to avoid harsh resurfacing procedures and active ingredients like retinoids and acids.
Instead, go for moisturising facials that use LED therapy, which helps calm down overactive skin cells, a common cause of skin inflammation. The red light also heals sensitive skin and boosts blood flow.
I suggested Hannah try a course of injections that encourage the body to produce more inflammation-fighting proteins. These weekly jabs have helped her immune system fix itself.
I also gave her a home care routine to help heal her skin, with ingredients like barrier-boosting ceramides, moisture-locking hyaluronic acid, and soothing honey. These will help calm her skin, which is just what Hannah needs as she gets ready for her time on Dancing On Ice.
By then, I’m sure she’ll be over the moon with her skin!
What your skin might be saying about your health.
Flu and colds
Flu and nasty colds can lead to dry skin, chapped lips, dull skin tone, spots, and redness. If you’re naturally prone to psoriasis, it might show up for the first time after a virus or infection this is because your immune system is weak, causing skin cells to grow too fast without falling off and creating red, raised, flaky patches of skin that can be itchy and sore.
Stress and worry
Stress can appear as dry, flaky areas, deeper wrinkles, breakouts, dark circles and even eczema. Stress also makes blood vessels bigger, which can cause redness and make rosacea worse.
Not getting enough sleep
Puffy eyes or dark circles under your eyes are classic signs that you’re tired, but your skin will also look older, with more fine lines, bigger pores, and sagging. There might be a congested, flaky area between your eyebrows, which shows poor circulation.
Skin can also look dull and almost grey-like, and appear inflamed and red around the eyes.
Feeling down
Long-term sadness can really affect your skin, because the chemicals released can stop your body from fixing inflammation in cells. Skin will look sallow, pale, lacklustre, or sagging, with more noticeable wrinkles from constantly frowning and furrowing brows.
Eating badly and not living healthily
Eating too many processed foods can make your skin worse by causing inflammation. Drinking too much alcohol, eating too much sugar, and having too much dairy can cause you to lose collagen, produce too much oil, and make rosacea, acne, and eczema worse.
Alcohol can also make the blood vessels around your nose bigger, which can make your face look red.
* If you’re worried about your health, you should talk to a doctor.
- Hannah Spearritt’s book, Facing the Music, is out now. You can buy it from Renegade Books for £10 here. You can also get it as an eBook.
