With the holiday season nearly over and a long month ahead of 'detoxes' and 'fresh starts', it can be easy to forget our largest organ.
Adults walk around with 2 square meters of skin (!) and it's one of the first places to show the results of our overindulging.
Here are five new years resolutions for radiant skin:
1. Make water your number #1 priority
I know I know - you've heard this one before. The punch line is always the same: nothing helps your skin detox better (or more economically) than water.
There are a few obstacles most people face when trying to drink the recommended 2-3 litres of water a day.
For starters, it tastes... of nothing. Personally I'm a big fan of sparkling water, so I stock up on big bottles of San Pellegrino (ok, it's post-holiday season and we're broke... supermarket own-brand it is.)
A more environmentally-friendly (and ultimately, cheaper) option, is to invest in a soda stream.
These magical gadgets transform ordinary drinking water into sparkling tipple you can even flavour. So, It's like drinking a fizzy drink... but you're getting the benefit of water and none of the sugar and junk chemicals!
Adding flavoured stevia is a great way to add some taste without the calories or blood sugar spike.
2. Eat the fat
We've tackled what to drink - now what to eat!
If you weren't already aware, healthy fats like the ones found in avocados, oily fish, nuts and seeds aren't just beneficial for your skin's health: they are vital.
If the idea of choking down a can of sardines doesn't appeal to you, what about trying the following combos:
• Smoked mackerel and cream cheese roll-ups
• Avocado, topped with sea salt and honey
Who said January had to be about cabbage soup?
3. Dry brush
If Santa didn't get the message: you need to get yourself a body brush.
Now, just before you hop in the shower, give your skin a good brushing. The technique is to brush in long, firm strokes towards your heart.
The idea is to get your lymphatic system moving, so all those stored toxins get moved swiftly along and passed out of your body. It's also one of the few things you can do to reduce the appearance of the dreaded cellulite.
4. Moisturise with oil
Don't knock it till you try this one.
Instead of slathering whatever posh moisturiser or face 'elixir' you have, hoping it will work its charm: try swapping it for a natural oil.
If putting oil on your face freaks you out, start by just doing it after you're washed your face at night, and apply a few drops to sink in while you sleep.
If you're acne-prone, trust me when I still you: external oil does not give you acne! Oils like jojoba, almond and olive all provide our skin with exactly the right balance of moisture and will not clog your pores.
Just try it for one week and see how it lights up your skin (and thank me on Twitter.)
5. Make a batch of soup
Unfortunately, the collagen that is added to expensive creams and potions is not the kind that is terribly effective on our skin.
The collagen found in the cartilage of animal bones however, is the one we want. The best way to get the benefits of this is to make a good old-fashioned bone broth (or, 'French stock' if the former sounds too gruesome.)
Hold on to your turkey carcass! Yes, the bones from your Christmas turkey can be slow cooked for 8-10 hours on a low heat, and transformed into a skin-rejuvenating stock.
Another option is to ask your butcher for some joint bones (eg. lamb shoulders, oxtail, knuckles...) and cook them for 12-24 hours (it's hard to overdo it.)
Use your collagen-rich stock to make delicious soups and feel smug that (1) those animal bones weren't wasted and (2) your skin will be getting Botox from the inside.