This month, skin health therapist Louise Thomas-Minns, Founder and CEO of Louise Thomas Skin Care, suggests an autumn reset checklist – and eating protein at every meal is top of the list
There’s something about October that makes us want to hunker down a little. The sandals disappear, the jumpers come out, the heating gets switched back on and suddenly our skin can feel completely different. Perhaps your complexion has lost some of its summer glow. Maybe your skin feels tighter, drier or more sensitive. Or perhaps you’re noticing that your usual skincare routine just isn’t quite doing what it did a few months ago. My first piece of advice? Don’t immediately buy more products.
Look at what’s happening from the inside out, too.
I’ve spent more than 30 years working with skin, and one of the things I’ve learned is that healthy skin is rarely about one miracle ingredient or one miracle product. It’s about creating the right conditions for your skin to function well — and nutrition is an important part of that picture.
So, what am I actually eating for my skin this autumn?
Protein at every meal
As we get older, getting enough protein becomes increasingly important — not just for maintaining muscle, but because our bodies need protein and its amino acids for many processes involved in maintaining and repairing tissues.
I try to include a good source of protein at every meal.
Eggs, Greek yoghurt, fish, chicken, lean meat, beans, lentils, tofu — and sometimes a protein powder when convenience wins.
I’m not interested in “skinny” eating. I’m interested in well-nourished eating.
And particularly for women in their 40s and beyond, I think this is a conversation we need to have much more often.
Healthy fats aren’t the enemy
I still see so much fear around eating fat, particularly among women.
But your skin needs fats too.
I regularly include things like extra virgin olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds and oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel.
These foods provide essential fatty acids and a whole range of other nutrients that support overall health — including healthy skin function.
Eat colour
I’m not a fan of declaring one food the latest “superfood”.
I’d much rather you looked at the overall variety in your diet.
Think berries, leafy greens, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, herbs and spices.
The more variety of plant foods you can comfortably include, the better.
And yes — frozen absolutely counts. Good skin doesn’t require an expensive weekly shop at a fancy health-food store!
Don’t forget vitamin C
Vitamin C is particularly interesting when we talk about skin because it plays an important role in collagen synthesis and also acts as an antioxidant.
Citrus fruits, berries, kiwi, (I have a golden kiwis every morning as part of my breakfast as it’s richer in Vit C) peppers, broccoli and leafy greens are all useful sources.
But again, I’m much more interested in food first and overall nourishment than becoming obsessed with one nutrient.
And what about hydration?
When the weather turns colder, it’s easy to drink less.
Then we wonder why our skin feels dry.
Water matters, but I don’t believe in obsessing over a magic number of litres. Hydration is more nuanced than that, and your skin barrier plays a huge role in how well your skin retains moisture.
This is also why I think good nutrition and good skincare work together, rather than being competing approaches.
If your skin is feeling dry or tight this autumn, look at your cleanser and moisturiser as well as what’s on your plate.
I’ve written more about how I approach supporting the skin barrier, and the products I’ve developed specifically with skin health in mind, over on Louise Thomas Skin Care.
What I don’t do
I don’t detox.
I don’t juice cleanse.
I don’t eliminate entire food groups because somebody on Instagram told me they cause ageing.
And I don’t believe one food is going to suddenly give you “glass skin” (what even is that?!)
Consistency beats perfection every single time.
There will be weekends involving cake. There will be wine. There will be days when lunch is eaten standing up because life gets in the way.
That’s normal.
The goal is to make the nourishing choices the things you do most of the time.
Your skin is telling you something
One of the reasons I created Louise Thomas Skin Care was because I wanted to move away from the idea that skincare is simply about putting something on your face and hoping for the best.
My approach has always been about looking at skin health as a whole — science, nutrition and the wider lifestyle factors that influence our skin.
That doesn’t mean your moisturiser doesn’t matter.
It absolutely does.
But if your skin suddenly feels dry, reactive or lacklustre, I don’t want you to automatically assume you need a completely new routine.
Sometimes your skin is asking for less.
Sometimes it needs more hydration.
Sometimes it needs better nourishment.
Sometimes it needs more sleep.
And sometimes it needs you to stop attacking it with seven different acids because you’re desperate to make it “glow”.
My autumn skin reset
If I were giving you a very simple checklist for the next few months, it would be:
Eat enough protein.
Eat plenty of plants and colour.
Include healthy fats.
Drink regularly.
Protect your skin from the sun.
Support your skin barrier.
Sleep.
Move your body.
And stop looking for the miracle fix.
Healthy skin isn’t created overnight.
It’s built through the things we do consistently.
And perhaps that’s the nicest thing about an autumn reset: you don’t need to start again. You just need to start paying attention.
If you’re curious about taking a more holistic approach to your own skin health, you can explore my skin-health philosophy, products and advice at louisethomasskincare.co.uk
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