Live life in colour

Live life in colour

Light and colour can be used to promote healing and encourage positive wellbeing…and it can have a huge impact on your beauty routine too 

Chromotherapy, or colour therapy, can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians who draped their bodies in coloured silk and used coloured glass and light from the sun to encourage healing.

In present day salons and spas, chromotherapy is used to help restore balance when our stressful lives throw us off kilter. Harnessed to enhance mood and promote positive energy and feelings, a colour spectrum – adopted from ancient Indian, Egyptian and Chinese healing practices – is used to balance the ‘colour energies’ of the body.

But colour therapy can be really simple, too. Ever noticed how you feel better – more positive – in the spring and summer months? Lack of light is an issue for many people in the winter. A 2016 study by scientists at Brigham Young University found that sunlight can have a huge impact on our mental health and wellbeing. The researchers found that days with a high amount of sunshine appeared to have the most positive impact on our wellbeing.

Get bright and colourful

If you’re wondering what effect different colours are thought to have, it’s worth looking back at traditional chromotherapy.

Yellow is the brightest colour used in chromotherapy, stimulating wisdom and clarity – and yellow light is used to ‘purify’ the skin; red is thought to impart energy, empowerment and motivation, as well as improving circulation; orange is linked to happiness and serenity; calming green is the colour most associated with a feeling of harmony; blue is celebrated for its detoxifying effect – it is used in chromotherapy to de-stress and promote relaxation; meditative purple is used to soothe nerves and promote sleep; and pink is thought to be cleansing.

Paint the rainbow

If you’d like more light and colour in your beauty routine, try these bright and beautiful treats:

A potent skin brightening treatment Dermalogica PowerBright TRx c12 Pure Bright Serum has an advanced formula that absorbs quickly to optimise efficacy while helping to increase skin luminosity.

With red mandarin oils, Balance Me Wake Up Lotion is a deeply cleansing oil that can improve the appearance of oily skin. A refreshing and skin-quenching lotion, with cooling aloe, sunshine inspired grapefruit and sweet orange, it revitalises the body, awakens the senses and keeps skin beautifully smooth and supple.

If you have a vibrant hair colour, Pureology Colour Fanatic, featuring exclusive AntiFadeComplex, is a lightweight mist to prime, protect and perfect while delivering 21 benefits to colour treated hair.

Avant’s Blue Volcanic Stone Purifying Antioxydising Cleansing Gel  is a mild, non-drying gel that effortlessly eliminates excess oil, dirt and make-up without leaving skin feeling over-exposed.

Kerastase Fusio Soothing Scrub is the ideal cleansing treatment to remove product build-up. With a gel texture and a refreshing citrus scent, a colourful and indulgent mix of jojoba and sweet orange peel smoothes, softens and hydrates the scalp without damaging the cuticles or causing irritation.

For a beautiful complexion, Decleor Hydra Floral White Petal Skin Perfecting Sleeping Mask reduces the appearance of dark spots and refines skin. Neroli and citrus essential oils help you to relax before bed, and sweet orange essential oil and pea extract naturally transform your skin overnight so you wake up with a recharged, bright and glowing complexion.

Although sunlight does wonders for our mental health, we need to take care of our skin in the summer. With matcha green tea to help fight free radical damage from UV and visible light, Dermalogica’s new Invisible Physical Defence SPF30 blends easily on all skin tones and offers critical defence against UV rays and blue light.

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