Dr.TWL Dermaceuticals founder Dr Teo Wan Lin on rethinking self-care

"I published my book Edible Beauty in the last quarter of 2021, a compilation of my research on nutraceutical diets and their impact on skin via the ageing skin exposome concept. With the pandemic active through the year, this research area took on special relevance: In our quest for beauty, we should never take our health for granted.

As for the lows, I think everyone experienced some frustration with the pandemic measures, though I personally felt it was a great opportunity to retreat and to reflect.

To me, self-care is about achieving a stage of equilibrium, psychologically and physically. If you are in a state of harmony, whatever you are doing is probably right for you. And self-care is as much a lifestyle as it is a mindset. Diet and exercise form the core of lifestyle factors that directly impact your risk of disease."

"2021 taught us to never take anything for granted. I think we entered the year feeling cautiously optimistic. As much as hope fuels our optimism, outcomes may not be what we expect, but we shouldn't let our spirits be dampened.

To keep myself on track, I rely on the structure a routine provides, because it makes me efficient. (As a former athlete, I cannot imagine life without discipline.) I start my day with sports. The bulk of 2021 I spent doing equestrian dressage. These days I swim, to start and end my day. I also tend to my garden, where I grow my own edibles.

I find that the best way to combat physical and mental fatigue is immersing yourself in nature. For me, it's sitting under my favourite tree in my garden and looking up at the sky, playing with my dog and going barefoot – these are simple pleasures."

"In 2022, I want to spend even more time in nature. There are many lessons in regeneration and healing to be gleaned from the life cycle of plants, scientifically as well as philosophically.

I’d also like to devote more time to my hobbies. I’ve been doing Chinese ink painting, and I started training in Chinese calligraphy writing a year ago. It is a fascinating art form because of its meditative nature. It’s also described as a soft martial art, and it inherently demands of its practitioners mental and physical discipline – values that resonate with me."