Happy Friday everybody! Apologies for not posting the past few days. I’ve been finishing up my summer internship (I know, very “college” of me) and have been a bit stressed. But the weather is great, the weekend is here, and so I’m back!
Recently, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about some of the skin advice that I’ve gotten over the years from friends and articles about how to keep your skin clear. A lot of the advice has been simple solutions that, unfortunately, are too good to be true (for most of us). If your skin is stubborn and unresponsive to prescriptions, etc. then you’ll get what I mean here in a bit. I’ve included below things that I have found are helpful in keeping my skin calm without exacerbating my natural skin issues, which makes them definitely worthwhile. However, take them with a grain of salt and don’t expect miracle baby-bottom skin with these tips anytime soon, as they’re no cure to your underlying skin issues.
1. Not Touching Your Face
Touching your skin is a seriously horrible idea. Part of the reason a pore becomes clogged and inflamed is because of the bacteria residing in it. Introducing more new bacteria to your skin is no help with this issue, and trust me, your hands are covered in that gunk. This rule also applies to picking at your skin, since the bacteria from both your hands and the spot your picking at can travel to other areas of your face.
If you feel like you NEED to touch your skin, do it just after you’ve washed your hands and your face. Better yet, do it when there is face wash still on your skin. That way, there is less friction between your hand and your face, which means less irritation.
Also, don’t forget that resting your chin/forehead/etc in your hands definitely counts as touching your face. You’re also creating a warm, moist environment for the bacteria while doing this which = bad news bears.
2. Washing Your Pillowcases Weekly
Given that your face is rubbing into these things for 6-9 hours every day while you’re moving around, drooling, napping on them in makeup, etc. you should definitely consider washing your pillowcases consistently. It’s a simple way for you to cut out a ton of the bacteria that you’re exposing your skin to on the daily.
3. Wiping Down Your Cell Phone
This goes right along with point #2. Your cell phone is crawling with germs and bacteria, which means that if you’re putting it up to your skin it could be a serious issue. If you’re noticing that you talk with the phone on the same side of your face consistently, and that’s the side that’s breaking out, then there might be a correlation there. To avoid skin issues from your phone, wipe your phone down with sani-wipes every few days and try to talk on speakerphone as often as possible.
4. Cleaning Your Makeup Brushes
If you’ve ever cleaned makeup brushes, you know just how much grossness can ooze out of them when you wash them properly. Even though your brush may look clean when you pull it out of your makeup bag, you have to remember that you’ve probably been rubbing it on your face quite a bit, which exposes it to oils and bacteria. This is especially true if you have any sort of open lesions.
5. Drinking Water
Water helps to flush toxins out of your system and keep your body healthy and hydrated by moving vitamins and fluids throughout your system. Never forget that water is the most ample substance in your body and that is your skin is the largest organ – they really do go hand in hand. I’ve also found that my hair and skin tend to be more oily when I’m not drinking enough water, which can also make skin issues worse.
6. Exercising
When done right, exercising can seriously improve your circulation, which means that your blood is reaching your face, which can help health that area of the body. However, remember these VERY important things about skin and working out:
- NEVER work out in makeup. “When you work out, your body temperature goes up. When your body temperature goes up, your pores open up and start releasing oil. Then you start to sweat out toxins. If you have makeup on, the toxins will mix with the oil and get stuck in your pores. That is how you get breakouts.” – Teen Vogue
- Wash your face before you work out and make sure that it is as clean as can be. This includes removing makeup and any oil build up. I also prefer to work out without having any moisturizer on, as this is additional gunk on the face. Leave the products for after your workout.
- Don’t wear any gear that’s going to be rubbing up against your face.
- Keep a towel around so that you can lightly pat off sweat.
7. Getting a Full Night’s Sleep
Sleep, like water, keeps your body functioning regularly. It gives your body the time that it needs to heal and repair itself. Just don’t forget tip #2!
8. Toning Down the Stress
We’ve all heard that stress can be a trigger of skin problems. While this is true, it does not mean that you have to go be a monk and live in a stress-free bubble. Your daily regimen, diet, and lifestyle should be enough to combat getting consistent breakouts from stress. However, you can give yourself a boost by trying some stress reducing activities, whatever that may be for you
9. Cutting Out the Alcohol
Alcohol is not-so-good for the skin for several reasons: it’s carb-y, it’s hard on the liver, it’s dehydrating, it can lead to inflammation, and it can ever trigger some people’s dietary sensitivities (for example, most hard alcohol contains gluten). If you’re going to drink, try limiting it to a moderate amount and go for wine, which is high in antioxidants and isn’t made from gluten.
10. Cold Water Cleansing
Cold water is known to reduce inflammation (which is why you apply it to your injuries), whereas hot water can make your body more inflamed. When washing your skin, try to keep your water cold-to-luke warm, or at least finish your wash with cool water. Your skin will feel refreshed and your pores will stay closed.
clearly minimalist 