Basic Skin Care Tips and Tricks That You Need to Know to Avoid Your Next Breakout
Let’s face it, we are all obsessed with ourselves (pun intended). I think we all can relate to waking up plenty of times to a pimple that could easily be named Mount Everest. For most of us, skin care doesn’t go deeper than just washing our faces once day. For others, skin care can seem confusing and complicated when we take a look at the several products that line the shelves in grocery stores. From breakout prevention to acne solutions, it’s all here.
Hands Off! :
The most important thing to remember is to keep your hands away from your face. As Kendall Jenner, a beauty guru, once said:
"I remember when I was younger, I think Kim told me and my little sister, 'Never touch your face too much. Don’t pick at it.' Ever since then — I think I was 10 — it has stuck with me.”
In other words, If a Kardashian-Jenner says don’t touch your face, you don’t touch your face. If you pick at a pimple, you could push the existing bacteria deeper and can cause the breakout to stick around longer. Plus, there are pores all over your face, you could contaminate the surrounding pores, which will cause more acne to spread. Not to mention, you could cause permanent scar damage. In fact, leaving a pimple alone will make it go away faster than picking at it.
“Touching your face is very harmful,” Says Ashtin Ward, a graduated esthetician. “Even resting your hand on your cheek can push existing oils, and the oils on your hand, deep into your skin which will cause acne to form. Big take away? Don’t touch your face!”
Lather, Rinse, and Repeat:
Now let’s talk about face wash. It’s important to wash your face, not once, but twice a day. Even doubling up and washing your face twice in the morning and twice at night can improve your skin condition. However, some helpful face washes can cause you to break out, but don’t be alarmed. Like anything else, your skin needs time to adjust to a new routine. It can take anywhere from a few days to up to four weeks for your skin to adjust to a new product, but the results are worth the wait!
“You should always wash your face with a salicylic acid face wash,” Ward says. “It ensures that acne will not continue to form. If you wash your face twice, back to back, it helps rid all of the harmful oils on your skin. However, you should rub the face wash in gentle circles for at least 45 seconds. What’s the point of using face wash if you aren’t going to let the product have time to actually work?”
Now this may have opened a whole new world of questions, for example, what about exfoliating? Well, you should exfoliate once a week to encourage cell turnover. Exfoliating too much strips your skin of its natural oils and doesn’t allow your skin to keep up with oil production. This causes your skin to produce oil really quickly, which clogs your pores and causes acne. Even the use of a warm washcloth to rub over your face works as a good exfoliant and helps with improving the appearance your skin.
Moisturize! Moisturize! Moisturize! :
Moisturizing is key to keeping a smooth, youthful glow to your skin. When you wash your face, you’re taking all of the oils from your skin, not just the bad ones. Your face will work to replenish those oils. This is where bacteria has a chance to form. If you moisturize, then your face won’t need to work as hard to produce oils. Be careful not to moisturize to much, that can work against your entire skincare routine. The best kind of moisturizer is a non-oil based face lotion. It won’t clog your pores.
Diet:
Yes, even the things you eat can affect your skin. The more sugar you consume, the greater chance you have that there will be more sporadic breakouts. The more vegetables you eat, the fewer breakouts you will have. It is also very important to stay hydrated. Drinking water is very beneficial to your skin because it works beneath your skin to hydrate, which decreases the amount of acne you would have..
Exercise:
During the wintertime especially, it is important to break a sweat. This will help work against the harsh winter air that often dries your skin out. Plus, exercising increases dopamine levels, which will make you happier, AND burns calories. It’s not only beneficial to your skin, but to your mind and body too. Drop and give me 20! Or you know, keep reading, your call.
On the Battlefront:
You may be wondering: Okay now I know how to prevent a breakout, but what should I do when I actually break out? Well first things first, don’t expect overnight results. As much as we all would like, a pimple won’t just disappear in one day. What you can do, however, is leave it alone. The best thing that could be done for those pesky breakouts is to just not touch them. Scars and blemishes last longer than actual pimples! If you can’t just let it be, there are ways around it.
“You can soothe sensitive skin with a calming botanical; such as chamomile or aloe extract,” Ward says. When pimples occur, they are red and inflamed. Soothing the acne spots will give them a boost in the healing process. Another solution? FACE MASKS! Be sure to avoid any facemasks that have an excess amount of chemicals, those can do more harm than help.
ALL NATURAL HOMEMADE ACNE SOOTHING FACE MASK:
¼ cup of plain yogurt (Soothes skin)
2 tablespoons of honey (Natural Acne Remedy)
1 medium banana (Soothes skin)
¼ teaspoon of lemon juice (Brightens skin)
Toners:
While toners aren’t necessary, they can be pretty important. What is a toner? Well, a toner is something you apply to your face that can have many beneficial characteristics to skin appearance. Be careful, though, they can dry out your skin! Just make sure that you wash your face, apply your toner (optional), and (of course!) moisturize.
DIY FACE TONER: (To minimize pores after deeply cleansing your face)
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
2 cups of water
Other Tips:
It’s important to stay away from stress when it comes to avoiding breakouts. Whether it’s school, work, or even regular old life drama; you should always make self care your priority. Even taking 30 minutes to an hour a day to relax can improve your hormone levels, which means less breakouts. Try some yoga, meditation, or something that calms you and allows you to focus on one thing before you do anything else.
Getting a full night's rest is also very important to good skin. Applying a deep acting moisturizer at night can keep your skin looking youthful because all of your muscles are relaxed when you sleep. This lets your skin start to rid itself of wrinkles. If you follow these basic rules of skin care, the results will be outstanding. So what are you doing still reading this? Go out there and get started!