maintaining skin clear is not an easy job especially if your skin is acne prone.taking care of your skin is all about balancing your habit and remain consistent.learning how to properly care for your skin is more than a one-step process.
Use this definitive guide on clear skin tips to keep your face looking vibrant and fresh, no matter your skin type.
What’s Your Skin Type?
Before you can create a skin care regimen, you need to understand what skin type you have. There are five general skin types: normal, oily, dry, combination, and sensitive.
Normal
have small, barely visible pores, and a smooth skin texture.
Oily Skin
Those with oily skin experience quite a bit of shine, and very often struggle with acne breakouts. Excessive oil can result in larger pores, and you may find that your makeup “slides” of during the day without reapplication.
Dry Skin
Those with dry skin have small, invisible pores. Dry skin can lead to irritation and flakiness, and you may observe dry patches across the face.
Combination Skin
Combination skin exhibits the presence of two or more of the aforementioned skin types. The skin is often oily in the T-zone, while other portions of the face may be excessively dry.
Sensitive Skin
Those with sensitive skin may experience any of the above skin types but with added sensitivity. They may be more vulnerable to products with irritating chemicals and fragrances.
Your Makeup Routine
While makeup doesn’t necessarily cause acne, it can definitely play a role in your skin’s health and appearance. Many who struggle with acne use makeup to cover up dark marks, pimples, and scars, but could this practice be worsening your acne condition? Not necessarily, but use caution to ensure your cosmetic routine doesn’t affect your skin’s health. According to numerous studies, makeup can actually improve the quality of life of acne patients without aggravating the skin, so long as it’s applied correctly.
Light Layers
It may be a case not of the types of products used, but of the way they’re applied. Avoid caking heavy amounts of makeup on the skin. While this won’t necessarily block your pores, it can impede cosmetics removal and see excess makeup sitting on the surface of the skin and finding its way into open pores quite easily. Layer your makeup lightly to avoid applying more than you need.
Pay Attention to Your Brushes
If you apply your makeup with brushes, consider the last time you washed them. Makeup brushes can accumulate with dead skin cells, old makeup remnants, bacteria, and more. As you spread an unclean brush across your skin, you may be inadvertently spreading bacteria around, and this could lead to acne blemishes. If you have an open sore on your skin, bacteria can get under the surface and cause an infection. Brushes hardened with product can also become abrasive to your skin, creating a rough texture and causing excess irritation.
Remove Your Makeup
If you are wearing makeup regularly, the most important task is removing it before bed or before intensive bouts of sweating, especially before sleeping and heading to the gym.
Adjusting Your Diet What You Should Eat
Try sticking to a lean diet of low-fat proteins including chicken and fish, and stock up on whole grains, and dark green, leafy vegetables.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Some dermatologists recommend an increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids. These can help ease inflammation that leads to skin conditions. Grab some seafood the next time you’re in the supermarket, as fatty fishes like salmon provide an excellent source of omega-3s.
Antioxidants
Eating more antioxidants can help protect your skin from sun damage, and help ease the pain and severity of breakouts. Foods with Vitamin C like oranges and tomatoes and Vitamin E like avocados and spinach contain many antioxidants. Green tea can be a wonderful source of antioxidants. Green tea applied topically can also have amazing nourishing effects for the skin, and our three-step system uses green tea extract to ensure your skin finds relief from itching, dryness, and inflammation.
How Sleeping Patterns Affect Your Skin
Getting the right amount of rest can greatly impact the appearance and feel of your skin. From bedding to sleep deprivation, our skin needs those hours of shuteye to repair itself, and there are a variety of factors that can affect the feel and health of our epidermis.
Bedding Concerns
It’s important to regularly wash and replace your sheets, specifically your pillow case. We sweat and shed skin cells in our sleep, meaning our bedding can become a hotbed for blackheads and bacteria growth. You might also consider purchasing silk and/or satin pillowcases. This material has been purported to help our skin retain moisture, and prevent wrinkles. Your hair may also benefit, as these slippery pillowcases can actually lead to less breakage in your hair and eye lashes and may even help you wake up with less bedhead in the morning.
Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation affects more than your concentration, and will do more than cause you to nod off at your desk. Sleep deprivation can actually result in a wearing down of your skin’s natural barrier function. This damage can lead to dryness, increased irritation, and more sensitive skin. Not getting the right amount of shuteye can increase the rate at which your skin ages, leaving you with wrinkles and brittle skin much earlier than you might have anticipated.
How to Get Better Sleep
There are numerous ways in which you can improve upon your sleep. While everyone’s sleeping necessities vary, health experts generally recommend getting at least seven hours per night. Try to maintain a regular sleep schedule by going to sleep and waking up at similar times each and every day, even on the weekends.don’t eat heavy meals before bed. Avoid caffeine for the six hours prior to bedtime, and make sure you’re taking part in regular exercise to ensure your body is tired and ready for rest at the end of the day.
Beauty sleep doesn’t automatically equate to perfect skin, but it certainly helps.
Your Skin and the Sun
You’ve heard it before, but excessive sun exposure without the proper protection can result in dry, cracked skin and eventually lend itself to wrinkles and even skin cancer.
Understanding Ultraviolet Rays
It’s important to protect your skin from UV radiation, as this is the factor that causes skin damage and leads to skin cancer. There are two types of UV radiation, Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB).
UVA radiation can pass through glass and is generally the cause of premature aging, resulting in brittle, wrinkled skin. It may also play a role in basal cell carcinoma and melanoma.
UVB radiation is linked with the development of melanoma and skin cancer. This type of radiation is the cause of sunburns and cannot penetrate through glass.
Protecting yourself against both types of UV radiation is vital to skin health.
control your stress
You may have noticed your acne flares up when you’re stressed out, whether it be a big test coming up or an interview for a new job. That’s because your mental state can physically affect your health. The presence of more stress hormones can result in an increased production of oil, and worsen inflammation on the skin. This can result in painful breakouts and dull, dry skin. Learning to combat stress in a healthy way can help you improve your mental state and reap the physical benefits, including a clear complexion.
Meditation
If you’ve never practiced meditation, it may be time to start. This practice has been used for thousands of years to curb feelings of anxiety, tension, and depression, and proper application of meditation can result in a calmer mental state. It may help you gain a new perspective, help you become more self-aware, and reduce negative feelings.
Exercising
Regular exercise can lower stress levels and improve your mental state. It increases endorphins production, improves self-confidence, and relaxes the body. This can improve your sleep, which also lowers stress levels.
Your Skin and the Gym
Exercising is important for holistic health, but it’s also essential in your pursuit of clear skin. Beyond helping your heart, lungs, and emotional wellbeing, regular exercise can contribute to healthier, more vibrant skin.
Improved Circulation
When you exercise, blood flow increases. This increased blood flow helps nourish your skin cells, as blood carries oxygen and nutrients to your skin cells. Better circulation also helps carry off waste products, which includes free radicals. While exercise won’t “detoxify” your skin, the increased blood flow can help flush debris from your cells out of your system.
Perspiration and Salt
When we perspire, salt can accumulate on the skin. This can worsen skin conditions such as psoriasis or eczema. It’s important to wear moisturizer on areas where you get breakouts of these skin conditions, as this can prevent the buildup of perspiration. It’s also essential to blot away sweat after working out; showering can worsen these conditions so it’s best to avoid excessive water exposure.
Exercising Outdoors
Many prefer exercising outdoors in place of heading to the gym, but the sun exposure involved with an outdoor physical regimen can wreak havoc on your skin. Always be sure to apply sunscreen before heading outside, and make sure to protect your scalp with a hat.
Shared Gym Equipment
If you’re using that communal yoga mat at the gym, or failing to wipe down equipment with antibacterial wipes before using them, you may be spreading around a stranger’s bacteria. Shared gym equipment can result in the spread of bacteria, and should you touch your face during or after a workout, that bacteria may work its way into your pores and result in an infection or acne blemish. Other skin conditions may also be contracted through dirty gym equipment, including infections like ringworm. It’s best to wipe down your shared gym equipment and avoid touching your face while working out.
Finding the Right Acne Treatment
If you think you’re alone in your battle against acne, think again. Acne Vulgaris is the most common skin condition.
Many who suffer with acne have tried a host of potential solutions, but many of these can result in less than wonderful side effects. Harsh products that contain sulfur, hydrogen peroxide, or benzyol peroxide are known to cause dryness and further irritation.
How to Correctly Wash Your Face
Many people question themselves on how to maintain clear skin year round. To ensure your skin gets the tender loving care it needs, it’s important to start with the basics. Water temperature should be kept lukewarm, and you should avoid excessive exposure to water when washing your face as this can cause drying. Do not aggressively scrub at your skin; this won’t unclog pores but it can cause your skin to sag and cause inflammation. Consider a moisturizer if you have dryness or sensitive skin.
The Importance of Exfoliation
We shed skin cells each day, and new cells push to the surface. If dead skin cells are left to accumulate on the skin, our pores can become clogged and result in blocked pores that cause acne blemishes. Proper exfoliation removes this barrier of dead skin cells without harming the new skin waiting underneath. Exfoliation can be performed with abrasive scrubs or chemically, with topical applications that contain gentle acidic solutions that dissolve and remove the dead skin cells without harsh rubbing.
Key
- It is possible to have clear, glowing skin, even if you struggle with acne.
- The 3-Step BioClarity System is designed to treat existing acne and prevent future breakouts.
- It’s important to blot or wash your skin free of sweat after excessive perspiration, as sweat left to sit on the skin can result in blocked pores and worsen skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema.
- Controlling stress levels can lead to improved mental and physical health, and may help alleviate breakouts.
