by Misha Fabian
Our beautiful city gives us so much to see and do but unfortunately, spending time around the metro can be harmful to our skin. The hot, sticky Manila weather combined with the pollution from the cars that zoom throughout the city raises major red flags for our skin and can cause various skin problems to appear. Perhaps the most major issue we face because of the conditions we live in is acne. Acne is the result of pores that become blocked with oil, dirt, and bacteria which irritates the skin and causes it to erupt. Not only are acne bumps painful, but they can really put a damper on your confidence. Not to worry though, while they may be naturally-occuring, they can also be avoided. Here are 5 tips to keep those pesky pimples at bay!
Double cleanse
Sometimes, washing your face with your favorite facial wash isn’t enough to take out all of the dirt and excess oils that have accumulated on your face throughout the day. Double cleansing can help you with that. To double cleanse, you simply need to use another cleansing agent (usually an oil-based cleanser or micellar water) right before washing your face with your facial wash. It works wonders with cleaning the skin and making sure that there’s no trace of the day that was left.
Spot treat
If you have any active pimples on your face, the best way to go about zapping each one of them is by spot treating them. Dip a cotton bud in zit cream and gently wipe it all over the pimple itself. The pimple will dry up and heal quicker than if it were left on its own. If you need something stronger, don’t hesitate to set up an appointment with your dermatologist to see which spot treatments would work the best for your face.
Don’t pick at your face!
What’s that old saying? “To heal a wound you need to stop touching it?” The same goes for pimples. You may think that popping your pimple would put you on the road to recovery faster but you actually run the risk of irritating the pimple even further, causing it to erupt more and stay on your skin longer. Plus, you could push the dirt, oils, and bacteria even further down into your skin and cause more pimples to appear in the process. Pimple popping is best left to skin experts, who would be using special tools and methods to make sure that your pimple goes away completely.
Exfoliate
For all of our meticulously thought out skincare routines, we sometimes forget the importance of exfoliation. Exfoliation happens when we use an exfoliator to slough off dead skin cells, dirt, and oils from the topmost layer of our skin to reveal the “newer” skin beneath. This helps the skin regenerate and absorb the products that we apply to it easier. It also helps make your skin glow. Be cautious when doing this, though. Over-exfoliation can do more harm than good for your skin. Around 2-3 times a week would be enough, depending on how tough your exfoliator is.
Drink lots of water
As children, we probably just brushed it off when our parents and teachers would say that having 8 glasses a day is important. However, drinking water has so many benefits for the human body and healthy, glowing skin is one of them. Drinking lots of water helps your skin maintain moisture which keeps away a host of skin issues like overdrying, wrinkling, and flaking. Drinking water also helps with flushing out the toxins from your body which contribute to your skin getting all clogged and icky.
We often forget that our skin is an organ and we need to take as good care of it as we do the rest of our body. Often, our skin breaking out is a cry for help from our skin that we need to take better care of it and ensure it gets the proper nourishment it needs. We hope this article helps you get on your way to achieving the best skin you can have. Cheers to better skin!
