10 Tips For Clear Skin
How your skin looks can greatly affect your mood, and how you feel about yourself. Beautiful clear skin will make you feel amazing, and ready to take on the day, but a huge zit will make you want to crawl back under the covers. Here are 10 easy ways to try ad prevent those little spots, and wake up with clear, bright skin!
1. Never go to bed with makeup on
All that leftover makeup soaking into your skin while you sleep? No! Make sure to clean your face every single night, and get off every last bit of your makeup before hitting the pillow. Let your skin breathe overnight, especially if you're someone who wears face-makeup during the day!
2. Use a gentle face wash twice a day
You don't need some harsh chemically anti-acne face wash. Grab a gentle daily cleanser that will melt away dirt, oil, and makeup while being kind to your delicate skin. I've been a longtime fan of Clinique products, and their basic liquid facial soap has been a staple of mine forever, though I've also heard amazing things about these ones by Kate Somerville and Fresh.
3. Wash makeup brushes often
Think about all the excess product, oil, dirt, dead skin, and bacteria that builds on your brushes. ICK! Make sure you are washing your brushes regularly. Once a week is recommended (but let's be real, I only remember to do it every other week). If your not sure how to properly clean them, check out this tutorial!
4. Limit greasy foods and caffeine
While there are some zit-factors we can't control (like hormonal acne), greasy foods and caffeine contribute a ton to oil production and those icky red zits that seem to pop up at the worst time. Limiting the greasy, salty, fatty, and caffeinated foods and drinks and replacing them with a few more leafy greens, bright fruits, and omega-3 packed fishes will help clear that up!
5. Change your pillowcase once a week
The dirt, sweat, oil, (and hopefully not makeup!) buildup on your pillow will put right back on what you just washed off. Change your pillowcase weekly, and if it's possible, try investing in a silk pillowcase, which is so much better for both your face and hair!
6. Gently exfoliate twice a week
zits can be a result of dead skin and oil building u on your skin, so once or twice a week, use a gentle exfoliator to get off all the excess crud on your face and start fresh! (and make sure to moisturize REALLY well that night!)
7. DO NOT POP ZITS
My absolute biggest tip is to get your fingers away from that zit!!! If it's a whitehead, let it come out on it's own, and use a spot treatment to speed up the process, and then use this tutorial to wipe away the head without doing any damage to your skin. This method has drastically changed my skin and I will NEVER pop again!
8. Try multi-masking
Different areas of your face need different things. Your T-zone probably needs oils and impurities sucked out, but your cheeks need moisture and brightening. So why put one mask all over? My go to is the Origins duo of the Active Charcoal Mask across my T-zone, and the Drink Up hydrating mask everywhere else. Try multi-masking 1-2 times per week depending on your skin's sensitivity!
9. Moisturize well
Another thing that people (especially you oily-skinned people) tend to forget is the importance of moisture! You just scrubbed your skin clean and now it needs a little comfort. Plus, if you moisturize properly, your skin will naturally produce less oil! I moisturize with Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel, but I've also used and loved Dr. Jart's Ceramidin liquid (which I still keep on hand for extra-dry days)
One other importance part of moisture is drinking enough water. Moisture comes from the inside out, so getting at least 8 glasses a day is key!
10. Get lots of sleep
It's called beauty sleep for a reason. When you sleep, your body is repairing itself and getting those Zzz's will improve your acne, as well as tone, texture, and brightness!
xoxo,
Audra
