5 skincare mistakes you might be making
You’ve been suffering with bad skin for years, tried every potion, miracle cure & naturalskincare product in the market, but you still feel the urge to hide behind a thick layer of foundation whenever you leave the house. You’re not alone – many of us were disappointed not to leave our skincare woes behind us when we left school. But there is hope, with several experiments you can try even when your regular beauty routine seems to’ve failed.
Are you getting yourself into hot water?
A nice hot shower can feel great, but your skin may suffer if the water temperature is too high. Hot water can break capillaries (tiny veins near your skin’s surface) & make you look red. Although heat opens the pores & helps you get the dirt out, it can also really dry your skin. Try washing your face with lukewarm water, & splash it with cool water afterwards, to close the pores & stop all the moisture from getting out.
Little scrubbers
As satisfying as they feel, some facial scrubs can scratch & damage your skin, especially if it’s sensitive. Try scrubs described as “fine milled” or that contain “microbeads”. Alternatively, make your own out of a spoonful of oatmeal, & warm water.
Cheese, glorious cheese
If you have spots, eczema or sensitive red patches along your jaw & round your chin, this is often the sign of a food intolerance of some sort. Cheese is a major culprit when it comes to skin problems; it’s high in fat, which can aggravate acne, & often comes from pregnant cows, so it contains hormones that make you produce more sebum (the oil that comes from your pores).
Dairy products also contain molecules which many people can’t digest – this often shows up on the outside as unhealthy looking skin.
Find out whether cheese is causing your skin problem by not eating it for a few weeks. Keep a diary & note down how your skin behaves during the exclusion period. Then start eating cheese again – if your skin problems get worse at this point, cheese is probably their cause, or at least not helping.
H2O
Your skin needs water to flush out toxins & to stay supple, so letting yourself get dehydrated is bad news. Water, soup, cucumber & herbal teas are the best way to get enough, as the sugar in fruit juice & Coke can harm you in many ways, & caffeine makes your skin oily.
Being too picky
Ahh, the joy of squeezing out a blocked pore. But look at that pore tomorrow – it’s red & swollen, & maybe a little infected. Even if you wash your hands thoroughly, & even if you wrap tissue-paper round your fingertips, you’re still damaging your face & pushing bacteria into your skin every time you squeeze a blackhead or pimple. It can become a compulsive activity, but challenge yourself to leave your face alone & remember that picking & squeezing your skin will make you look spottier.
