10 STEPS TO BETTER SKIN
Bored of breakouts? Sick of spots? You can improve your skin, if you follow a few basic rules. Myjellybean.com shares the top 10 ways to get cleaner, clearer skin.
Step One: Hands Off!
Touching your face is a big no-no for girls with skin issues. Throughout a normal day, your fingers pick up all kinds of dirt and germs that you can't see. Every time you touch your face, you coat your skin with the same dirt you picked up on everything from the cafeteria table to the coins you drop in the vending machine. So hands off. And it wouldn't hurt to wash your hands a little more often either!
Step Two: Cleanse Your Face Twice a Day Max.
Washing your hands more often is great. But what's good for the hands is not good for the face. If you overcleanse your face, your oil glands think you're getting low on grease, and they'll up the production. Then pores get clogged, and zits erupt. Plus, over-washing can irritate sensitive or acne-prone skin, causing redness and patchy areas. Not pretty! Wash just twice a day, using a mild face soap that's formulated for your skin type.
Step Three: Don't Skip the Moisturizer.
Even if you have greasy skin, it still needs moisturizer. Not only does this keep your skin supple, but it helps to prevent it against environmental factors, such as air pollution. The trick is finding the right formula for your skin. Generally, the oilier the skin, the lighter you want to go on lotion thickness. You don't have to blow the bank to get a good moisturizer, either. Just make sure you choose one that says "non-comedogenic" on the label. (This means the product will not clog your pores).
Step Four: Can the Cola.
And the Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper too. Drinking sodas can lead to nasty flare-ups if you're prone to acne. For that matter, you might want to avoid caffeine altogether. (Yes, that includes mocha frappuccinos). Caffeine acts as a diarrhetic, meaning it flushes water from the body. This can lead to dehydrated skin, which can fool the oil glands into thinking they need to increase production. And that's the road to Breakout City. If you can't live without your soda or coffee habit, switch to decaf sodas or green tea instead.
Step Five: Butt Out!
Besides all the other beauty benefits of quitting smoking (such as preventing wrinkles), ditching the coffin nails can make your skin dramatically clearer. That's because smoking clogs pores and cuts off oxygen to facial tissue, giving skin a dull gray color, and increasing the likelihood of outbreaks. Don't believe us, smokers? Give it up for one week and see if you don't get compliments on your skin.
Step Six: Say Bye-Bye to Fries.
Junk food, fried food, and foods that have ingredients you can't even pronounce: They are all guilty of making skin break out. Your body has enough oil already! Reaching for an apple instead of a Twinkie will help cut down on zits. (Hey, you might even shave a few inches off your waist!)
Step Seven: Go to Bed
Not to sound like your mom, but she's right! It is important to get a good night's sleep. If you don't get in at least eight hours every night, your skin makes it pretty obvious. Try to go to bed and get up on a regular schedule, even if you have to hit the hay early to log your eight hours.
Step Eight: Change Your Pillowcase.
How often do you change your pillowcase? Once a week, twice a week, once a month? Ick! Every night when you lay your head down on your pillow, your hair transfers all of the hair products that you wear every day, like gel, wax and hairspray, not to mention smog, grease, smoke and dirt, to your pillowcase. Then your face gets pressed up against that breeding ground of bacteria. Need we continue? Depending on how oily your skin is and how often you wash your hair, change your pillowcase every day, every other day or every third day. You can pick inexpensive pillowcases at any discount department store. And never go to bed with makeup on your face!
Step Nine: Keep Hair Off Your Face.
Hair, like hands, is the collector of all that is dirty. So if you keep it pulled back off your forehead and the rest of your face, you'll start to see a difference. Don't just follow this tip in the daytime! If your hair is long, try sleeping with it pulled up on top of your head in a hair clip, if it's shorter, pin it back with simple bobby pins at night. It's simple, and it really helps.
Step Ten: Take it Easy.
Now that you're completely stressed about all of the things you're doing that will make your face erupt, we hate to tell you this. Stressing out doesn't help either. Stress actually puts your hormones in a heightened state, which can lead to breakouts. So lighten up! When someone makes you angry, you have a big test, or a project due, take a deep breath and relax. The more chilled you can be, the more your skin will show it.