We love trends! Rather you create your own or make a creative twist from a current style.Thanks to social media platforms like YouTube and Pinterest, access to these trends can easily become an obsession and without a doubt “beating your face to the gawds” was the top trend last year. Nevertheless, beating your face to gods can be costly and if careless, this trend can cause unwanted acne.
As the year moves into its second month, let’s declare 2017 the year of the Natural Glow! Its cost effect, the results are amazing, and it’s surely a timeless trend that will never go away. Let’s do it for the culture of clear skin!
Basic Skin Types
Now before we get into how to obtain and maintain clear skin, you must understand your own skin type, for that determines what kind of skincare regimen you should adopt. Here are the five basic skin types:
- Normal—If you are ever so fortunate to have this skin type, you should be grateful! Normal skin has very few to absolutely no blemishes, barely visible pores, and emits a natural radiance.
- Oily—If you are like me and have an oily skin type then your pores are large, have a very shiny complexion, and a moderate amount of acne.
- Combination—This skin type is just what it sounds like, a combination! A combination between dry and normal skin. Often presenting dilated pores, with some oil, a few blemishes and you may have a shiny complexion.
- Sensitive—Poor baby! If you have sensitive skin, it reacts to a various number of objects and products. Your skin tends to turn red and occasionally get rashes.
- Dry—Dry skin holds very little oil, with small pores and very visible lines on your skin, dry skin resembles a rough and dull complexion. Red patches and low elasticity are commonly found on this skin type.
External Treatment
- Normal—Maintaining normal skin requires you to wash your face with gentle soap or cleanser, and use a light moisturizer.
- Oily—To treat this skin type, it is imperative that you use products that are oil-free. Using astringent and witch hazel after washing face is very helpful because they both remove an essential amount of the oil without making the skin overproduce oil. You can also use clay masks to clear excess oils from the skin without drying. We suggest using a mask 1-2 times a week.
- Combination—The #MajorKeyAlert when dealing with oily skin is to not over wash! Use oil free cleanser and toners. A fun, easy, and affordable mixture to aid this skin type is mixing honey, aloe vera, lemon, and oatmeal.
- Sensitive—With sensitive skin, you must stray away from products that contain salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide. Invest in products that are specially designed for sensitive skin or use natural products such as tea tree oil and aloe vera. Use gentle soaps and avoid scrubbing your skin.
- Dry—Your friendly beauty products should be unscented soaps, gentle cleansers, and thick moisturizers. (Note: it is best to moisturize your face while it is damp!) Also, try limiting the temperature and amount of time you spend in the shower!
Internal Treatment
As the old saying goes, “it’s not always about the outside, it’s the inside that counts.” Caring for the body requires more than the moisturizers and exfoliators you use on your skin. The true goal of achieving poppin’ skin is also caring for the inside!
- Practice a healthy diet!—Limit how much fried, greasy, artificial, and sugary foods you consume and incorporate more foods like fresh vegetables, fruits, and grains in your daily meals.
- Stay hydrated!—Yes, that means put down your can of soda! Drinking an adequate amount water daily can change your skin most indefinitely. It also boosts your health and gives you a radiant complexion from the inside, out.
- Exercise—According to WebMD, “By increasing blood flow, exercise helps nourish skin cells and keep them vital…Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to working cells throughout the body, including the skin…”
- Catch them Z’s!!—Getting a good night’s rest can also benefit your skin! According to researchers, lack of sleep can lead to increased stress hormones in the body, which increases the severity of inflammatory skin conditions such as, acne or psoriasis. So put down your cell phone, get off Twitter, and get your beauty rest SIS!
2017 will be the year that everybody achieves and maintains clear skin! Use these simple remedies and tips so you too can join us in #ClearSkin2017! Tweet us @HerCampusCAU to let us know how these tips work for you!