In conversation with some friends/clients/readers a question came up: is it bad to exercise with make up on? The answer is YES!!! I mean, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s not ideal either. Your body temperature is rising, which makes you sweat, your pores open, make up melts, mixes with sweat, enters your pores…you get the picture. So, if you can avoid it, do.

Ideally, you are not wearing make up when you go to the gym, but since most women work out after work, chances are you have some make up on when you get there. In that case, my advice would be to remove all or most of the make up before exercising. You can have an extra bottle of make up remover that you bring to the gym or even a bottle of a gentle toner (it doesn’t have to be fancy – witch hazel will do) and some cotton pads to wipe off the excess.

So don’t let concerns about your skin prevent you from working out. Remember that exercise is good for your overall health and if it’s good for your health, it’s good for your skin. Removing make up will prevent exercise related breakouts and all the increased circulation during your workout should give you a rosy glow!!

The air is cold and dry, your skin starts getting flaky and dull-looking. You start applying more and heavier moisturizer, but that doesn’t seem to get rid of the flakes and maybe you even start breaking out. What’s going on?
You are probably not exfoliating enough.

I’ve heard a lot of clients tell me they don’t exfoliate as much in the winter time fearing it will make their skin dryer. It’s actually quite the opposite. While exfoliating too much is not good either (and how much is too much depends on the product you are using and how sensitive your skin is), not doing it enough can lead to flaky, dry skin, clogged pores and eventually breakouts.

So before you decide to switch to a heavier moisturizer, try stepping up your exfoliation routine. If you don’t exfoliate, the richest, most expensive cream will do nothing for you because the build up of dead skin will prevent your skin from absorbing the moisture it needs.

A gentle exfoliant with fine granules and fruit enzymes a couple of times a week is usually good for most skin types.

I welcome your questions about this or any other skin care topics. Also, I would like to know what exfoliating products my readers like.

Take care and stay warm!

Pamela has recently started experiencing some breakouts even though it seems she has a pretty good skin care routine for her skin type (oily).

When something like that happens, you have to start doing a little detective work and asking questions.

Have you changed anything in your skin care routine? (That would include any new make up products). If so, did the breakouts start after the change?

If the answer to the previous question is no, but you do use make up, ask yourself if your brushes and anything else you use to apply it are clean. When was the last time you washed your make up brushes? They can hold bacteria and I know for myself that when I got lazy and didn’t wash them for a while, I would start breaking out.

Other contributing factors that can cause breakouts are:

Stress – Have you been under more or a different kind of stress lately?
Diet – Have you been eating foods you don’t normally eat a lot of? Foods to watch out for: refined sugar, for some people dairy products.
Hormonal changes – Such as a change in birth control pills or just reaching a certain age.
Other products: Have you changed your hair products or toothpaste? Certain ingredients in these can cause breakouts.

Observe and note as much as you can about the breakouts; are they located in a specific area of your face or are they all over? Are they big, cystic pimples or are they closer to the surface? Do they appear at certain times of the month, etc. Try to see if you notice any pattern. This observations are important because sometimes they can provide clues to the cause of the breakouts. For example, oftentimes breakouts due to hormonal fluctuations are localized in the chin/jawline area.

After this inquiry, you will probably have a list of suspects. Then the process of trial and error will begin. Start making whatever changes you can and watch for their effect on your skin. If after all this you are not having any success getting rid of the breakouts, then you may want to consider seeing a skin professional in your area.

Hope this helps!

Cleanse less…

Unless your skin is super greasy, you can most likely get away with washing your face only once a day. Yep, once a day. Clients always look at me like I’m crazy when I say this. But cleansing even with the mildest cleanser can dry out and irritate your skin when the air is cold and dry. Now, I know I wrote ‘wash your face twice a day’ in my first post. Well, the full version of that is: ‘wash your face twice a day, except in the wintertime’.
IMPORTANT DETAIL: if it’s only happening once a day, the face-washing activity NEEDS to happen at night. No going to bed with a dirty face!

A question I usually get when I’m trying to convince people to adopt this winter practice is ‘but what do I do in the morning?’ Easy. If your skin is normal to oily, wipe your face with a mild toner before you apply your moisturizer and sunscreen. If your skin is on the dry side, simply splash water, pat it dry, and apply your next steps. If you want to get fancy, you can splash with rosewater instead of plain water.

Come back for part 2: Exfoliate more!

Thank you to those who have checked out the blog. Some of you have expressed excitement about the subject. So, let’s get this thing going, people. Send in any questions or concerns about skin care/products/treatments you may have…I’ll do my best to answer them.

Those are the basic steps everyone should take to take care of their skin. Let’s take them one by one:

CLEANSING

In general, cleansing your skin twice a day is a good idea. Especially at night before bed. Think about it: your skin is bound to get dirty while you are out and about. And even if you don’t spend a lot of time outside, you may be wearing some makeup. While you are sleeping, it’s your body’s time to rest, recover and regenerate and that includes your largest organ: your skin. So, you want the surface of your skin to be as clear of gunk as possible. Otherwise, said gunk will go into your pores, accumulate, block the pore opening and create a fun environment for bacteria to grow. The result: a pimple.

EXFOLIATING

This is usually the most neglected and less understood step in everyone’s skin care regime. Yet it is one of the most important. Actually, exfoliation deserves a full post all to itself, which I promise will come soon. In the meantime, the simple explanation: exfoliating consists of removing build up of dead skin, it should be done once or twice a week in order to have a bright and clean complexion. Look at it as a deeper cleaning of the skin.

MOISTURIZING

Most people seem to be familiar with this step. After cleansing, moisturize. Simple, right? Yes. What may not be so obvious is determining what moisturizer is good for your skin. This requires some understanding of skin types and product ingredients. Another topic that deserves a more in depth look – so much to discuss!!!! Stay tuned for future posts.

PROTECTING

The number one factor in skin aging (that includes fine lines and wrinkles, uneven pigmentation and loss of elasticity – not to mention skin cancer) is sun exposure. SPF of at least factor 15 is highly recommended, higher than that if you are going to be exposed for a long period of time or if you have fair skin. Expect a post with my take on sunscreen and its use in the near future. In the meantime, find one that you’re not allergic to and doesn’t make you break out and apply it everyday over your moisturizer and under your makeup.