You're floating towards the big 30 with glowing skin laughing away those days when you had to put toothpaste on your face at night to handle those "mount everests" that would appear on your face... when one day you look in the mirror and a blood-curdling scream is heard throughout the house. It's happening again!
Well that's what happened to me anyway, and I discovered not so long ago that I'm not the only one! So if you're in your 20's and you're experiencing "teenage skin problems", know you are not alone.
You may notice that it's more around the hormonal areas that your skin decides to play up more and more. By that I mean temples, chin, forehead, or even on your chest and back. Guys, don't pretend you haven't experienced this too - I have inside information that some of you are going through the same thing.
Look, adulting is hard enough so the last thing you need in your life is bacne (back acne) and chin spots. But before you resort to buying a huge hat and covering your face, try making some small changes and your skin could clear up in no time!
Here's what you can do.
1. Check your Diet
You really are what you eat! What you put into your body has a direct impact on your skin. Check for intolerances/allergies that may have developed such as gluten and dairy. You'd be surprised the effect this can have on your skin. For me, it's been lactose that's been the culprit, although my intolerance only developed mid-20's. If this is you as well, know that lactase pills may help you digest dairy and stop some of the symptoms of the intolerance but it will not help to clear up your skin. If you want glowing skin, you may have to actually give up the foods that cause you a reaction. *yikes*
2. Detox
Break outs can be a result of toxins in your body that need to be released. The best way to flush out toxins is to increase your water intake (help!), so if you're like me you may have to make a conscious effort to drink more water.
Another thing you can do is get some vitamin supplements in your diet for a period of time just as a booster. Get a multivitamin as a minimum and add to it as you need; vitamin C will help with your immune system so aid the healing of your skin, vitamin E is an anti-oxidant and vitamin D helps with skin tone.
Of course, to assist with flushing your body from toxins, there are some really great teas that can help. The best being green tea to reduce inflammation, rooibos for anti-aging and spearmint for hormonal acne!
Finally, treat your skin to a charcoal or clay-based mask once a week to draw out the impurities in your pores. Don't forget to tone and moisturise afterwards!
3. Change up your Skincare
The things that worked for you in your teens won't necessarily be right for you now. Some products get less effective once your skin is used to it so it's always good to switch it up from time to time. Ask yourself, has your skin type changed? And make sure you get the right products for your skin.
You may find that you have a combination of dry and oily areas and therefore need to treat those areas differently. Don't fall for the "one size fits all" products that claim to work on all skin types, but don't go crazy buying all the products either!
The must haves are; cleanser, toner, eye cream & moisturiser (with SPF). If problematic skin is an issue then you will need an appropriate exfoliator and mask to help you detox. Tip: You can extend facial products to the neck, chest and back to treat problematic areas.
There's one very overlooked product that I think could be the solution to a lot of your problems; facial oil! As well as hydrating, increasing elasticity and anti-aging, oils can actually help to restore balance to your skin. When you give your skin the oils it needs, it stops over compensating. I recommend a rose oil for combination skin types (works a treat on mine).
4. Don't Squeeze!
The temptation is strong and you may see a quick solution to the mountain on your face but if you can keep your hands off then please do! There's a couple of reasons for this.
Squeezing can spread bacteria to your other pores and cause further breakouts elsewhere. Plus you have bacteria on your hands that can actually simply aggravate the situation.
And now that you're a little bit older, your skin heals a lot less quickly than in your teens causing that spot to linger a lot longer than necessary.
So hands off (if you can), keep your skin clean and treat and breakouts using an on-the-spot treatment that works for you. *note: if you do squeeze then you need to treat it like a wound. Keep the area clean and use a disinfectant to help kill bacteria and speed up recovery*
Thanks for reading, let me know how you get on in the comments below.
Love,
Mary-Daisy x
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