I’m the youngest sibling. I have a brother, he’s 3 years older. Throughout our childhood, I learned that whatever happened to him would usually happen to me, one way or another.
When he got given a new phone at 12 years old, I knew that I’d get my first phone when I turned 12. (Except it wasn’t new; it was his hand-me-down.)
It was a life hack to see into my future. This all worked in my favour until one day, my fair-skinned, clean-faced brother suddenly turned into a big, red, spotty raspberry almost overnight.
Acne.
All I could think was “that’ll be me soon enough…crap”
Desperate to delay my doomed fate, I decided to invest in my skincare routine. Eating Nutella toast and wiping my chocolaty fingers around my face before bed just wasn’t going to cut it anymore.
I had 3 years to change my fate.
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Mistake Number 1 – Not using moisturizer.
If I were on a desert island and could only bring one thing with me, it wouldn’t be a phone or one of those weird things you put in trees that give you water. It would be a rich and creamy moisturizer.
It makes me physically cringe when I think back to how I would vigorously wash my face, pat it dry with a semi-dirty towel, and walk out of the bathroom.
Nails on a chalkboard.
My face was as dry as the Sahara desert at midday.
I thought this was all normal, I thought this was just my skin “adjusting” to my new skincare routine, I thought I was making very good progress. But I was just destroying my skin barrier. This went on for a couple of months. I now only had 2.5 years to change my fate.
I can not stress enough how important moisturizer is; it is the ultimate hack to healthy skin. Not to mention, who doesn’t love looking like a glazed donut?
Wake up: moisturize – Bathroom break: moisturize – Bedtime: DOUBLE moisturize
TRUST me on this one.
Mistake Number 2 – How I washed my face.
Now, I know what you’re thinking:
“What do you mean HOW you washed your face? It’s soap and water, how else are you supposed to wash it??”
I know, I know. But this was a big game changer.
I – like most people – kept all my soaps and scrubs in the shower. I’d wash my hair, body, and face in the shower. It was convenient.
Then I learnt about PORES.
I know, so interesting.
Pores are the little tiny holes that are on our face; they produce oil and sweat, and help to regulate our body temperature. They’re under your arms, on your legs and back, and ALL over your face. You’ve probably been told to wash your face in warm water, so your pores open up and your face wash gets inside and cleans them all out.
That is correct.
But CLOSING your pores is just as important as opening them.
We do this by rinsing off the face wash with cold water. This immediately closes your pores. Sealing the deal.
The problem is, unless you’re some godlike human who likes to turn the shower cold and freeze their naked butt off, washing your face in the shower is no good.
So, DON’T do this…
Wash your face in the shower: Warm, steamy water opens up your pores. You wash your face, rinse with warm water (pores are still open), you get out of the shower, and pat your face with a towel; the bacteria from the towel is now in your pores, as they were STILL open from all the steam in the bathroom.
And now you’re wondering why you’ve got 3 new pimples after last night’s shower…
Instead, DO this…
Grab a clean flannel and tie your hair back. Turn on the tap so the water is hot and steamy. Rinse the flannel under warm water and then press it to your face for about 30 seconds. This will gently open up your pores.
(Another hack: If you want a little bit of exfoliation, rub the flannel in circular motions gently around your face. This will remove any excess buildup on the skin…The magic of a flannel!)
Once you begin to become paranoid that the bathroom demon that only appears when you close your eyes while washing your hair is standing behind you, remove the flannel from your face.
Your skin should be damp, not wet.
Apply the cleanser on your skin and give it a gentle scrub. Then rinse with cold water. This will jumpscare your pores, and they will close. Sealing in the face wash we spent loads of money on!
And now you’re waking up with clean, luminous skin!
Mistake Number 3 – Overcomplicating things.
I recently paid a visit to an art museum, and I realised, looking back at old Victorian photographs or ancient family portraits, NO ONE had acne.
There were tragic paintings of people being beheaded, but hey, at least their skin was glowing.
#nofilter.
This made me wonder, are we overcomplicating things?
We live in a time where there are SO many skincare options, products, tools, hacks, etc…It’s difficult to navigate what option works best for you.
Here’s my honest advice…
Keep. it. Simple.
No harsh chemicals, no crazy tools, no draining your bank account.
This is SKIN we are talking about, not an operating table.
A smell that takes me straight back to being 10 years old is teetree oil. At the very peak of his acne breakouts, my brother reeked of it.
You could smell him coming from a mile away.
If I could go back in time, I would bin the teetree, hand him a sturdy flannel and a bottle of rosehip oil, and say, “Thank me later.”
It isn’t that complicated.
I’m not trying to sound like one of those women who eat seaweed and hang fly tape in their kitchen, but keep it natural and simple.
- Use gentle face washes (I like the ones that say sensitive skin)
- Combine oil with your moisturiser (I love rosehip oil)
- Drink water (TIP: add lemon to it so it feels like you’re drinking a gin and tonic)
And finally (this one’s free),
- Reduce your stress levels.
I know this is annoying to read, and believe me, I’m annoying myself writing it down.
But trust me, this is a big one.
It’s very easy to be judgmental when we are trying to better ourselves; it’s like taking a big magnifying glass and seeing all of the “issues” we have.
But we must be kind.
When you’re stressed, your body produces a hormone called cortisol. This hormone tells your skin to make more oil. Too much oil can clog your pores, which leads to breakouts like pimples and acne. Stress can also mess with your sleep, digestion, and immune system, all of which can make skin problems worse.
Basically: Stress = more oil + less balance = more breakouts.
So take a bubble bath and watch some Netflix… It’s self-care at its finest.
After correcting all of these mistakes, I managed to dodge the bullet of acne. I salute my brother for battling with it, so I didn’t have to.
Without him, I don’t think I would’ve been so quick to learn about skincare.
He got acne,
I got his hand-me-downs,
Call it even.
If you enjoyed this post, I’d love for you to stick around and discover more beauty secrets. Thank you for trusting me.
All my love
– Tess <3