4 Things You Don’t Realise Are Giving You Bad Skin
By Orla, November 21, 2014
If you’ve tried every skincare product out there or mixed up your skincare regime numerous times but you still can’t seem to shift those spots, maybe the next question to ask yourself is not what can I do next, but what should I stop doing?
Sometimes it’s not the drastic changes that make the difference, it’s the little things. When they all add up, you might be left with impressive results.
Here’s what you need to stop doing:
1. Re-using face cloths and hand towels
Lots of people use a face cloth to wash away remaining makeup, which is totally fine if you only use the facecloth once. The warm, wet fabric of a used facecloth is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria so if you use it more than once you’re just rubbing bacteria into your skin the second or third time around.
The same goes for drying your face off with a used hand towel. They are usually harboring a host of bacteria that definitely won’t do your skin any favours.
2. Applying makeup with dirty brushes or sponges
Many of us don’t wash our makeup brushes or sponges half often enough which in turn leads to the development of new spots.
Over time your brushes and sponges soak up residue, dead skin cells and oil which leads to the growth of bacteria which we then re-apply to our faces. Yikes.
You should wash your brushes every 2-3 weeks or at least once a month. Simply dampen the brushes with warm water, massage a mild shampoo into them, rinse them and pat them dry. Easy peasy!
3. Touching your face and squeezing your spots
The more you obsess over your spots, poking and prodding at your face, the more you contribute to the bacteria causing them. It may take all your willpower, but try to refrain from touching or squeezing your spots. They really will heal quicker.
Even if you don’t have any spots, the pressure applied from leaning your chin on your hand while staring at a computer or tv can force bacteria into your pores and cause you to break out.
4. Sleeping on dirty pillowcases
It’s the same story as the dirty facecloths and towels. Your pillowcase accumulates dead skin cells, oil, grease from hair and even sweat. If you don’t clean your pillowcase regularly, you’re basically rolling your face around in all of that, every night.
Clean and change your pillowcases once or twice a week and you should hopefully notice less outbreaks.
