By: Cat Juan Ledesma
If you live in the city, you can be sure that microscopic specs of soot, dirt, smoke and other gross pollutants are entering your skin daily. Some of these particles are 20 times smaller than your pores, making it easy for them to build up deep in your skin’s layers to cause breakouts, speed aging, and even make you more vulnerable to skin cancer.
Pollution is no laughing matter and if you don’t have plans to move to a cleaner part of the world soon, fear not. Here are some ways that you can combat pollutions grave threat to your skin:
- Cleanse Your Face Religiously: You don’t need to wait till before you sleep to cleanse your face of the day’s grime and oil. As soon as you step home, be sure to strip your face and neck of gunk to allow your skin some breathing room. A cleanser on its own often isn’t enough to get the job done. We recommend starting with a cleansing oil or micellar water before lathering with your favorite foaming cleanser. This needs to be done at least once a day, preferably as soon as possible. We have a good article on Calyxta on how to properly clean your face. Check it out here: (Cleanser Types)
- Anti-Oxidants Are Your Best Friends: Pollutants are full of free radicals that like to bounce around your skin making holes in your collagen that cause lines and discoloration. Without getting into too much scientific detail, trust us that anti-oxidants will do the job of making free radicals stop using your skin like a dance floor. Look for skincare serums filled with vitamin C, vitamin E, or Retinol (Vitamin A).
- Protection is Key: Now that you’ve kept your face clean and filled with antioxidants, lock in all that good stuff by choosing a sun block or BB cream with physical barriers like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide as one of their active ingredients. These sun protectors stay on top of skin not allowing other pollutants to enter.
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