Rudolph can keep the redness to himself! If waking up to the surprise of spots and blemishes on Christmas day aren’t quite what you had in mind, follow these simple steps to avoid skin sins and subsequent pimples during the festive time of the year.
Cleanse, cleanse and cleanse again
Heard of the double cleanse? It’s something I bang on about a bit, and try to follow quite strictly at this time of the year. All the party makeup, SPF once summer hits, and primer to help it all stick to your skin, applied at this time of the year can cause your pores to block up, and blemishes to follow suit. A double cleanse can be the cure, however. Sometimes, one cleanse simply isn’t enough. It’ll get rid of most of the above, but won’t get into the pores and remove oils and dirt that’s become deeply ingrained.
Try double cleansing with a balm cleanser, or a milky cleanser at night. I love the Gatineau Serenite Cleansing Milk. It’s made to cool and calm the skin on contact, perfect for if you are already battling a few blemishes, as it won’t flare up breakouts.
Or, if you are a fan of a ‘gel’ cleanser, try to look for one that isn’t too harsh, or it’ll strip all the oils from your skin, and leave that tight feeling behind. Try the Eslor Soothing Refiner and Cleanser.
Then, simply cleanse once in the morning. Three times a day just might help you keep the blemishes away.
Exfoliation
I know that you know this. And you know that I know this too. Then why is it that we’ve ‘forgotten’ (failed) to exfoliate recently? Well, I have anyway. I think it’s because cleansing often is seen as the skincare staple, where as exfoliation comes in second best. But make no mistake, this is still as important as cleansing, even if you don’t have to do it everyday. Exfoliating helps to remove dead skin cells and general grime that build up on the surface on the skin, causing black heads, white heads and pimples.
These are not conductive to happy holiday skin, so be sure to exfoliate at least twice a week and keep skin in check. Try a chemical exfoliant, to remove debris while you sleep (you leave it on, like a toner). My all-time favourite chemical exfoliant in AlphaH Liquid Gold. I also trialed the Eslor Replenishing Scrub recently, and loved that it wasn’t too scratchy on the skin, like some other manual scrubs can be. The inclusion of honey is extra sumptuous.
Beauty sleep
Finally, don’t forget to use your treatments at night to really get your beauty sleep – even if you are skipping more zzz’s than usual for parties. To treat pimples, or keep them at bay when you feel them growing underneath your skin (the worst!) try the ASAP Clear Skin Gel. An oil-free and non-sticky gel that can be used on your face and body, it contains a strong blend of AHA and BHA complex to improve skins condition while creating a layer of protection against environmental stresses. (hint: can also be used to avoid ingrown hairs on bikini lines for summer!).
Or, if you’ve got red and dull marks left over from pimples the week before, head to bed with the Avene D-Pigment Rich Dark Spot Corrector. It reduces the appearance of dark spots, evens out skin tone all without irritation. Plus, the soft, velvety texture moisturises while it treats your skin, so you won’t end up with dry spots.