PSA: Here’s How To Look After Your Skin During Movember
Committed to growing out your facial hair for Movember? Then a) good on you. And b) this is the perfect time to get on top of your skincare and grooming routine.
Movember (and it’s cousin, No-Shave November) are here and if you’re keen to raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues such as colon cancer, testicular cancer, prostate cancer, mental health and suicide prevention, chances are you’re ditching your razor and forgoing your usual shaving routine for a little extra facial hair right now.
Growing a beard, moustache or goatee from scratch, however, comes with its challenges. For starters, growing and maintaining facial hair can be a bit of a chore – especially if you’re used to a more clean shaven look. And then there are the issues your skin must contend with: beard itch, blocked pores, breakouts, the struggles are all too real.
If you’re on board with Movember or No-Shave November and want to, not only do your bit, but make sure your skin doesn’t feel the hit for the next 30 days, here are four important grooming tips to help you maintain healthier skin.
1. Keep Your Skin Clean
When it comes to cleansing your skin, this is not the time to be slap-dash. Sure, you can just about get away with a speedy ‘splash of water and done’ philosophy when you’re tired or feeling lazy, but it won’t do your skin any favors. And when you’re growing out your facial hair? Frankly, it’s asking for trouble.
Skin secretes sebum all day and, to a lesser extent, throughout the night, helping to keep it healthy and moisturized. All good stuff. However, if your skin is not cleansed regularly, this sebum builds on the surface of your skin, combining with dirt, sweat, pollution and dead skin cells. Leave all this debris to continue building up and it will eventually block up your pores like there’s no tomorrow. Best case scenario? You might end up with slightly irritated skin and a few blackheads. Worse case? Serious acne.
Breakouts around and under facial hair are very common because, even if you think you’re pretty strict with your cleansing routine, the skin under your beard or moustache often gets looked over. Don’t let that happen, people! Cleanse your face, chin and neck thoroughly, morning and night, using balancing products that help to control sebum and detoxify your skin, without sucking all the life out of it.
Our recommendations? Charcoal Clarifying Cleanser or Tea Tree Super Cleanser+. Both of these work hard to deeply cleanse the skin and decongest your pores. Just remember to soften the skin and hairs first with a little warm (but not too hot!) water, then work the cleanser over your skin in circular motions, use a little extra manpower over any hairy, harder-to-reach areas.
2. Exfoliate While You’re At It
Facial scrubs can be a bit of a pain when dealing with facial hair as all those pesky ‘bits’ can get stuck in your hairs. But exfoliation is still as important (maybe even more so) when you’re growing a beard or ‘stache as it helps to regulate cell turnover and get rid of unwanted dead skin cells. This will reduce your chances of irritation and help to keep your pores clear from unwanted blockages.
The good news is we have just the product to keep your skin turning over nicely during this tricky time: AHA/BHA/PHA Liquid Exfoliant. Perfect for all skin types, but particularly awesome for oilier complexions, this non-abrasive, leave-on exfoliant contains three of the best ingredients for breaking down dead skin cells and getting rid of excess sebum: glycolic acid, salicylic acid and gluconolactone. Apply it all over your skin – beard and ‘stache included – after cleansing and before moisturizing, using your fingers or a cotton pad.
3. Keep Your Hands Off
Scratching your beard or touching your facial hair may feel good at the time, but this will transfer even more dirt, sweat and oils from your hands to your face. No matter how often you wash your hands. This might seem innocent enough, but overloading your skin with excess debris will just add to the likelihood of your skin breaking out. It could also aggravate your skin and exacerbate irritation. Nobody wants that.
4. Moisturize Twice Daily
Just as important as keeping your face and neck clean during Movember and No-Shave November is to keep your skin moisturized. Dry, dehydrated skin, coupled with new facial hair can be a killer combination for itchy, irritated skin. And with it also being winter – when the air lacks humidity and is naturally very drying on your skin – your face and neck are going to need that hydration more than ever.
Rich, heavy moisturizers can get ‘stuck’ in facial hair (especially if your beard and ‘stache are dense or thick). This means they’re unable to fully penetrate down to the surface of your skin. Instead of butters or thick creams, therefore, we recommend sticking with lighter lotions or gel formulations whose smaller molecules are able to work between those hairs much more effectively. Our new Firming Collagen Day Lotion is a great choice, or you could try a classic favorite, Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer. Both will keep your skin (and your hairs!) in great condition.
For even deeper hydration, you could even layer your moisturizer on top of a nourishing facial serum. Try Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum, one of our newest all-singing, all-dancing treatments that’s perfect for delivering everything your skin needs to remain strong and healthy. Apply just a couple of drops after cleansing and exfoliating, and before moisturizing, morning and night.
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No idea why you’re getting an influx of acne right now? Many lifestyle habits can trigger your breakouts – and sometimes they’re found in the most unsuspecting places.
As you know, acne is caused by one thing and one thing alone: an excess of sebum that causes your pores to become blocked with oil, dead skin cells, bacteria and other impurities. Eating too much chocolate doesn’t give you pimples. Neither does moisturizer. Sure, they can trigger breakouts if you’re genetically susceptible to them, but acne isn’t caused by uncleanliness, a poor diet or crummy skincare routine. It’s caused by blocked pores. End of.
OK, so this begs the question: why bother trying to cure them if your breakouts are totally out of your control? Well, here’s the thing. You can’t change your genes, that’s for certain. However, what you can do is keep acne-triggering factors under control to help lessen the blow. Sleeping well, reducing emotional stress and eating a healthy, well-balanced diet; all these things are important for maintaining balanced sebum and therefore reducing the likelihood of you breaking out week after week.
But there are also some less obvious reasons why you face might be suffering with regular breakouts. So if you’ve already dispensed with things like smoking, poor cleansing and too much exfoliation, but you’re still getting pimples on the reg, it might be time to look at some of the more unexpected areas of your life.
On that note, read on for five slightly more unusual causes for your breakouts.
1. Your Pillowcase
Getting enough beauty sleep is crucial for the health of your skin, but if you’re sleeping on a dirty pillowcase for a solid eight hours every night dirt and bacteria is inevitably going to build up and irritate your pores. This is especially true if you sleep on a synthetic pillowcase because man-made fibers don’t absorb sweat as effectively as natural fibres like cotton or linen.
The answer? Go natural all the way, for starters. Also, cleanse and moisturize your skin before bed to reduce the amount of grime getting on your pillowcase. Tea Tree Super Cleanser+ is a great acne-fighting cleanser that balances and clarifies your pores. Follow this with Retinol Moisturizer to lightly hydrate and moisturize your skin while boosting cellular turnover to keep your pores free of dead skin cells.
Finally, wash your pillowcase every three or four days. And ditto, your face towel. Old, dirty towels that are used by the whole family for drying their hands and who-knows-what-else are another breeding ground for germs and bacteria. Do you really want to be swiping this all over your freshly cleansed skin? Thought not. So, invest in a couple of cotton face towels for you and you alone and wash them every other day.
2. Your Makeup & Hair Products
Your skincare routine might be spot on, but what about your makeup and hair products? Rich hair conditioners, for example, are notorious for containing heavy ingredients like cocoa butter and coconut oil which, granted, are incredible for moisturizing your precious locks, but are not so great for acne-prone skin. Of course, we know you’re not smothering your face with conditioner but still, it can settle on your face when you rinse your hair so always cleanse your skin after, never before conditioning.
Makeup can similarly clog up your pores, especially if you use formulations that contain oil. So don’t do that. Instead, look out for noncomedogenic products (this means they’re less likely to block pores) and use powder rather than liquid formulations whenever possible.
3. Your Workout Routine
Do you love to get a good sweat on when you’re working out? High fives to you. However, allow all that sweat and grime to sit on your skin and your pores are going to clog up quicker than your instructor can say ‘hit the floor for ten push-ups.’
Cleanse your skin thoroughly and swiftly after exercising (the longer you leave your skin doused in sweat and grimy workout gear, the more bacteria is likely to breed), and always use a mild but effective cleanser that helps to detoxify your skin without drying it out. Our Charcoal Clarifying Cleanser is a goodie as it harnesses the powers of coconut-derived activated charcoal which destroys skin-smothering impurities to offer a deep, gently purifying clean every time.
4. Your Winter Cover-Ups
Any fabric that rubs against your skin can lead to unwanted issues in the long-term. Remember how face masks were causing ‘maskne’ back in the pandemic? This was all due to friction from the mask combining with the obvious culprits of sweat, dirt, oil, bacteria and humidity which caused dryness, irritation and pimples.
Thankfully, for most of us, the days of having to wear a mask 24/7 are over. However, if you spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter and like to wrap yourself up in woollen hats and thick, heavy scarves, these can cause similar problems, trapping sweat and increasing friction around your chin, jaw, neck and forehead.
To help reduce breakouts caused by beanies, scarves (and even turtleneck sweaters), avoid synthetic fabrics and launder your winter cover-ups regularly. Weekly, at least.
5. Your Laundry Detergent
Speaking of laundry, your choice of detergent is also imperative. Just like your beauty routine, certain ingredients in your laundry detergent can be super irritating – especially if you have extremely sensitive or acne-prone skin. Fragrance, for example, can be a real Debbie Downer, as can harsh dyes, essentials oils, strong surfactants and preservatives.
To reduce the likelihood of your laundry detergent triggering those pesky breakouts, first up, choose liquid over powder detergents. Why? Because these leave behind less residue on your clothes and fabrics (who knew?!). Also, never use more detergent than is recommended on the label, avoid fabric softeners and try double rinsing your laundry after washing to remove as much residue as possible.
5 Unusual Things That Can Trigger Breakouts
read more -
![5 Unusual Things That Can Trigger Breakouts]()
No idea why you’re getting an influx of acne right now? Many lifestyle habits can trigger your breakouts – and sometimes they’re found in the most unsuspecting places.
As you know, acne is caused by one thing and one thing alone: an excess of sebum that causes your pores to become blocked with oil, dead skin cells, bacteria and other impurities. Eating too much chocolate doesn’t give you pimples. Neither does moisturizer. Sure, they can trigger breakouts if you’re genetically susceptible to them, but acne isn’t caused by uncleanliness, a poor diet or crummy skincare routine. It’s caused by blocked pores. End of.
OK, so this begs the question: why bother trying to cure them if your breakouts are totally out of your control? Well, here’s the thing. You can’t change your genes, that’s for certain. However, what you can do is keep acne-triggering factors under control to help lessen the blow. Sleeping well, reducing emotional stress and eating a healthy, well-balanced diet; all these things are important for maintaining balanced sebum and therefore reducing the likelihood of you breaking out week after week.
But there are also some less obvious reasons why you face might be suffering with regular breakouts. So if you’ve already dispensed with things like smoking, poor cleansing and too much exfoliation, but you’re still getting pimples on the reg, it might be time to look at some of the more unexpected areas of your life.
On that note, read on for five slightly more unusual causes for your breakouts.
1. Your Pillowcase
Getting enough beauty sleep is crucial for the health of your skin, but if you’re sleeping on a dirty pillowcase for a solid eight hours every night dirt and bacteria is inevitably going to build up and irritate your pores. This is especially true if you sleep on a synthetic pillowcase because man-made fibers don’t absorb sweat as effectively as natural fibres like cotton or linen.
The answer? Go natural all the way, for starters. Also, cleanse and moisturize your skin before bed to reduce the amount of grime getting on your pillowcase. Tea Tree Super Cleanser+ is a great acne-fighting cleanser that balances and clarifies your pores. Follow this with Retinol Moisturizer to lightly hydrate and moisturize your skin while boosting cellular turnover to keep your pores free of dead skin cells.
Finally, wash your pillowcase every three or four days. And ditto, your face towel. Old, dirty towels that are used by the whole family for drying their hands and who-knows-what-else are another breeding ground for germs and bacteria. Do you really want to be swiping this all over your freshly cleansed skin? Thought not. So, invest in a couple of cotton face towels for you and you alone and wash them every other day.
2. Your Makeup & Hair Products
Your skincare routine might be spot on, but what about your makeup and hair products? Rich hair conditioners, for example, are notorious for containing heavy ingredients like cocoa butter and coconut oil which, granted, are incredible for moisturizing your precious locks, but are not so great for acne-prone skin. Of course, we know you’re not smothering your face with conditioner but still, it can settle on your face when you rinse your hair so always cleanse your skin after, never before conditioning.
Makeup can similarly clog up your pores, especially if you use formulations that contain oil. So don’t do that. Instead, look out for noncomedogenic products (this means they’re less likely to block pores) and use powder rather than liquid formulations whenever possible.
3. Your Workout Routine
Do you love to get a good sweat on when you’re working out? High fives to you. However, allow all that sweat and grime to sit on your skin and your pores are going to clog up quicker than your instructor can say ‘hit the floor for ten push-ups.’
Cleanse your skin thoroughly and swiftly after exercising (the longer you leave your skin doused in sweat and grimy workout gear, the more bacteria is likely to breed), and always use a mild but effective cleanser that helps to detoxify your skin without drying it out. Our Charcoal Clarifying Cleanser is a goodie as it harnesses the powers of coconut-derived activated charcoal which destroys skin-smothering impurities to offer a deep, gently purifying clean every time.
4. Your Winter Cover-Ups
Any fabric that rubs against your skin can lead to unwanted issues in the long-term. Remember how face masks were causing ‘maskne’ back in the pandemic? This was all due to friction from the mask combining with the obvious culprits of sweat, dirt, oil, bacteria and humidity which caused dryness, irritation and pimples.
Thankfully, for most of us, the days of having to wear a mask 24/7 are over. However, if you spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter and like to wrap yourself up in woollen hats and thick, heavy scarves, these can cause similar problems, trapping sweat and increasing friction around your chin, jaw, neck and forehead.
To help reduce breakouts caused by beanies, scarves (and even turtleneck sweaters), avoid synthetic fabrics and launder your winter cover-ups regularly. Weekly, at least.
5. Your Laundry Detergent
Speaking of laundry, your choice of detergent is also imperative. Just like your beauty routine, certain ingredients in your laundry detergent can be super irritating – especially if you have extremely sensitive or acne-prone skin. Fragrance, for example, can be a real Debbie Downer, as can harsh dyes, essentials oils, strong surfactants and preservatives.
To reduce the likelihood of your laundry detergent triggering those pesky breakouts, first up, choose liquid over powder detergents. Why? Because these leave behind less residue on your clothes and fabrics (who knew?!). Also, never use more detergent than is recommended on the label, avoid fabric softeners and try double rinsing your laundry after washing to remove as much residue as possible.
5 Unusual Things That Can Trigger Breakouts
read more
