Public Service Announcement: Stop Stressing Over Your Skin’s Imperfections
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Love your skin for its absolute brilliance at keeping you alive. Then, and only then, should you think about dealing with any little concerns you may have…
We’ve said this before and we’ll say this again: your skin is awesome. We know it’s hard to remember that when all you see in the mirror are lines, sun damage and/or pesky pimples. But know one thing – others don’t see these so-called flaws like you do. More likely they’re coveting your shiny hair or checking out your cute new pumps.
With this in mind, take a deep breath, smile at yourself in the mirror and congratulate yourself for continuing to do the best you can to maintain healthy, radiant skin. Then you can afford to think about what to do to minimize the stuff you’re not so fond of. After all, nobody’s skin is perfect…
So, what’s your gripe? Hormonal breakouts? Lines around your eyes? Glaringly obvious pores? Then let’s figure out how to deal with those, while trying to remember that a) they’re not the end of the world, b) they don’t define you and c) you are not alone.
Now, let’s spring into action. Because being proactive about your ‘flaws’ (gosh, we hate that word) will immediately make you feel better about them. You see, it’s all about taking control…
Stress #1: Pimples & Blackheads
Freaking out over your breakouts will only make matters worse, as emotional stress causes your body to produce an excess of cortisol – aka the ‘stress hormone.’ Says it all, right? Too much cortisol in your system not only accelerates inflammation, but it screws up the natural pH level of your skin. This forces your sebaceous glands into overdrive, making them produce too much sebum which has nowhere to go but your pores.
Take Action: First up, make sure you gently cleanse your skin twice daily to remove build-up of dirt, makeup, oils and bacteria. This is extremely important if you’re prone to breakouts and our Charcoal Face Wash is the ideal guy for the job.
Also, introduce a treatment serum into your routine, preferably one that contains anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredients like salicylic acid and tea tree oil. Our Tea Tree Serum is carefully formulated to help unclog pores and soothe acne-prone skin. Plus it only needs to be applied two or three times a week for visible results. Gotta love that.
Stress #2: Fine Lines
Why is it that fine lines seem to suddenly appear out of nowhere? Cheeky little monsters, aren’t they? Usually found around expressive areas on your face such as your eyes, mouth and forehead, fine lines occur when repeated muscle movements like smiling and frowning cause your skin to become weak in those specific areas. In your younger days, skin can easily bounce back, but as time ticks on it becomes thinner, less elastic and hence the creation of lines.
Take Action: Expression lines around your eyes and mouth are all part of life but to minimize their impact, you must look after your skin’s barrier function. This uppermost layer of your skin is super important for protecting you from external toxins and pollution as well as for reducing moisture loss. Without a strong, healthy barrier, skin becomes dry, dehydrated and will look old way before its time.
To care for your barrier function avoid over-cleansing and over-exfoliating with harsh, oil-stripping chemicals. Instead, flood your skin with hydration (hello glycerin and hyaluronic acid), antioxidants and moisturizer, and apply sunscreen every morning.
Stress #3: Hyperpigmentation
Freckles when you’re 7-years-old might be cute, but brown patches on your face that get darker and bigger as you age? Kind of annoying.
Hyperpigmentation is caused by an overproduction of melanin (pigment) in your skin. Melanin production stays fairly uniform throughout your life, but when something throws it off, it causes certain areas of your skin to become darker than the rest, resulting in a patchy, uneven skin tone.
Take Action: Hyperpigmentation comes in many forms and can be caused by anything from hormones and acne, through to poorly healed bites, cuts and scrapes. However, most dark spots are either caused, or at least exacerbated by the sun. This is why protecting your skin from the damaging sun is so, SO important. Of course, you must apply a broad-spectrum SPF30+ sunscreen every morning to stop UV radiation from doing a number on your skin, but antioxidants are also great for fighting sun-induced free radical damage.
Vitamin C is a particular favorite of ours because it not only battles free radicals, but also works hard to brighten your skin. Clever. Apply Vitamin C Facial Serum every morning to cleansed skin – before moisturizer and sunscreen – for the ultimate in UV protection.
Stress #4: Enlarged Pores
Hands up if your pores drive you insane. Boy, do we hear you. The problem, however, is that the size of your pores is predetermined by your genes and you simply cannot shrink them. Because biology. However, sun damage, a poor diet and the natural aging process all contribute to them appearing more prominent because these stressors break down collagen and therefore work against the firmness of your skin. Allowing your pores to become blocked is also a massive no-no as excess baggage will cause them to stretch and appear bigger.
Take Action: Gentle exfoliation with a chemical exfoliator is a great way to keep your pores tight and free from clogging debris. Glycolic and lactic acids are very effective but if you also suffer with oily skin, there’s little better than salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid (BHA) that cuts through oil to exfoliate deep within your pores. It also reduces redness and inflammation as an added bonus.
Apply Tea Tree Clear Skin Serum twice weekly to get your exfoliating fix of salicylic acid, plus other skin-loving ingredients like vitamin C, niacinamide and hyaluronic acid.
Stress #5: Puffy Eyes & Dark Circles
Thinner, drier and more delicate than the rest of your face, the skin around your eyes takes a real hit from aging – sometimes as early as in your twenties. This is because collagen and elastin starts to degrade around this time: cue fine lines and dark circles. Tissues also start to weaken, allowing fat to shift south and excess fluids to pool under your eyes: cue eye bags the size of a small country.
Take Action: Looking after the skin around your eyes is a delicate operation. Invest in an eye treatment like Peptide Eye Gel, but apply it very gently around your eyes, using only the smallest amount and patting it onto your skin with your ring fingers to reduce pressure and dragging. Aggressively rubbing your eyes damages collagen and weakens your skin which will make lines and dark circles appear so much worse.
Now smile!
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![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
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![5 Ways To Deal With Smile Lines At Home]()
Not a fan of those vertical lines that extend from your nose down to the sides of your mouth? Then read on for five ways to help minimize their appearance.
Smile lines might sound rather lovely and, in all honesty, most of us have some kind of fold – however tiny or etched in – down the sides of our mouth. Do us a favor and dig out a picture of yourself smiling or laughing 20 or so years ago. Chances are, even then, they were apparent. But the thing is, smile lines, aka laughter lines, marionette lines or nasolabial folds come and go with your facial expression when you’re young and your skin is full of delicious collagen. Not so much as time ticks on. In fact, smile lines get progressively deeper as you age, often to the point where they’re always visible around the lips, even when you’re not smiling.
Many people can totally live with their smile lines. Some of you may even find that they’re an essential part of who you are. And we love that. However, that’s not the case for everyone. Smile lines, like crow’s feet and elevens (frown lines) can be a pesky annoyance for many of us. Sounds familiar? Then keep scrolling for some simple skincare tricks and lifestyle habits for helping to reduce the appearance of your smile lines. Just one thing, though. Don’t stop actually smiling in a bid to soften those lines. That’s just miserable.
Prioritize Regular Exfoliation
Exfoliation is one of the simplest ways to stimulate cellular turnover, remove dead skin cells and help improve the appearance of wrinkles by refining the tone and texture of your skin. Of course, in-office treatments like microdermabrasion offer the deepest type of exfoliation so they're always an option, but if you prefer to deal with your skin at home, our 6% AHA, BHA + PHA Liquid Exfoliant is a fabulous choice.
A leave-on liquid that’s best applied to freshly cleansed skin (but before serum), this lightweight treatment contains a super smart blend of exfoliating ingredients to do all the hard work without any kind of scrubbing action. The main ingredients in question are glycolic acid, salicylic acid and gluconolactone which are different types of exfoliating acids. Together, they work like clockwork to encourage collagen production, hydrate the skin and say a big, fat ‘ciao’ to dead skin cells.
It’s gentle enough to use daily but we always recommend starting slowly, then building up to frequent use as your skin acclimates.
Build Collagen With Retinol Or Bakuchiol
Collagen is extremely important for the health of your skin, giving it structure, support, strength and volume. You’re born with tons of fabulous collagen in your skin which is why baby’s skin is so soft and plump. However, as you age, your production of collagen gets slower and thus your levels get lower, making your skin become drier, thinner and less elastic. This happens from around your mid-to-late 20s onwards. Yes, that early!
Sadly, you can’t stop this inevitable natural aging process, but there are many ways to help keep your collagen from disappearing quicker than nature intended.
Two of the most important topical ingredients for collagen are retinol, or nature’s gentler alternative to retinol, bakuchiol. Both of these work at a cellular level to kickstart collagen and encourage a more efficient barrier function to help keep your skin hydrated and healthy. Our Retinol Facial Serum is an incredible nightly treatment for improving smile (and indeed all!) lines, or try our fabulous Longevity Regimen Bundle if retinol’s not your thing.
Stimulate Blood Flow With A Facial Workout
Daily massage around your mouth can be a super effective way to work out the muscles and help improve the skin’s texture in this area. Of course, it won’t miraculously make your smile lines disappear but if you practice it regularly you should see an improvement over time.
Here are three great exercises to try:
1. Create a fist with both hands and place them at the corners of your mouth. Apply gentle pressure, then smooth your fists up the cheekbones to your temples. Repeat 10 times.
2. Part your lips slightly and use the pads of your fingers to pull the corners of your mouth back towards your face while keeping your lips parallel. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times.
3. Hook the corners of your mouth with your index fingers and pull your fingers apart about a quarter of inch while tightening the corners of your mouth towards each other. Hold the resistance for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times.
Shield Your Skin From Sun Damage
If want to choose just one wrinkle-reducing trick for preserving your collagen and therefore improving wrinkles, lines, folds and creases on your skin, sun protection is unquestionably it. Granted, it won’t get rid of anything that’s already formed, but it will prevent further issues from rearing their heads and will help stop your smile lines from getting any worse.
We understand that applying sunscreen every morning can be a real pain in the butt, which is why we formulated our SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C to be a real joy to use. It’s non-sticky, totally lightweight, blends into your skin like a dream and doesn’t leave any annoying white marks. What’s more, it contains a cheeky boost of vitamin C to further protect your skin and add a little extra glow factor. Seems rude not to, right?
Practice Good Lifestyle Habits
Finally, the classic, skin-loving lifestyle habits must never be forgotten about if you want to hold on to young-looking skin for as long as possible. We’re talking, of course, about getting plenty of regular, quality sleep; staying hydrated with lots of sugar-free, caffeine-free drinks and water-rich foods (watermelon, anyone?); drinking booze in moderation; eating a fruit and veggie-forward diet; getting your fill of omega-3s and trying to keep your stress levels to a minimum.
Surely that’s not too much to ask, is it?
5 Ways To Deal With Smile Lines At Home
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![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
