We share our problem-solving secrets, fave products and good-to-know tips for complexion perfection.
You have a big event coming up and a massive pimple has decided to be your plus one. So not cool. However, thanks to the beauty gods there are a some excellent blemish-specific products out there to help us mere mortals tackle those tricky pimple problems.
Out, damned spot!
Acne-fighting salicylic acid-based products pack a real punch when it comes to pimple-zapping goodness. Bacteria-fighting benzoyl peroxide is another hero ingredient to look out for in a good spot treatment. Apply during the day to help clear up your skin and keep it that way.
At night, dry that bad boy out and apply a sulfur-containing spot treatment, which will dry out the offending spot.
In the words of “Dr Pimple Popper” (aka dermatologist and Instagram sensation Dr Sandra Lee), know when you pop and know when you stop. With more than two million followers on Instagram, Dr Pimple Popper is the woman behind those gross but fascinating pimple-popping videos.
Dr Lee recommends not popping your pimples in order to prevent redness and scarring, but since we all know we’re going to do it anyway, she says that if you have to pop, use a tool or a sterilised pen.
She uses a comedone extractor, a stainless steel tool to remove blackheads and reduce swollen blemishes with less trauma (not to mention by germy fingers).
Once you’ve popped your pimple, it is essential to keep the area clean. “I usually try to dry it up a little bit with a topical acne spot treatment with a little benzoyl peroxide or an antibiotic in it,” says Dr Lee. “You want something that’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, so it helps to decrease redness.”
And then you leave it alone! The less you touch it, the more it will calm down and be less likely to spread to other areas of the face.
Emergency solution
Emergency pimple crisis? Crush up an aspirin and add a drop of water to it to create a paste. This helps minimise any inflammation.
Another hot tip is to squeeze some whitening eye drops directly on the culprit to help take the redness out. Be careful to ensure the eye dropper does not make contact with your skin – no one wants an eye infection! Most importantly, relax. It will heal. Promise.
If you’ve spent your fair share of time in the sun, freckles and other forms of pigmentation will rear their ugly heads. Dark spots are the result of an increase in the production of melanin, due to prolonged exposure to the sun. This leads to patchy pigmentation and brownish spots on uncovered parts of the skin.
Get even!
While laser and skin brightening procedures are a surefire way of fighting the uphill battle of pigmentation, there are some key skincare ingredients that can help you gets great results.
Research has shown that a high concentration of Vitamin C can significantly improve brown spots and, combined with a skin-lightener that contains hydroquinone, you can see results that are even more dramatic. Koji acid is another commonly used ingredient in treating pigmentation as it provides a natural skin lightening treatment with little irritation.
If there’s one thing you can do, it’s this: wear sunscreen! Daily. Not only does it help prevent potentially fatal skin cancer but it also protects your skin from harmful UV rays – the culprit behind most brown spots. According to a recent Austrian study, when photos of women were modified to enhance uneven skin tone, the same women were judged as older and less attractive than when they had more abundant (and deeper) wrinkles. Bottom line: brown spots can make you look older so, keep your skin spot-free and don’t skip the SPF!
Redness
Redness is fickle and can be hard to tackle. If your face looks red or flushed, it can be due to a variety of things such as alcohol, your lifestyle, your genes or simply your skincare regimen. There are several ways to help correct and calm skin redness for a complexion more even in colour and tone. Read on!
Red-less
Be sure to use facial skincare products that do not contain irritating ingredients; look for fragrance-free and hypoallergenic. Skin irritation can lead directly to inflammation and redness.
Common ingredients found in facial products that can irritate your skin include fragrances, alcohol, lavender and linalool. The name of the game is ‘gentle’, so avoid scrubbing and any abrasive cleansing tools. Look for calming serums with antioxidant-rich plant extracts to keep dryness at bay and help diminish skin redness and inflammation.
Remember, the sun can be a big player in facial redness so make sure you always use a SPF15 or greater titanium dioxide or zinc oxide to protect your skin.
Emergency solutions
A great way to immediately calm facial redness is with a DIY oatmeal mask, which helps soothe itching and redness of the skin.
Oatmeal has a moisturising effect on the skin, but also absorbs oil and can be beneficial for acne. It’s been shown to have moisturising, soothing, protective and anti-inflammatory properties and a low potential for irritation and very low chance of allergies. Win!
Mix a couple of teaspoons of 100% pure oatmeal with enough water to make a mask. Apply it to your skin and let it dry for 10 minutes, then rinse off.
Green tea is also a great natural anti-inflammatory, and will help bring down the redness and calm puffiness. Boil water, and steep 4-6 teabags for 5 minutes. Then soak a washcloth in the tea and rest the cloth on your face once cool.
Dark circles and stressed out skin
Whether it’s been a big night on the town, a sleepless night, or skin that is just totally stressed out, we all know the feels.
Dark eye bags are thanks to tiny broken capillaries, which can show through as dark patches.
There are a variety of factors that can make them appear more prominent, so taking a holistic approach will make them a thing of the past.
While lack of sleep could be the culprit to those dark circles, feeling stressed out, having allergies or irritation from rubbing your eyes could also be a factor.
Banish dark circles by making sure you get enough sleep, don’t rub your eyes (the under-eye is so delicate) and remember to wear sunglasses for UVA/UVB protection.
Also, make sure you are getting enough iron (red meat, leafy greens, nuts and seeds). If you have low iron in your blood, haemoglobin (which carries oxygen) can break down more easily, causing the thin skin below the eyes to appear dark or bruised.
Lastly, try and lower those stress levels! When you’re stressed, more blood is directed to your main organs, leaving you with a drained and discoloured appearance. This also makes dark circles more noticeable. What’s more is that stress can cause the fragile capillaries around the eyes to break or leak blood, resulting in that dark purple tinge.
Dry skin
You wake up and you have alligator-like skin and you don’t know what the heck you’ve done wrong. You haven’t changed your skin routine, didn’t eat anything weird, it hasn’t changed seasons overnight… so what gives?.
Skin that is lacking moisture usually appears dull and dehydrated – and scaly, flaky skin can be really hard to cover up. It can feel tight, rough and scaly. Luckily there are some super-simple ways to keep your complexion hydrated from the inside out so you can wake up with healthy, naturally glowing skin every day. Take that, dryness!
For starters, slabbing a tub of cream all over your face ain’t gonna help. What your skin needs are water-boosting ingredients like hyaluronic acid that ensure water is kept in your skin for longer. This skin-loving ingredient is a sure way to provide intense all-day hydration.
When your skin is screaming for moisture, try a hydrating mask on top of your serum, which will create a barrier and force the moisturising ingredients in your serum to penetrate the skin.
Exfoliation is also a key step in making sure your skin absorbs all the hydrators you’re applying. Exfoliation will remove the dead skin cells from the top layer of the skin and ensure the ingredients can get to work and do their job.
And lastly, make sure you get into that H2O like it’s nobody’s business. The recommended eight glasses of water will help keep your skin healthy and plump.
Emergency solution
Need a quick fix for dry, flaky skin? Splash some warm water on your face and gently exfoliate for about a minute. DIY exfoliator by combining raw honey with Greek yoghurt, and add a few teaspoons of chia seas (depending on how much exfoliation you need).
If you have a little bit of time on your hands, go for an all-over raw honey mask for 10 minutes. Hellooo, gorgeous!
