Dear Team GlowSkin,
Happy new month. Today, being the 1st of October and the celebration of Nigeria’s independence, my African self that likes to attach a moral and significance to every occasion is out to see to your breakout independence, this day and beyond. I’m writing this note on skincare to you from a deep corner of my heart where I feel almost everything you feel.
I was in the the bathroom when it hit me that I have engaged in so many healthy skincare practices that tend to be the cause of my breakout in the past few months.
Naturally, I have an oily face and a very dry skin, especially my legs, so I do not take moisturizing and exfoliation for granted. They are my core skincare practices and truth be told, my skin thanks me for it. In fact, I have never had issues with my skin, except for maybe bruises or insect bite. But you see my face? That is where the problem lies.
As the water ran down my face, I did a mental run down of the moments my face was at its worst in this one year and it suddenly hit me that the cause of everything was actually healthy practices, except for the few times my hormones may interfere in the process.
First thing you’re going to do with me, lets check through your storage cart/shelf/toilet bag together for the skincare products you have.
Skincare Products You own may include:
- activated charcoal peel off mask ,
- apple cider vinegar
- facial scrub
- facial mask
- baking soda
- carrot soap
- exfoliating beads
- anything containing turmeric
- anything containing cucumber
- lemon scrub
- lime
- toning herbal soap
- cinnamon
- honey
- coconut oil
- shea butter
- black soap
- spot control
- glow oil
And the list is almost inexhaustible because, ‘you need it to take care of your skin’. As always, you have a reason for buying any of the things you buy.
Now, try imagining eating rice, fufu, amala, wheat, afang, editan, onugbu, oha, fruit salad, vegetable salad, chicken, pork, liver, pepper soup, cornflakes, shawarma, pizza, cake, garri, bread, chapman, coke, coffee, noodles, egusi and pounded yam within 3 days. Oh, I forgot to add that you have a history of peptic ulcer. All healthy meals, all delicious, all nutritious but you may have signed a pact with severe stomach disorder.
That is what happens especially with the face. You load all those products on your face within 3 days and you expect to have an amazing skin . No, you have just messed up your face and it may take weeks or even months for it to get back in shape because even your make up choices are not healthy for your skin.
Let’s see what you should do but you’re doing a little too much and is causing your face to break out.
Exfoliation:
How I love the fact that you exfoliate. But are you like me that was doing it twice a day, although unconsciously? I used lime on my face every night because I wanted to reduce hyper-pigmentation and I had one other scrub I used every morning. My soap back then also had exfoliating beads in them. My break out rate was about every 8 hours. I was doing something right about skincare, but in a very wrong way. Lime has a way of drying out the skin. When all the oil on the skin is taken out, the oil glands produce much more than they ought which will still end up blocking the pores and then birth breakouts. I was taking out oil with my lime, as well as my scrub. Can you see this?
So, how often should you exfoliate your face? Well, the absolute maximum you should be exfoliating in my opinion is twice a week. Over-exfoliate and you’re likely to create tiny cracks in the skin barrier that lead to more loss of hydration and causes more inflammation.
Listen to your skin, particularly the face and know what suits it. Most of the things we actually use do more of the exfoliation job already, so there’s usually no need to over do it.
You don’t need to mask your face with your soap, ‘scrub’ with your scrub, mask with your mask, rinse off with diluted ACV, and apply a mixture of baking soda and coconut oil as a face cream. Mehn! That’s so so extra.
Use your soap(any good soap), use a good face cream, sunscreen, if need be and you’re good to go.
Toning:
If you need to use ACV, dilute with water and use a cotton ball to use as a toner, preferably before bed.
You don’t have to use a cleanser when you decide to use apple cider vinegar.
Basically, everything should be in moderation.
Moisturizing (Face Creams)
Another thing you should not make the mistake is using your body cream on your face. The cream you use on your skin is not formulated for your face, hence, its properties may clog your pores and you know what this means- break outs!
Masking:
When formulating your masks, do not be like me that used so many harsh and drying ingredients together.
I had a mixture of turmeric, cinnamon, lime, rice powder, oat meal, sea salt and tea tree oil. Just look at! On top this face o. I danced awilo and skelewu
together. My face was so hurt that even days after, using my regular black soap got me hurt. So in making your facial masks, use one major ingredient at a time. You do not need to overload your home made products before they are effective. In fact, with your skin, less is more.
If you really need to DIY, use very few products, and do not forget to pick a good base.
Use of Sponge:
This is a very sensitive one. I used to use sponge directly on my face till I read it was bad for the face. The week I stopped using sponge, I started breaking out. I resumed and I had my face back in shape in no time. So in the case of sponge, you have to know what works for you. Also, there are formulated soft sponges for the face for as low as 300 naira and is mainly for the face and no where else.
With the above points I made, dear team GlowSkin, I hope you’d have a breakout free October and even beyond. You do not have to be your own lab rat when I’ve fought these battles for you.
And if you have any questions or experiences to share, will love to read from you down here.
I love you dearly and wish you a breakout free a glowful month ahead.
Yours,
Omoyele.
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