Episode Summary:
Now I’m not a big one for New Years’ resolutions that involve diet, exercise and drinking more water. We’re all big enough and old enough to know that we probably should be doing all of these, and when it comes to the really extreme ones they’re just yet another way for us to beat ourselves up about something.
So, I’m going to skip right past them and get onto the juicy stuff – some skincare resolutions that involve simple tweaks you can make to your routine.
Resolution 1: No More Using Exfoliants Every Single Day
Let’s face facts – the majority of us are over-exfoliating. You don’t need to exfoliate once a day EVEN IF that’s what the bottle says. Not only can it cause chronic skin irritation, it can even accelerate the aging process.
Instead, stick to the golden rule of exfoliating once to twice (MAX THREE) times a week.
Remember – not everyone needs to exfoliate on the regular, so make sure you get to know your skin and learn the signs of over-exfoliation.
Resolution 2: Quit using a salicylic acid cleanser twice a day
Linked to resolution 1, this is just too much for most normal people.
Using this much salicylic acid twice a day is likely to dry your face out, which is a recipe for disaster. Unless your skin is chronically oily, once a day is more than enough for most skin types to cleanse with a salicylic acid cleanser.
This goes DOUBLY if you use a lot of chemical or manual exfoliants on your skin.
Resolution 3: Wear Your SPF Every Day
You should be wearing sunscreen every day come rain, hail or shine. UV light can penetrate glass, so if you have windows in your home, school or office wear SPF just in case. When it comes to sun protection, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Resolution 4: Stop cleansing your face in the shower
There are a couple of reasons I can think of that this is not the best idea – first, most people shower with the water much higher than lukewarm, meaning you will be cleansing your face at a harsher, higher temperature than is good for your skin. Second, if you cleanse in the shower, chances are you keep your cleansers in the shower cubicle, where they stay wet until the shower dries. This is a recipe for mould, particularly if you are opening and closing the container (like most balm-type cleansers).
Resolution 5: Skip the At-Home Micro Needling Devices
As amazing as micro needling can be for your skin, this is not one to DIY. Not only can you seriously harm your skin, you can cause all sorts of permanent damage.
(NB. I’m not talking about the devices that are aimed at allowing your products to penetrate your skin better – I’m talking about the ones people are using trying to regenerate their own collagen or fix deep acne scarring. In my opinion, anything over about 0.5mm needs to be left to a professional).
Many home devices are not of a surgical grade. If not made or disinfected properly, they can be quite dangerous; needles they are made with can cause tiny tears in skin rather than the finely controlled injury that triggers healthy healing.
