Know your skin type

The first step towards knowing how to care for your skin is to identify your skin type. This will enable you to focus on using products specifically addressing your skin's unique needs. It will also help you avoid sensitivity and allergic reactions and save time and money on products that just won’t work you. A beauty product might do wonders for someone else and do absolutely nothing for you or even worsen your skin. It is important to regularly analyze your skin every six months or so as the nature of your skin will change over a period of time and adjust your skin care routine accordingly.

Here is a simple way of testing your skin at home:

• Wash your skin with a mild lathering cleanser meant for normal skin. 
• Tone your skin.
• Blot the skin dry with a soft flannel cloth.
• Allow 30 minutes for skin oil to return and examine skin in a mirror under broad daylight or white light to identify your skin type.

Skin types

1. Normal skin.

After a wash it feels smooth and comfortable irregardless of cleanser used. It has a nice glow, looks clear and tone is even; never feels oily or dry. It has a fine texture and free of blemishes (with the exception of periodic break out in spots perhaps before or during your period or when you are under a lot of stress). It is firm and feels comfortable after applying a facial toner or a rich night cream. Pores are visible but not large or clogged.

2. Dry skin

This skin type has a fine and thin texture. It feels dry to touch; it also feels tight and drawn after washing and may have dry patches. It tends to have fine lines around the eyes and mouth. It rarely suffers from acne outbreaks. It feels stingy on applying a toner and comfortable after applying a rich night cream. The pores are very fine.

3. Combination skin

This is a normal skin with a few dry and oily skin patches; the extent of the dry and oily patches varies. After washing, some areas feel smooth and others dry. Dryness is usually on the cheeks and oiliness on the T-zone namely the forehead, nose and chin. This skin often breaks out in spots in the T-zone and requires a separate cleaning routine to balance it. Most women have this type of skin.

4. Oily skin

Oily skin has a greasy and sallow complexion, with thick and coarse texture. After a wash, it feels fine but oiliness appears within hours and make up is absorbed quickly. It often breaks out in spots and tends to have pimples, black heads and white heads. It feels fresh after applying a facial toner and oily after applying a rich night cream. It has large and visible pores.

5. Sensitive/problematic skin

Sensitive skin is easily irritated and has a lot of trouble with environmental factors. It burns easily in the sun and is very sensitive to perfumed cosmetics. Typical reactions include itching, burning, chaffing and stinging. This skin is usually oily with large pores and red blotches and becomes more irritated under stress sometimes requiring the attention of a dermatologist.

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Will exercise and sweating cause acne?

Different views exist on the relationship between acne and exercise all with a focus on the role of sweat in aggravating acne. Though there is no proven direct correlation between exercise and acne, it is presumed that exercise enhances blood circulation to the skin hence circulating abundant oxygen to the skin cells, which in turn improves skin texture, helps quicker healing of spots and blackheads, and reduces acne. Exercise also helps in rebalancing body hormones and reducing stress both of which are aggravators of acne. Proponents believe sweat is helpful in cleaning the pores from inside through flushing out toxins (dirt, dead skin cells and excess sebum) from the skin hence prevents acne from occurring and curbing existing acne.

Some people believe that sweat causes acne and that exercise can lead to breakouts on the face and other acne prone areas. Reports suggest that sweat does not cause acne directly, but plays a major role in breakouts. It is believed that sweat contains salts which could be a major aggravator of existing acne. Another possible way that exercise could contribute to acne is through bacteria found on the skin. Bacteria thrive in sweat, and if sweat is left on the face or body after exercise for long, these bacteria multiply and work their way into the skin from the open pores after exercise and irritate the skin leading to acne.

In our opinion, exercise is encouraged for the health of your body and sweating should not deter anyone from exercising. But, it is important to be safe than sorry. Our recommendations include:

§         Use oil free and noncomedogenic sunscreens, moisturizers and cosmetics to avoid clogging the pores as this leads to breakouts. Let the skin breath freely.

§         Drink plenty of water much before and after exercise (in short, throughout the day) to replenish water lost during exercise through sweat. Water flushes out the toxins from your body. Acne has been reported in people who do not have sufficient water intakes. Water is also considered better than electrolyte-rich drinks like sodas and sports drinks which increase the salts and sugar in the body hence an increase in the toxins being sweated out onto the skin. *Refer to our previous blog post ‘Boosting your water intake improves the skin too’.*

§         Always (if you can) keep your hair tied at the back and off the face to prevent spreading bacteria on your hair and scalp to your face and chest.

§         Wear loose clothing during exercise; this will minimize the chances of bacteria on your back, chest, and arms getting trapped in direct contact with your skin. It will also lessen the irritation likely to be caused by friction of the clothing on the skin. If prone to body acne, summarily avoid synthetic clothing like nylon and lycra as these fabrics can trap heat and moisture against the body creating a conducive environment for bacteria to multiply and can aggravate acne.

§         It is important to use clean towels to blot your face and acne prone body parts instead of wiping as it can irritate the skin.

§         Finally, shower as soon as possible after exercise using an antibacterial soap and get a change of clothes. Showering washes away the sweat where bacteria could grow, toxins, dirt and dead skin cells that could clog pores and cause or aggravate acne. It will also bring down the desirable bacterial load on the skin back to the normal count hence a healthy balance on the skin. 

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What causes Acne?

What is acne? Acne is the most common of all skin disease reported worldwide. It is a skin condition characterized by inflammation of the skin and formation of whiteheads, blackheads and pimples on the face especially the fore head, chin and jaw line, neck, chest, upper back, shoulders, and arms. These parts are affected because they have the highest concentration of sebaceous glands. When stimulated, these glands can overproduce sebum/oil. Irregular shedding of dead skin cells results in irritation of the hair follicles of the skin and build up of bacteria under and on the skin contribute to the formation of acne too. The skin should naturally be capable of expelling excess oil but sometimes, pores may be blocked by hair follicles and dead skin hence, impair excretion leading to a bacterial infection and acne.

It is therefore important to learn the most common and known factors leading to over production of sebum as well as acne aggravators so that we are able to prevent acne flare-ups, manage it and also enlighten ourselves in the quest for the right treatment for acne.

Hormonal imbalances and stress: Over production of hormones such as androgen  and cortisol, causes the sebaceous glands to enlarge and excessively produce sebum. If the pores are clogged the extra sebum accumulates under the skin, creating a conducive environment for the growth of bacteria leading to break outs on the skin. Stress can aggravate acne as it causes over production of these hormones as well as increase the levels of harmful toxins in the body.

Diet: A diet that is high in starch, sugary and processed foods can aggravate acne as they increase blood sugar and the chemicals in processed foods can disrupt the body’s system and increase the levels of toxins in the body’s system.

Genes: Acne can be acquired hereditary. A child whose biological parent has acne has a high probability of developing acne.

Birth control pills: Acne has been reported as one of the side effects on people taking or stopping progesterone contraceptives. The hormones increase the chances of developing acne.

Drugs and medications: Some drugs, prescription and non prescription, like steroid creams and ointments used for eczema and some anti-epileptics have been proven to stimulate acne. Vitamins are beneficial for your body and good for the skin, but excessive intake of vitamins B1, B6 and B12 may cause acne flare-ups.

Make-up: Heavy make-up, especially oil-based cosmetics, add more oil to the skin and can clog pores and aggravate an already existing oily skin problem.

Environmental Factors: You can suffer from acne due to your increased exposure to the sun, high humidity and pollution. High humidity causes swelling of skin. The skin is in constant contact with the environment, pollution may lead to clogging your pores and infection of the skin even.

Mishandling the Skin: Picking, squeezing and pricking pimples and whiteheads worsens acne. Your hands contain a lot of bacteria that can cause acne flare-ups. It is important to note acne is not caused by dirt. Harsh exfoliators, scrubs and cleansers damage the skin and spread an infection.

Clothing: Tight fitting clothes and garments made of materials like nylon, that do not allow the skin to breathe can also cause or worsen acne.

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