One of the most common things I hear is “when I moved to New York my skin went bananas”. As much as having a healthy diet and exercise matters to keeping your skin healthy, the initial shock to your skin from moving from suburbs or coastal area to large cities can often lead to havoc on skin health. Why? The additional pollutants (especially in walking cities like NYC), change in water, added stress, lack of greenery all contribute to your skin becoming “unhappy”. Bottom line there is greater assault from pollution and toxic elements in the environment and consequences can range from irritation, pre-mature aging + skin damage.
What Are Things I Can Do To Help My Skin Combat "City Skin Stress"?
1) Deep cleansing. In addition to the obvious washing your face with a cleanser best suited for your skin. I prefer exfoliating cleansers so I use the glycolic face scrub both morning + night) You should regularly clean out your pores with deep cleaners to get rid of the added sweat, grime, pollutants and dead skin skins from your skin. A great routine is a regular deep cleaning clay mask. I use the Detox Clay Mask at least once a week (also great for spot treating overnight to get rid of breakouts) or the glycolic rosewater mask. Both do a great job clearing excess pollutants from skin.
2) Moisturizing serums. I believe in the impact of a good vitamin serum. Moisturizing is a must for skin to maintain its balance but vitamins are also essential for BLOCKING harmful molecules in air or “free radicals” from getting into your skin. Free radicals damage cells, break down collagen which may result in premature wrinkles, irritation and inflammation. If you also needed another reason to stop smoking…smoking also breaks down collagen in skin (thats why they call it “smoker’s skin”). I recommend our Vitamin Face Serum, Rose Face oil or Bloom Night Serum (or any combo of these serums) as they are all packed with moisturizing vitamins
3) SPF. I can’t stress this enough. SPF is not just for the beach or summer. If you look at people who use SPF and those that haven’t, there is a clear difference as you age. FULL STOP. Even on cloudy days harmful UV rays hit your skin and this can lead to pre-mature aging. SPF is a strong barrier to protect your skin.