How You Can Stop Acne In Hot And Humid Weather
When the mercury starts rising and the humidity hits 70%, I start to get a little uncomfortable. I know its going to stay that way for the next 2 months and I’m sweating more than ever before. The humidity sticks close to my skin and follows me everywhere. My skin feels more oily and I can’t help myself from thinking it’s just a matter of time before the acne and pimple appear.
Acne can be kept at bay and stopped if you can keep your skin clean of dirt and grime, and keep the excess oils on your face or skin, to a minimum, also adjusting your diet will make a big difference in whether you get acne or not!
If you are in your teens, chances are that your hormones are in a state of flux and you will need to just be extra careful and keep the excess skin oils down by washing your face up to 3 times a day with a deep but gentle facial cleanser.
Also, if you’re of the outdoorsy type, you will have to try to avoid having dirt and grime on your face. Do everything you can to stay away from make-up so you don’t add more chances of acne appearing.
Here are some of the top tips I can share with you, having had severe acne and I know exactly what tends to work, and what doesn’t.
“People are looking at my face with envious glances because of my acne-free skin, and I’m loving every bit of it…”– click to find out that one simple trick.
What if I Need to Be In The Sun?
If you can help it, avoid the sun as the heat and the ultra-violet radiation/rays of the sun is known to cause pre-mature ageing of the skin as well as damage to the skin. The heat also exacerbates and accelerates the onset of acne.
Some girls are known to like to get a tan from the sun to help hide their acne scars and temporary outbreaks, but what happens is that the sun’s rays actually continue to cause damage to the skin and is known to cause cystic acne in developing even more. This means the problem of acne is now getting deeper into the skin, which makes it a lot more painful.
For starters and to avoid having acne, it’s always best to have your skin clean and then use a suitable sunblock such as Supergoop! SPF40 Mineral Sunscreen or EltaMD SPF46 UV Clear Sunscreen. These two are top picks in my book because they are great for sensitive skin and really help to shield your delicate skin from the harsh rays of summer rays, or if you’re in the tropics, these work great all year round.
If you’re really trying to avoid the sun as much as possible, a wide-brimmed sun hat always does the trick in a jiffy and doesn’t actually cost much. One thing to note though, if you’re out by the beach, or by the lake where the sun’s rays bounce off the water’s surface, those rays will get right under your hat and reach your face so having sunblock is always a safe bet.
A sunny day really lifts the mood, but too much of it is not a good for your skin.
If You’re Sweating Buckets in the Sweltering Heat
It’s always a good habit to have tissues around to dry up all that perspiration by gently dabbing the areas of the face. All the moisture and heat actually becomes the perfect breeding ground for acne-causing bacteria.
The body, being the most amazing creation, has its own ability to self-balance by the process of homeostasis. This basically means it can auto adjust itself to ensure that its internal operations are kept within 36.3 to about 37.3 degrees celsius, under normal conditions. What this means that your body will produce sweat to the skin’s surface so that those little droplets of water start to evaporate off your skin in an attempt to cool off.
Sweat is produced under the skin and makes it way towards the surface and as a result, opens up pores. Sweating is a good thing, but if the skin is dirty (composed of grime, dirt, dead skin cells), it starts to become the substrate, or medium in which bacteria starts flourishing. Now, that is just a precursor to actual acne.
Keeping your skin clean and dry, is vital in keeping acne away.
Get yourself a portable fan, they cost less than $15 and work a great to keep your body cool. There are some really great picks like a necklace-styled fan that conveniently hangs around your neck and blows a constant stream of cool air across your neck and face, keeping you cooler and hopefully, much drier. Use these little gadgets to reduce the amount of sweat generated and it would make acne less likely to appear.
You can also get a large umbrella that can shield you away from direct sunlight or stay in the shade wherever possible in case you have to venture outdoors.
I’ve Got Very Oily Skin, Am I Washing My Face Too Often?
As the weather gets warm, it’s not uncommon to notice an increased level of oiliness of the skin, it’s something that happens to me, and if it’s the same with you, you might find the tips really useful. It’s important to keep the excess oils in check but also to ensure that your skin remains moisturized and supple.
The more you wash your skin, and the more moisture you strip away, the more your glands will produce oil to protect the skin from over-drying.
Over-washing your face, which could mean more than 3 times day, would be a very bad thing to do if you were constantly stripping your skin of the moisture it needs to stay healthy. What you need to realize is that having a very good cleanser, especially if you’re prone to acne goes a long way to preventing acne.
What really works well is a deep cleanser that is extremely gentle on the skin. I would suggest avoiding any sort of facial scrubs if you are close to having an acne event (reddish, slightly inflamed skin). You want to be as gentle as possible without adding the friction that scrubs are known for, no matter how “gentle” they claim to be.
I’ve got 2 main cleansers that are remarkable for their gentle but deep cleaning prowess. The Skin Ceuticals Clarifying Exfoliating Cleanser and the iS Clinical Cleansing Complex will keep skin clean and moisture locked in so you don’t end up in a cycle of over-washing your skin.
Keeping your skin clean is paramount to avoiding acne from developing.
Do I Need To Moisturize My Skin In Hot Weather?
This really depends on your skin type. If your skin gets oily quickly, I would suggest staying away from moisturizers and sticking to keeping to a healthy cleansing regimen. If you move between an air-conditioned workspace or school and humid environments regularly, then I would ask you to consider observing your skin.
Some places crank up the air-conditioning to arctic settings and as a result, create a very dry indoor environment which readily dries up your skin’s moisture. If you are in that situation, pick a really good moisturizer like Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream that is great for sensitive skin and really deeply moisturizes.
Most of the time, moisturizing wouldn’t really be part of the equation if you’re in very hot and humid weather, but if you’re in very arid conditions, then stick to the Kiehl’s.
Will I Get Fungal Infections If I Wash My Face Immediately After Being Sweaty?
There’s a common misconception that white spots and other fungal infections may take root when you wash your face while you are still sweaty. When you perspire, your pores do open up and may be more susceptible to foreign contaminants such as bacteria and fungal spores getting in.
Ensure that the water you use to rinse your face or skin is clean and to dry off immediately so you don’t allow fungus from even propagating.
Fungus (white spots, ringworm) thrive under humid and damp conditions so you will want to do the opposite and keep the areas prone to such infections dry.
Is There Any Thing I Can Drink Or Eat To Help Stop Acne When It’s Warm?
In Asian and Chinese culture, Traditional Chinese Medicine advocates keeping the body in a “yin-yang” balance. When acne occurs, this usually is a sign that the body is “overheated” not in scientific temperature terms, but in a imbalanced sort of way.
So, to keep it simple, eating and drinking the following can help reduce the “heat” and bring the body back into balance:
- Watermelon Juice
- Coconut Juice
- Mangosteens
- Luo Han Guo “cooling teas” (this is super-effective: if you live in asian countries, you should be able to get access to bottles of this or you can brew your own) I just realized you can get it on Amazon here
- Boiled barley grain water (toss about two handfuls of dried barley grains into about 1 litre of water, then boil it for about 15 minutes) Drink that water within the day
- Chrysanthemum tea you can get it on Amazon here
Avoid eating the following:
- Processed food snacks — I love them, but for the sake of my skin, I cut down on them 🙁
- Any Fried food
- Mangoes
That’s About It
As long as you follow these simple tips above, you should be drastically reducing the chances of getting acne. So keep it simple and keep your hands away from your face!
“People are looking at my face with envious glances because of my acne-free skin, and I’m loving every bit of it…”– click to find out that one simple trick.
