During times when your skin is acting up, it can be confusing to figure out what the causes are and to figure out what it needs. Sometimes our skin is simply not happy, and the reasons can be many: from PMS, to cold dry air, a harsh product, irritation… and the list goes on! When your skin is angry the best thing to do is push the restart button and calm it down.
Here are 5 tips for how to calm angry, irritated skin:
- Use a gentle cleanser
A gentle cleanser that is effective but doesn’t strip or irritate the skin is essential when your skin is acting up. Many cleansers have added ingredients for purifying the skin such as an acid, and this is the time to focus on a soothing cleanser that is hydrating.
- Do a delicate exfoliation
Exfoliating is a step where many people say they can easily run into overdoing it. A delicate exfoliation with a chemical exfoliant is effective in helping the skin reset, but it doesn’t further irritate it like a physical exfoliant can. When your skin is acting up, scale back how often you exfoliate and how long you use one for. And if your skin is really sensitive, you can skip this skip entirely until it gets to a better place and can handle the exfoliation.
- Give it extra moisture
When dealing with irritation, you want to focus on soothing your skin and hydration is a critical piece for this. Now is the time to give your skin extra moisture with dedicated products like the hydrating Blue Lagoon face masks, and avoid using extra products such as makeup when possible so your skin can breathe and focus on soaking up all the products.
- Wear sunscreen!
Sunscreen is essential, and especially when you are trying to calm sensitive skin you want to be sure you are protecting it whenever and wherever possible. Reapply during the day and it will help to reduce further irritation and sensitivity caused by the sun rays.
- Try to identify your triggers
Though it can be challenging, try to identify your triggers so you can reduce the number of flare ups and intensity of them in the future. It can be helpful to keep a skincare log so you can write down what you notice about your skin, ideas of triggers, and try focusing on one at a time to see the result. For example, if you think you are over-exfoliating your skin this can be a major stressor on the skin as it impacts your skin barrier. Then you can scale back your routine and follow some of these steps here to help soothe the skin.
Overall, taking steps to soothe your skin and give it time to recover is essential to caring for skin that is acting up. And no matter what, do not pick your face! Resist the urge to touch your skin and do not apply thousands of different products, as this will only make it worse.
