LifestyleVolume 13 Issue # 04

Saving your skin

Workout routines such as Intensive Cardio, High Intensity Interval Training sessions or Hot/Power Yoga are absolutely amazing for the body and skin, but can cause increased inflammation in the body. The extra blood pumping, quickened pulse, rapid breathing and sweating is detoxifying as it increases blood flow, encourages circulation and elimination of toxins.

 

However, this causes the body to heat up, which then can increase already inflamed skin. The heat and excess elimination can cause areas of inflammation to go on overload and cause adverse or more intense inflamed acne.Because acne is inflammation, this causes more unwanted breakouts and unappealing marks. Add in the humidity of the weather nowadays, and your skin is working overtime to create more oil in the body.

 

If you love sweaty workouts in general, here’s how to best take care of your face:

 

  1. Use a natural cleanser.

A natural cleanser iscrucial for helping neutralize and clean the skin. Find a natural skin-care line can make all the difference, the ingredients in most products are unknown chemicals. Try a cleanser for mild and gentle skin but one that doesn’t over dry it. On days with heavy sweaty workouts involved, wash your face in the morning, after exercise and right before bed to ensure your pores are clear of sweat and dirt buildup.

 

  1. Ice your face with tea tree oil.

After cleansing, take one to two minutes to rub an ice cube across your face. Similar to icing a swollen ankle, applying ice to the face reduces inflammation that is built up during your workout. Use water that is clean and free of any chemicals that could actually cause more harm to your face. After filling an ice-cube tray with filtered water, use a drop of tea tree oil from your favourite essential oil brand to help unclog the pores from oil and sebum build-up. For acne-prone skin, add this into your skin-care routine every morning and night.

 

  1. Go for cold water.

If you find yourself running straight back to work without time to ice your face, a splash of ice cold water will work, but make sure you’re using clean, filtered water to avoid the harsh chemicals in tap water.

 

  1. Drink up!

You may be chugging water during class, but what about before and after? With the excess sweating, it’s important to increase your water intake on days you exercise to avoid dehydration. Dehydration unfavourably distresses your skin by making it overly dry. Too much dryness causes dead skin and dirt build-up clogging your pores, so do yourself a favour and keep your water bottle close on days that you practice.

 

  1. Use a natural moisturizer.

Moisturizer iscrucial to stabilise the skin. When you have tricky and troubled skin, one gets tempted to skip moisturizer altogether, but by skipping this step, your skin will dry out and respond with more oil production. This vicious cycle causes more breakouts. Use a brand that is noncomedogenic.

 

With these additions, embracing the sweat will become a fun part of the workout! Check your skin-care problems by integrating this natural routine into your daily regimen and enjoy that natural post-workout glow in no time.

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