Are you destroying your own skin

Posted on by aviyr

Hi!

Lately I have received may comments on my photos asking how do I get my skin to look so smooth/ flawless. The answer, I take very good care of my skin. It took a long time, but I finally figured out my skin type; how it changes and what works well with my skin. On a daily basis, our skin faces factors that can damage or irritate it. Like, repetitive face movements, chemical irritants (laundry detergent, fabric softener, air fresheners)UV exposure, air pollution, etc. While you have little control over many of these, there are many daily changes you can make to reduce harm to your skin, but it starts with identifying your skin’s problems and your activities that can contribute to or worse your skincare concerns.

PSX_20190427_100737I have combination skin that is Dry (cheeks and forehead)/ Normal (everywhere else) in the winter and Oil (T-zone)/Normal (cheeks) in the Summer. I experience hormonal acne and acne triggered when I stress eat, and I also have hyperpigmentation around my mouth.  .

My dry skin, is actually a combination of dry and dehydrated skin. In the winter, I like to shower with very hot water, and I stay in the shower long because it takes time to build the courage to step out into a less than hot room. Don’t be confused, even though you are submerged in water, you are drying out you skin because of the chlorine in the water, plus your body produces a lot of oils to cool itself down when the surface temperate gets to high but, if you’re in a hot shower, you’re constantly washing away those oils which your skin cells keep producing eventually draining you’re skin’s reserve of nutrients needed for health cell function. I also consume a lot of hot drinks, usually coffee and black tea both of which contains a lot of caffeine which further dehydrates my skin.

How to combat this problem?
IMG_20170409_133928_783*Drink lots of water! If you are a low to no sodium die, add a bit of salt to your diet, this will aid your body in retaining more water (not recommended if you are on a regular diet or already consume a lot of salty foods).
*Mask in the shower. A lot of us like to mask after the shower, but the shower is the best time to mask, don’t use a drying mask or one of those that you peel off. Try a moisturizing mask, there are some which have a cooling sensation which will help your skin from over heating.
*Avoid harsh exfoilators and cleansers. These can strip you skin of the natural oils

Hormonal acne:
psx_20190324_095834.jpgVery often we drop monthly acne under this vague category of hormonal and assume there’s nothing we can do about it, after all it’s hormone related and we are not endocrinologist. Well hormones do more that just push up bumps on your skin. A lot of your “hormonal” acne is actually caused by junk consumed during hormone induced cravings, or stress, etc. Personally My acne comes of stress and an excessive amount of chocolates, pizza and french fries. Sugar loaded and oil/ greasy foodies are know to increase acne flares.

What can be done? Once you’ve identified how your time of the month causes acne?
PSX_20190409_095740*To combat stress, I use relaxing essential oils or scented candles and I also do zumba work outs. Music, dancing and scents are all things that relax me and keep my stress levels down. You can get beautiful candles created with your favourite scents from FlutterLights. I really love the vanilla.
PSX_20190414_113757.jpg

 

 

 

*Give into cravings in moderation, if you try to resist, you usually wind up craving something far worse. I also know that if I buy a jumbo pack of chocolates, I’m eating all of it regardless of the serving size so just buy the smallest size. I switched from milk to dark chocolate. I bake, then pan sear my french fries rather than deep-frying. And you just don’t mess with pizza but having 2 kids to help you eat it rather than eating a whole pizza helps.

downloadThis doesn’t guarantee no acne, but rather than having a full fledge break out, I get 3-5 spots.

I spot treat my acne spot with Noxema anti blemish pads. If you have oily skin you can apply it to your entire face daily but if you have dry skin, it’s best to spot treat areas prone to acne or where you have acne spots.

In my next blog post, I will give you all the details of my personal skincare routine with links to all the products. I will try to find them on websites that ship world wide.

 

Things to take not of when trying to figure out your ski:

  1. Diet are you eating a well balance diet to give your skin enough water and nutrients? Are you eat or consuming things that can increase acne like soda. juice, fast foods?
  2. Environmental factors: Do you live near the beach where the are has high sodium levels, do you live in a city or near a high way with high levels or air pollutions, do temperatures reach extremes where you live? The are skincare line like Pour Moi that designed to protect your skin from environmental factors.
  3. Lifestyle choices: Do you sleep enough, are you stressed, does your job expose your skin to factors that can take a toll on it (ex swim instructor, any jobs that keeps out in the sun, offices with the AC/Heat set high, etc).

Before you can properly take care of your skin, you must first understand it thoroughly. Holy grail products of your favourite bloggers will not work for you unless you: 1) have the same skin type, 2) have the same skin problem and 3) Those skin problems are caused by the same factors. ONLY you know enough about your lifestyle to decipher what your skin needs.

Stay beautiful,
xoxo
Avi Y.R.

91 thoughts on “Are you destroying your own skin”

      2. Love the whole article! So helpful and yes, I’m definitely trying masking in the shower! Any reviews on collagen related masks or serums?

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    2. This is actually really helpful. I have similar skin and it can be so frustrating to find a good skin care routine with combination skin!

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    3. I never think about all this but after reading you’re blog I would really tray all this step to learn more about my skin thank you so much 😊😊

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      1. Your skin is 64% water. But it’s the last organ to receive the water you consume. Take a balloon and deflate it 60% does it still look & function well?

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    5. I have a similar skin problems and it’s so frustrating to stay inside the room for the whole day. Thank you for sharing a good tip with us, it help alot and I mean it.

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    6. Think I have to go through the 1.2. 3 list! And drink a lot of more water!! Actually had a gastroscopy today, it wasn’t so bad😬 the doc said results in a month so until then, not worried as much anymore

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  3. I suffer with the same skin problems 😥 but hydrating it helps a lot, but never thought about masking in the shower, I’ll definitely try it 😉

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  5. Sounds so familiar! Especially the part about the dry, combination skin! You literally described my skin type to a t! It’s so difficult addressing combination skin, and especially the dry, blemish prone kind! Thankyou the tips! It’s important information! I swear it makes total and complete sense that the “hormonal skin” which is often thought of as being inevitable is very much influenced by the decisions we make during that time of the month and not so much because of the time itself! Also I appreciated the distinction between dehydrated and dry skin which I feel is so often confused in the skincare community! Keep doing your thing girl your blog posts are great!

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    1. I agree, everyone is talking about dry skin but I have not heard anyone else talk about dehydrated skin and I think our modern lifestyle does not include consuming a lot of water.

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  6. Great post. Helpful in determining what could we be possibly doing wrong in daily activity which can be bad to the skin. Can you please link some products you suggest like mositurizing masks as well

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  9. Listen👏🏼 this really is the greatest article I’ve read in a Loooong time!! I’ve never really considered myself to have acne, but I have these little bumps, And they annoy the hell out of me. I live in Colorado/dry climate, I take the worlds hottest/longest showers, and I bathe myself in lotion straight out of the shower, but my skin still gets so dry. I cannot believe I’ve never once thought to mask in the shower ?! That’s a fantastic idea!!
    Water intake has been my greatest life struggle for many many years. In fact I am so ashamed at the very little amount I consume. I used to think I was crazy in thinking that water gave me the most insane heartburn of life, but I researched it, and it’s common with a lot of people, and it absolutely kills me with indigestion !! Have you ever heard of this? I’ve tried every suggestion ever made, including drinking my water at room temperature 🤢🥴, without relief.
    I work the graveyard shift at the hospital and I have a really bad habit of coming home in the mornings and falling straight to sleep with my makeup on after taking my girls to school, i’m trying so hard to get better about it.
    My 14-year-old daughter is really struggling with acne and it breaks my heart to see her go through it. We really can only afford to purchase the drugstore stuff that maybe isn’t the most beneficial, but we keep trying different ones ( right now she’s jawing Cetephil), she even did a 5 day water fast which really worried me but she was desperate, and it’s gut wrenching to see her tears over her skin. This has a lot of great helpful information for her and I both! Excellent Article👏🏼👏🏼!! Thank You!!

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    1. Try drinking caffeine free green tea or eating water rich fruits like watermelon. Elephants use it to hydrate themselves in droughts. As for your daughter I will dm you on Instagram and we will get to the bottom of this today!

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  12. This is a great info, I thought I was taking good care of my skin but after reading this article I realized how bad I’v treated my skin, I’ve been dealing with dryness since long time ago, nothing works but now I can see it was my fault. I just opened my eyes. Thank you!
    Xoxo
    Maritza

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  13. Awesome post Avi!! Thanks for motivating me to take care of my skin.. Sometimes i am tooo lazy or tired to remove my makeup.. I just wash my face with a facewash and go to bed, I drink alot of tea and coffee too.. I think its time i make some changes…

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  14. This blog was VERY helpful. Thanks for all the tips and tricks. I do believe we have similar skin types so I find most of your information here useful. Your skin always looks incredible so hoping some changes in my routine will result in some noticable changes as well.

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  16. I have been using the Noxzema for a long time now. But I get a lot of break out due to some medications I take for my Thyroid. Now I have a lot of black spots.

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    1. If you’re breaking out because of your meds, it is not a perfect match for you. Have you spoken to your endocrinologist about this. As someone with thyroid issues I know it may just be easier to accept issues than try new thyroid meds.

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    1. You’re welcome. You’re skin is an organ, what you put in your body is just as important as important as what you put in it when in comes to health skin.

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  19. so interesting… I too have a combination dehydrated skin and I really should stop doing all those things that are so bad for me like using really hot water while showering and more. thanks for your advices.

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  20. Thank you for helping me, I think I have a combination skin too and it has always been difficult to find something good, and maybe the reason was the fact that I haven’t understood my skin yet, but after reading this, I decided to care more about it.

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  22. Thank you for these tips. I’m still figuring out my skin and was unaware of many factors you mentioned. Now I’m going to pay more attention.

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  27. Good read and totally informative for people with similar skin sensitivities as yours! I think many people tend to overlook the importance of hydration and dieting. Definitely makes such a big impact! My skin is typically INCREDIBLY dry. It is so dry that my scalp and my eyebrows are often irritated and my makeup application generally shows up as very flaky. I didn’t realize it but I have seborrheic dermatitis and ketoconazole really helps! You can purchase the low-dose shampoo over the counter and any topical steroids can help with the inflammation (but of course not too much since it’s applied on your face). I will definitely consider the moisturizing face mask in the shower! Never thought of that!!

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  29. start your skincare routine while young and your skin will thank you as you get older. when I was growing up you just washed with soap and water and used noxema once a week. in my teens they came out with clearasil for acne breakouts. but other than that we knew nothing.

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  30. This article is sooooo relatable. I’ve very dark skin but I’m uncle to take care of my skin due to very busy college schedule. I’m probably gonna start skin care routine as soon as my exams get over 😇

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    1. Your skin is the largest organ in your body so you should take care of it. Like brushing your teeth. You don’t need an extensive routine, but you should address skincare concerns

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  31. I can totally relate to the skin issues. I’ve finally gotten a skincare routine down that is helping! Thank you for the info!

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  34. Pingback: My Skincare Routine-Cleansers – Avi Y R

  39. IG Name – Mamaof6wildcrazyminis- I’ve always had pretty good skin even around my time of the month I’ve never got pimples or acne thankgod but my face will go from oily to very dry it just depends on the day. I’ve been using some good masks and drunkelephant products which have worked really good. I’m still trying new products though to see what my skin works best with

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  43. OMG! I love this post!! Thank you soooo much for this!

    It is such a great idea to do masks in the shower! I’ve never thought of that! I’ll often skip masks when I want to do one because I don’t have time for it! But doing it in the shower will allow me to do that!

    I get hormonal breakouts. I don’t really know what causes it. And it isn’t too bad. I get like one bad one. But the problem is they always take FOREVER to go away and always leave a little red dot that just seems to never go away! I also have areas of like texture (little indents) from past acne. I NEVER pick at the pimples, but they seem to always end up popping on their own and that seems to be when the texture areas form.

    I’m definitely going to be using your advice from here! Thank you again!

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