No matter how often you hit the gym, bad habits — like eating junk food — can sabotage your health, stop you from building muscle, and keep the rolls of fat in place. Bad habits affect skin quality too, no matter how expensive your skin care line is or how many treatments you have.
Your skin reflects your overall health. It also reflects the way you treat it. Are your bad habits wreaking havoc on your face?
At The Center for Dermatology Cosmetic & Laser Surgery in Mount Kisco, New York, our skilled dermatologists approach skin care holistically. It’s not just what you put on your skin that determines whether it’s healthy. It’s how you treat it.
Do you have bad skin care habits you need to break? Read on to find out.
Less can be more, especially when it comes to cleansing and moisturizing your skin. If you use harsh soaps, scrub with abrasive pads, and remove natural skin oils with harsh toners, you’re damaging your skin.
We help you find effective cleansers, made for your skin type, that remove makeup, dead skin, and debris without overly drying your skin. We encourage you to use a soft surface, such as a microfiber cloth or silk sponge, to gently cleanse your face.
Scrubbing can irritate your skin, making it more susceptible to breakouts. Harsh soaps and toners remove your skin’s natural barriers, making it more vulnerable to pathogens.
Even rubbing sweat from your face at the gym can irritate your skin. Use a soft towel to pat dry instead, then shower to remove the salt and dirt.
Nobody likes pimples. But popping a pimple isn’t the way to clearer skin. Anytime you pick at your skin, you damage the skin and the blood vessels that feed it.
First, such rough handling (particularly if your hands aren’t clean) increases the risk of infection. Popping pimples leaves you with an angry-looking red spot and could lead to a permanent scar.
Movies, Instagram, and TV series may show the heroines waking up in full makeup, but it’s not a look to emulate. Sleeping in your makeup is anything but lovely for your skin.
Your makeup holds grease, bacteria, and dirt that collect on your face throughout the day. Sleeping with your face against a pillow presses all that bad stuff in.
Be sure to remove your makeup at night with a gentle cleanser formulated for your skin type. Moisturize to seal in hydration and protect your skin.
What happens in your gut doesn’t stay in your gut. In fact, like guilty secrets, it can show on your face.
A healthy diet filled with fresh vegetables and fruits feeds the good bacteria in your gut and controls inflammation. An inflamed gut leads to an inflamed body, including your skin.
In fact, attending to your gut can help control your acne as well as a host of other skin issues. If you’re hooked on a diet of fast food, soda, or other unhealthy choices, consider working with a nutritionist to improve your health … and your skin.
Other than gassing up and taking your car through a car wash, you probably don’t do all of your vehicular maintenance yourself. You outsource those tasks to an expert who can solve problems without causing other problems.
Treat yourself as well as your car — better! — by enlisting the help of professionals on your skin care team.
Whether you’re in the market for hypoallergenic, noncomedogenic skin care that makes your skin look healthy and radiant, or you need help with issues such as skin aging or acne, your dermatologist has the knowledge, skills, and treatments to help.
Start the best habit of all for your skin by contacting us for a skin evaluation by phone or online form today. Your face will thank you.
