Monday, May 30, 2011

Stressed Out and Broke Out?

I have struggled with having clear skin since I was I was in college… yep, you read that right --COLLEGE. I had pretty clear skin in my teenage years with one or two little pimples popping up at certain times of the month—anyhow, it didn’t really bother me.

Apparently, college is way more stressful than high school—go figure! Getting married, and having kids, of course, has compounded the “stress” problem. Adult Acne is a big deal. It can even be the source of more stress and depression, thus causing more break outs. In my study of skin care, I have found there are a lot of factors that affect your skin. Here are some of them….

#1 Hormones: If your hormones are out of whack, then no amount of scrubbing is going to cure acne. You can faithfully wash day and night, and still be breaking out. Your breakouts may not always be an issue of cleanliness. Pregnancy hormones, postpartum hormones, nursing hormones, etc. can be the source of break outs. There are some great products to help tone down breakouts and help the skin heal more quickly.

#2 Stress: Wow, if only life could take a chill pill! My skin has been doing pretty well lately considering I have a new born baby. I LOVE my skin care routine and it is really working for me. I try to look for the positive in situations and avoid worrying about things, but last week my sweet two year old got really sick; she had strep throat, and then got an ear infection and her head was clogged and stuffy. She was having high fevers, trouble breathing while she was sleeping, and she just felt miserable. I stayed up many nights for a week watching her sleep, making sure she was breathing, and I was totally stressed out. She is feeling much better now and back to her adorable self, but guess what? Yep, I have a major break out! Steering clear of stressful situations as much as possible will do wonders for your skin, but sometimes it just can’t be avoided. Be patient with your skin, and try giving it a little TLC during stressful times.

#3 Nutrition: Everything you put into your body affects your skin. Making healthier choices and getting antioxidants in fresh fruits and vegetables will help keep skin looking great. Drinking WATER is the key. With my last pregnancy my skin was totally FREAKING OUT—when I put more effort into getting my 8+ glasses of water, my skin cleared up—with NO CHANGE in my skin care routine.

#4 Personal Habits: Washing your face daily with quality-- non-comedogenic-- products that are customized for your skin, avoiding touching your face, and cleaning your phone, pillowcase, towels or other items you might put on your skin will help keep bacteria off of your skin.

I love that I work with such a variety of customizable skin care products. Mary Kay has a policy of 100% satisfaction in any product. I can help you put together a skin care program, and if something needs to be tweaked—a different cleanser or moisturizer, for example-- It costs you and me absolutely nothing! We can exchange products and try a variety until we get your program right. I want you to be so happy with your skin and feel so good about your program, that even when that little stress pimple pops up, you can still feel confident and love yourself!

Would you like help getting your skin to CALM DOWN? Lets Talk!

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