The environment you live in is a crucial component of how you maintain your healthy skin. Whether you live in a warm or cold climate, there are things that will affect how healthy your skin is, even beyond climate and season. These factors are what determine what you need to do to make sure that your skin isn’t damaged by these environmental factors.
Let’s take a closer look at how the environment affects your skin and how to combat these negative influences to keep your skin youthful and healthy.
Different Environmental Side Effects
Sensitizing Ingredients
Be mindful of the ingredients that are in your skin regimen products. Ingredients such as fragrances and artificial dyes can severely damage your skin, or make your skin feel sensitive. Products containing these ingredients in your makeup, laundry and hair care routines should also be avoided.
These sensitive ingredients may give you the false idea that you have sensitive skin, when in fact your skin has been sensitized because of environmental factors.
Outside Germs
It’s likely that throughout the day you touch doorknobs, elevator buttons, and many other common public items. You may even have a pet that goes in and out of your home throughout the day, bringing in germs, dirt and even insects. Once these germs are on your hands and in your home, your skin is exposed to them. Touching your skin after turning a door handle can transfer those germs.
To keep your skin safe from these chemicals and germs, make sure to wash your hands throughout the day using a soap that does not contain dyes and fragrances.
Air
When blow drying your hair, you are allowing harsh heat to hit your skin, making your skin sensitive and dry. Both artificial heat and air can affect your skin’s sensitivity, dryness and how much oil your skin is producing.
To avoid having dry, sensitive skin, moisturize your skin every morning and every evening to give your skin a coat of moisture for protection throughout the day and night. Even if you consider your skin oily, you will still need to moisturize in order to keep your skin from producing excess oil.
Sun
The sun can have harsh effects on your skin. Just think back to your last severe sunburn. Your skin turned beat red, it itched and eventually it started to peel. Even if you live in a colder climate, the sun can still have harsh effects on your skin. Extreme heat can cause your skin to produce sweat, which can become trapped in your pores, causing a heat rash or blisters. When you expose your skin to the sun without UV protection, you are risking skin cancer and premature aging of your skin. Sun exposure can also leave behind hyperpigmentation.
Don’t think you are only exposing your skin to the sun when you are outside, skin is exposed to the UV rays in the car, sitting by your office window, and at home. Make sure to always protect your skin with sunscreen when you are outside and exposed.
Pollution
Pollution causes skin irritation for many reasons. Dust in the air can clog your pores and increase the bacteria on your face, leading to spots or acne. Chemical pollutants that are invisible can interrupt your skin’s natural protection system, which breaks down your skin’s natural oils that would normally maintain the moisture in your skin. Always cleanse and clean your skin every morning and evening to wash away the grime and dirt.
Climate Control
Rapid climate changes force our skin to cope with extreme temperature and humidity changes. During the winter it can be cold, windy and wet outside and then when you go inside it is warm. This shift in climate can be harsh on skin. The same occurs during the summer when it is blazing hot and muggy outside and then cold and dry in the air conditioning.
Skin can adapt quickly, but continuing to moisturize and keep your face clear of dirt and germs can help your skin keep clear pores and be able to transition between the different climates.
With all of these various environmental factors affecting your skin’s health, it is important to take preventative steps. Pure Luxe Medical offers various medical grade skin care products such as IS Clinical, Image Skincare, and ZO Skin Health to help you maintain your vibrant and healthy skin, even with all of these environmental factors’ negative effects.
What steps do you take to keep your skin healthy?