Skincare Tips for College Students
Posted: October 23, 2024 | Author: Savannah Price | Read Time: 4 minutes
Skincare, when added to other good habits, can greatly increase not only your health but also your mental fortitude. As college students, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to improving the health of your skin. Here are some affordable and realistic tips and tricks to maintain good skincare habits amidst a busy schedule.
Protect Your Skin From the Sun
To begin, the Mayo Clinic has some great insights on why it’s so important to maintain good skincare, as well as advice for caring for your skin. In their article, Skin care: 5 tips for healthy skin, the first tip is to protect your skin from the sun by wearing sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15, to reapply every two hours for maximum protection, and to seek shade between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the sun has the highest amount of UV light. “A lifetime of sun exposure can cause wrinkles, age spots, and other skin problems—as well as increase the risk of skin cancer,” says the Mayo Clinic staff on sun protection.
Avoid Smoking
The Mayo Clinic advises against smoking, as it “makes your skin look older and contributes to wrinkles. Smoking narrows the tiny blood vessels in the outermost layers of skin, which decreases blood flow and makes skin paler. This also depletes the skin of oxygen and nutrients that are important to skin health.” Along with many of the other side effects of smoking, skin problems and rapid aging are among the top reasons to stay away from cigarettes and vapes.
Don’t Leave Your Skin Dry
Use products that don’t strip your skin of their natural oils, as doing this can leave your skin dry and susceptible to further harm. Instead, use mild and gentle cleansers with natural ingredients to leave your skin moisturized and hydrated. When shaving, always apply shaving cream or gel to your skin and shave in the direction the hair grows, not against it. And finally, moisturizer on your skin will help to retain its natural oils and moisture, and add a layer of protection against the air or the sun–try a moisturizer with added SPF for greater sun protection.
Eat Healthy
Eating healthy foods not only provides your body with the nutrients and minerals necessary for maintaining good skin and a healthy body, but helps you feel better too! The Mayo Clinic recommends eating meals rich in healthy fats, carbs and protein, and drinking lots of water to stay hydrated and cleanse your body of other toxins.
Manage Stress
The Mayo Clinic explains, “Uncontrolled stress can make your skin more sensitive and trigger acne breakouts and other skin problems. To encourage healthy skin — and a healthy state of mind — take steps to manage your stress. Get enough sleep, set reasonable limits, scale back your to-do list, and make time to do the things you enjoy.” Learning to manage stress can have positive effects on both your mental health, and your skin, so it’s a win-win!
Try Not to Touch Your Face
An article written by Katie Berohne contains a compiled list of all the best and most important tips dermatologists recommend for facial skincare. The first tip is to not touch your face, which can prevent bacteria from spreading and causing breakouts, prevent scarring, decrease your likelihood of getting wrinkles, and can even prevent viruses like the flu or common cold.
Avoid Direct Heat Exposure
Direct heat, including heaters or fires, causes inflammation and encourages the breakdown of collagen in your skin. Dr. Debbie Palmer, a New York dermatologist, encourages people to remain ten feet away or more from a heat source at all times to avoid these effects.
Wash Make-up Brushes Regularly
The bristles in make-up brushes can hold old or dirty bacteria from your face. Concealer and foundation brushes should be washed once a week, while brushes used around the eyes or on other parts of the face should be washed twice a month minimum. This can also help keep your skin moisturized and healthy and prevent the spread of bacteria.
Sleep Smarter
Jesleen Ahluwalia, another New York dermatologist, says that getting eight hours and changing your sheets and pillowcases regularly will benefit your skin. Sheets can hold a lot of bacteria, so changing the sheets and pillowcases every week or so will help to reduce the amount of bacteria exposed to our faces and hair while we sleep.
Limited Budget
For maintaining good skincare on a budget, cleanse your face daily with gentle, hydrating cleansers like CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser or Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. Exfoliate 1-2 times a week using affordable options like The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + HA. Moisturize regularly with products such as Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream or Cetaphil Daily Hydrating Lotion. Protect your skin with broad-spectrum sunscreens like CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30. For extra care, use hydrating masks and serums like The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5, and consider do-it-yourself treatments with natural ingredients like honey and aloe vera.
The Health and Wellness Center improves student success by promoting holistic health and well-being of students through comprehensive, programming, peer-to-peer support, and preventative education. Visit them in the Sharwan Smith Student Center room 175A for more advice.
Tags: CurStu Health and Wellness
