We all know someone with perfect, flawless skin, and we envy them. How can they achieve such a radiant complexion? Are there skincare secrets we do not know? Calypso Cavallo investigated.
Two pimples away from the perfect skin
Most of us who started a skincare journey found ourselves in this situation: eliminating the last tiny imperfections is far more challenging than the big ones. Why?
Because most skin care products cause purging at first, they trigger a big breakout, then the skin settles down and becomes clearer and healthier. After that original purge, the skin is clear (yay!), or there are a couple of stubborn pimples left, and it is almost impossible to eliminate them. There are tons of reasons for stubborn imperfections.
“I was told my acne was hormonal, and there were not many things to do about it except taking hormonal birth control,” Calypso Cavallo says. She was not interested in this option, so she searched for other tips. “There are little, simple tips we can all follow and which make the difference on our skin,” our founder says.
Here are her best tips for clearer skin.
The unspoken skincare secrets: tips and tricks
Skincare is crucial to have radiant skin. Here are the little tips that make the difference.
Wash your hand before touching your face
This one is not really unspoken, but it is good to mention it because it is a game changer.
Everything we touch daily is coated with bacteria, and starting our skincare routine without washing our hands first is literally spreading those bacteria on our faces. Bacteria are responsible for breakouts, so better eliminate them with soap and water before touching our face.
Brush your teeth BEFORE doing your skincare routine
What an unspoken skincare tip! Our founder, Calypso Cavallo, was desperate to get rid of stubborn pimples around her mouth.
“It was so frustrating,” she said, “no matter how expensive or potent the skincare I used was, I still had those little pimples around my mouth. I tried anything and everything without results until I passed by this tip online: always wash your teeth BEFORE doing your skincare routine. It saved me.”
Thinking further, it is logical because teeth brushing involves water, so if the skincare is used before the brushing, it may wash away and won’t have time to be efficient. In addition, toothpaste contains ingredients that are great for keeping teeth healthy but irritates the skin and causes more breakouts.
And no, applying toothpaste on the pimple won’t make them disappear any faster and worsen the problem.
Dry your face with a disposable dry wipe
“This one isn’t exactly eco-friendly, but it also saved my skin,” Calypso Cavallo said. Our founder kept having stubborn pimples until she started using dry wipes rather than a regular towel to pat dry her face.
Bacteria love warm wet places to develop, and a bath towel is heaven for them. Dry your face with a towel, unless using a freshly washed one daily is reapplying bacteria on clean skin.
Dry cotton wipes are great skincare allies to wash and dry the face.
Korean sheet masks
They are little wonders for healthy and radiant skin. Korean sheet masks are great for reinforcing the skin’s barrier. Korean skincare focuses on strengthening the skin’s barrier, while Western ones fight imperfections. The skin is less prone to imperfections if it has a strong barrier.
Using Korean sheet masks often and regular skincare products helps to get perfect skin. Plus, they are fun, great to relax, and feel pampered.
Listen to your skin
“Listen to your heart and you will knooow” sang the tree grandma in Pocahontas. Well, it also works to get perfect, flawless skin. Skincare is not one-size-fits-all, and the skin change depending on seasons, hormones, and many other factors.
Listening to the skin and adapting a skincare routine makes a difference. Washing the face twice a day works wonders for some people, while it may trigger more breakouts in others. Try damping a dry cotton wipe and gently cleansing your face if the skin feels dry with two proper washes a day.
The unspoken skincare secrets: daily life habits
Radiant skin is not just about skincare: what to do or not is crucial to get perfect skin.
Avoid touching your face
This one is not among the skincare secrets but really makes a difference. As mentioned before, touching your face without washing your hands spreads bacteria and causes a breakout.
So avoid touching your face during the day. It is common for many people to rest their heads on their palms while studying or working. It is terrible for posture and for the complexion.
Ensure to clean anything in contact with your skin, such as makeup brushes or applicators (yes, that dirty beauty blender of yours). Clean your cell phone, too, especially if you are constantly on the phone.
Drink water
We all heard that once without knowing if it actually made a difference. It does. No need to drink 3L of water a day (drinking too much water is dangerous as it dilutes the minerals in the blood) but ensuring proper hydration during the day helps to keep the skin healthy and young.
Avoid drinking much alcohol as it dehydrates the body and the skin. Celebrate with a glass of your favorite cocktail, but go for a virgin one in the second round.
Mind your diet
This piece of advice is a tricky one. Many girls looking for perfect skin will cut out most foods aiming to eliminate stubborn pimples. However, the skin needs nutrients to be healthy, and being malnourished or famished never brings radiant skin.
Junk food is empty calories and saturated fat, but different types of fat exist. Olive oil, avocadoes, or nuts are good fat crucial for skin cell regeneration. Proteins are also important to be healthy and have perfect skin. Plant-based ones are the most interesting because they do not contain saturated fat or cholesterol.
A controlled amount of sugary foods daily is not harmful because our brain actually needs sugar to function. So yeah, you can indulge in a few cookies as an afternoon snack but stay away from sugary drinks as they ruin your teeth, and you can drink large amounts without noticing it.
Find a healthy way to cope with stress
Among the many unspoken skincare secrets, there is stress. Stress is a killer. It messes with all the body’s chemical messages and wreck havoc on our health. Being stressed for an extended period often lead to breakouts because sebaceous glands produce more sebum, making the skin oily.
Stress management is a crucial issue of our century. Many methods and tricks are available, but everyone must find their own healthy way to cope with stress. From sports to meditation, it is a vast world to explore to handle stress healthily.