Have a Healthy Face

In order to have a healthy face, you'll need to learn to care for your skin. Clean your pores each day with a gentle face wash, but avoid harsh products that can leach nutrients from your skin. Exfoliate and moisturize your skin twice a week, and be careful to treat your skin gently in the interim. Recognize the lifestyle habits that can wear out your skin, and try to form habits that are conducive to a healthy face. Read on to learn about specific steps that you can take.

Steps

Working with Your Skin Type

1. Determine your skin type. In order to have a healthy face, you'll need to understand what makes your face unhealthy. Human skin falls into four types: "normal", oily, dry, and combination. Your face may fall into one or several of these categories, and different parts of your face may be more dry, healthy, or greasy than others. Take a look in the mirror and review the characteristics of each skin type:
   • "Normal" skin is neither dry nor oily. It should feel supple and smooth. "Normal skin" is characterized by few imperfections, no severe sensitivity, barely visible pores, and a radiant complexion. It does not require as much care as other skin types, although you can still take steps to keep your face healthy.
   • Oily skin is characterized by large pores, and a greasy or shiny complexion. People with oily skin are more susceptible to blackheads, pimples, and other blemishes. It can stem from stress, overexposure to heat/humidity, or hormonal imbalances such as puberty.
   • Dry skin may feel taut or show flakes of dead skin. Dry skin can cause nearly-invisible pores and low face elasticity. You might notice red patches, visible lines, and a rough, dull complexion. You might have dry skin for any number of reasons: genetics, hormones, exposure to the elements, overheating, or certain medications.
   • Combination skin is most common. Sometimes it is oily, sometimes it is dry, and sometimes it is perfectly healthy – and these qualities may be entirely situational.. Usually, combination skin is oily in the T-zone (across your forehead, and down the nose to your chin) and normal to dry elsewhere.
2. Keep oily skin pores clear and unclogged. Oil skin is naturally porous and greasy, so you want to keep chemicals and bacteria from clogging the pores. Use these tips to care for oily skin:
   • Wash your skin no more than twice a day and after you perspire heavily.
   • Use a gentle cleanser and don't scrub.
   • Don't pick, pop, or squeeze pimples. This prolongs healing time.
   • Use products labeled as "noncomedogenic." They tend not to clog pores.
3. Moisturize dry skin. If your face tends to get dry, be very gentle with it to avoid irritation. Moisturize frequently to counteract the dryness, and follow these steps to keep your face healthy:
   • Don't scrub while bathing or drying – scrubbing a dry face may redden your complexion or break the skin. Use mild, gentle soaps or cleansers. Avoid deodorant soaps.
   • Apply a rich moisturizer right after bathing. Ointments and creams may work better than lotions for dry skin, but they are often messier. Consider carrying lotion with you in a bag or purse so that you can moisturize as needed throughout the day. If you are going outside, a high-SPF sunscreen to moisturize and shield yourself from UV rays.
   • Take shorter showers and baths – no more than once daily. Use a humidifier, and don't let indoor temperatures get too hot. Overexposure to heat can dry out your skin.
   • Wear gloves when using cleaning agents, solvents, or household detergents. Some harsh chemicals can irritate your skin if they are still on your hands when you touch your face.
4. Combine treatments for a "combination" skin type. When your skin is oily, try to keep the grease down and use acne creams. When your skin is dry, gently moisturize it. When your skin is healthy, continue to wash it frequently to maintain the balance.

Cleaning Your Face

1. Wash your skin with a gentle facial wash. Use a cleanser that is based on your skin type (oily skin, combination skin, dry skin). Avoid using harsh cleaners that strip away the natural oils of your skin. Chemicals like salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide can cause irritation and disturb the balance of hydration for your skin. Try using more natural antibacterials like honey or oats. Washing your face with the wrong products can leave it looking dull, haggard, and wrinkled.
   • Skin-type-based cleansers are often labeled as such. As a general rule of thumb, a foam or gel wash works best for oily skin; a moisturizing cream wash works best for dry skin; and a wash with either salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide can help clear up acne-prone skin.
   • Consider making your own face wash. You can use a bevy of natural ingredients—many of which you may even keep in your home—that will clean, exfoliate, and moisturize your skin.
2. Avoid washing your face with plain soap. The harsh chemicals that many soaps contain are useful to clean the skin, but not to protect it. While this works perfectly well for the rest of your body, the skin on your face is much more delicate and can easily begin to look damaged. Instead, consider investing in a high-quality face wash.
   • Your skin is acidic, while soap is alkaline-based. Your skin’s natural barrier is made up of acid mantle. When the pH scale shows 7, it is neutral. Anything below that is acidic, and anything above it is alkaline. Our skin’s pH balance is generally between 4 and 6.5, even when the skin is very oily.
   • Soap, on the other hand, is extremely alkaline and goes towards the other extreme. So, if you use soap on your skin, it messes with its pH balance and acid mantle, causing it to make skin conditions worse.
3. Clean your face every morning and every night. Rinse with warm water and a gentle face cleanser in the sink or the shower. Use your hands and a clean washcloth to gently scrub your skin clean. Follow these steps:
   • Rinse your skin with warm water to open pores and add moisture.
   • Lather your hands with soap. Gently wash your face with your fingertips using small, circular motions. Apply more pressure on your forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin.
   • Using a warm, clean washcloth to repeat the circular pattern. Use enough pressure to slough off dirt and dead skin. Rinse facecloth and repeat with only water and cloth.
   • Splash cooler water for a final rinse to close pores. Your skin should be shiny clean and slightly pink. Apply a moisturizer and you're done.
4. Wash your face with an acne cream. The combination can help keep your pores clean may take some time and continued daily treatments. Once you know your skin you have to develop a skin regime consisting of: a simple and sensitive face wash, a toner, acne medication (if you have acne-prone skin), and a simple sensitive moisturizer.
   • Consider using medicated acne creams that contain either salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. These products can be highly effective at cleaning your pores of the bacteria that cause acne, but they may also strip your skin of moisture and nutrients. Be aware of the risks as well as the benefits.
5. Don't let sweat dry on your face. Directly after you work out, exert yourself, or spend time in a hot environment, use water or a clean towel to wash the sweat from your face. When sweat dries, your skin soaks up any bacteria that have been swept into the sweat.

Caring For Your Skin

1. Avoid touching your face, especially when it's oily. Your fingers carry oils, and when you touch your face, the oil is transferred to your face. This can cause an acne breakout. Furthermore, your face can lose elasticity if you pull, tug or play with it. The muscles in the skin may gradually loosen and will sag; this can cause wrinkles and make your face appear less healthy. As a rule of thumb: keep your hands away from your face.
2. Treat your skin gently. Daily cleansing and shaving can take a toll on your skin. To keep it gentle:
   • Limit bath time. Hot water and long showers or baths remove oils from your skin. Limit your bath or shower time, and use warm water—not hot. Hot water can dry out your skin.
   • Avoid strong soaps. Strong soaps and detergents can strip oil from your skin, making it dry and flaky. Instead, choose mild cleansers.
   • Shave carefully. To protect and lubricate your skin, apply shaving cream, lotion or gel before shaving. For the closest shave, use a clean, sharp razor. Shave in the direction the hair grows, not against it.
   • Pat dry. After washing or bathing, gently pat or blot your skin dry with a towel so that some moisture remains on your skin. Try letting your face air dry before applying toner.
3. Exfoliate once or twice a week, but no more frequently. Exfoliation is a great way to help shed dead skin cells, which could collect in pores and turn to blemishes. Use minimal pressure—you are only exfoliating the first few layers of skin. It is much better to exfoliate for a longer period of time with little pressure, than a short period of time with heavy pressure. Don't forget to moisturize after exfoliating.
   • Mix water and baking soda for a homemade exfoliating scrub. Mix equal increments of the two ingredients, then adjust the proportions until you have a thick paste. Use this once every 2-3 days for a mild exfoliation.
4. Moisturize dry skin. If your skin is dry, use a moisturizer that fits your skin type. Use a moisturizer to restore your skin after exfoliating or after any harsh facial cleanser. You can use natural oils—coconut, avocado, tea tree, etc.—to moisturize your skin.
   • For example, if you use a harsh cleaner without moisturizing after, your skin is left very dry. This signals your skin to produce excessive oil so that it can return to its natural state.
   • Make sure your moisturizer has some sun protection. Sun damage may not be a fast-acting cause of skin issues, but by using a moisturizer with at least 15 SPF, you can avoid wrinkles in the future and help slow the aging of your skin.
5. Don't pick at pimples and blemishes. Popping a pimple may seem to release all the dirt and help clean out the pore. In actuality, however, the bacteria in the pore gets pushed back further into the skin; this gradually collects in more pores, causing a chain reaction. Pimples tend to spread from a central point.
   • If a pimple comes up, don't squeeze it; stretch it out so that the blood vessels won't open and fuse with the pus. If blood fuses with the pus, then it will be harder to clean the pores.
   • Always use rubbing alcohol after a pimple is open. The rubbing alcohol will not only restore moisture that is needed to keep the skin fresh, but it will clear the pus from deep within the pores. This will make it harder for pimples to return.
6. Clean your makeup brushes. If you use makeup brushes, wash them in warm soapy water every day. Bacteria can grow on unwashed makeup brushes because of the dirt and facial oils that have rubbed onto them. When you brush this bacteria back onto your face, it can lead to acne and spots. Acne can be hard to get rid of, and serious cases may leave nasty scars.
   • When using makeup, avoid cheap products and always use a face primer. Never forget to remove makeup before going to bed.
7. Rejuvenate your skin with a face-mask every 1-2 weeks. This can restore and preserve your skin in a number of ways—anti-aging, spots, wrinkles, skin tone, facial glow, or even brightening—depending on the ingredients in the mask. You can buy masking materials in drugstores and beauty stores, or you can make your own from household items. Good ingredients to add include honey, lemon, milk, avocado, yogurt, oats, banana and cucumber.

Lifestyle Habits

1. Protect yourself from the sun. One of the most important ways to take care of your skin is to protect it from the sun. A lifetime of sun exposure can cause wrinkles, age spots and other skin problems — as well as increase the risk of skin cancer. For the most complete sun protection:
   • Use sunscreen. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. Apply sunscreen generously, and reapply every two hours—or more often if you're swimming or perspiring.
   • Seek shade. Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun's rays are strongest.
   • Wear protective clothing. Cover your skin with tightly woven long-sleeved shirts, long pants and wide-brimmed hats. Also consider laundry additives, which give clothing an additional layer of ultraviolet protection for a certain number of washings, or special sun-protective clothing—which is specifically designed to block ultraviolet rays.
2. Change pillowcases often. Hair oils, facial oils, saliva, dandruff, dirt, and bacteria tend to settle on pillowcases, especially when you are using them heavily. These contaminants rub onto your face during the night, and the bacteria can cause your face to break out. It should be sufficient to change your pillowcase every 3-4 nights, although some people suggest that you change it every other night—or even nightly.
   • Keep a few extra pillowcases on hand so that you don't need to do laundry just to keep your pillow fresh.
   • If you don't want to replace your pillowcase so often, try covering your pillow with a clean towel when you sleep. This way, you can preserve your pillowcase, but also protect your face.
3. Sleep on your back. If you sleep in a supine position, your face may be less likely to rub against your pillowcase. This may help prevent dark circles, and it may keep your face from absorbing the bacteria that congregate there.
4. Avoid Smoking. Smoking 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. This depletes the skin of oxygen and nutrients that are important to skin health.
5. Eat a healthy diet. A healthy diet can help you look and feel your best. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. The association between diet and acne isn't clear, However, some research suggests that a diet rich in vitamin C—and low in unhealthy fats and processed or refined carbohydrates—might promote younger-looking skin.
   • Avoid oily or fried foods. Excessive consumption of salts and fats can cause fat to build up on your face, a can cause spots, zits and painful pimples. To have a healthy face you need a healthy system and this can disrupt it very badly.
6. Drink plenty of water. Drink two liters a day, or as much as possible. Water will help ease the stress put on your liver, which is directly related to how your skin regulates itself. It will also keep you hydrated, making your skin less likely to dry out.
7. Manage stress. 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. Set reasonable limits, scale back your to-do list, and make time to do the things you enjoy. The results might be more dramatic than you expect.
   • Try some deep breathing exercises or have a nice relaxing bath. Find the time and space to center yourself.

Related Articles

• Wash Your Face
• Exfoliate, Steam and Use Face Masks
• Avoid Smoking
• Eat Healthy
• Moisturize Your Skin
• Deal With Stress
• Sleep on Your Back Comfortably
• Get Healthy Skin
• Get Healthier Skin

Sources and Citations

See also

• Care for Your Face (Males)
• Heal Raw Skin
• Use a Glycolic Acid Peel
• Know if Sunscreen Has Expired
• Heal over Exfoliated Skin
• Wear a Face Shield
• Stop Hard Water from Ruining Your Skin
• Choose a Natural Sunscreen
• Wear Makeup when You Have Eczema
• Make a Charcoal Peel‐Off Facial Mask

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