5 Benefits Of Letting Your Skin Breathe
No makeup? No problem! By giving your skin the chance to breathe, you are actually taking steps to improve its health!
Under the current quarantine situation, most of us beauty lovers are skipping out on makeup and paring down the number of skincare products we use daily. Finally, we can say that our skin is able to get its much-needed break and “breathe” more often due to the mandatory work-from-home scenario.
Before the Enhanced Community Quarantine, between our morning and evening skincare routine and wearing makeup during the day, it can feel like we’re constantly slathering products on to our skin. And it raises the question: How good (or bad) is this habit for your skin?
Dermatologist Ido Martins told The List that wearing too much makeup can actually expose the skin to a considerable amount of chemicals and toxins. “The chemicals found in lipsticks, eye pencils, and mascara, could cause serious health problems,” he said.
But when it comes to your skincare routine, with all the scrubs, face masks, and moisturizers, the benefits of not using them for a while might be less obvious. You might be afraid your skin won’t look as fresh, or that there will be an acne breakout. Don’t worry—it’s actually healthy to let your skin breathe and rest for a while.
We at Metro.Style love our beauty routine. But if there are some benefits to skipping it, we’d like to try it and see the results. Here are some that we know about it, according to our research:
Minimize your pores.
Skipping out on makeup regularly can help your skin function properly because it eliminates the amount of pore-clogging ingredients you’re putting on your face. “Makeup can clog pores and make the skin look dull, so taking a break can brighten the skin and allow for better penetration of serums or creams,” said board-certified dermatologist Marnie Nussbaum to PopSugar.
Less eye infections.
Unfortunately, most eye makeup contains preservatives that can cause pink eye, as well as other eye allergies that come with a slew of uncomfortable symptoms like redness, swelling, dryness and itching. Our eyeliner pencils and mascara wands can do some pretty serious damage, too. According to Vision Source Eye Care, “one of the most serious injuries that can be caused by eye makeup is damage to your cornea. It is possible to scratch your cornea while applying makeup with your mascara applicator or eyeliner. Serious enough injuries can even lead to corneal abrasions."
Your skin will stay younger.
A lot of people think they need makeup to look younger, but you might actually be prematurely aging your skin by trying to cover up those wrinkles and imperfections. The skin around your eyes are very sensitive so you have to be careful when applying makeup or any other face products. “Rubbing and pulling on the delicate skin around your eyes causes eyelids to lose elasticity and become more wrinkled,” dermatologist Jessica Weiser told Glamour.
Fewer allergic reactions.
Parabens, sulfates, and metals are all things that can be found in everyday makeup and skincare products. Lead aesthetician Carrie Lindsey, told Bustle that makeup allergies most often show up as skin irritation called dermatitis. “Contact dermatitis can appear in the form of red, dry patches on the skin, or with more severity there will be inflammation in the form of hives or dry patches.” She urges you to discontinue using any product that causes your skin to react in this way.
No more dry, flaky skin.
Makeup products are the biggest causes of skin problems after hormones and genetics. Makeup messes with your skin’s natural production and healing process, which causes skin dryness and flakiness.
Not using makeup allows your skin to breathe and rejuvenate, meaning there will be no dirt and germ residue left to interrupt the production of new skin cells. And that leaves you with a face that’s naturally more healthy and hydrated.
Cheers to going makeup-free!
Lead photos from Ashley Graham and Into The Gloss