Make caring for your skin before and after a workout easy with these gym bag beauty essentials and expert-approved tips.
Forget about perfecting your make-up for the increasingly popular gym selfie, according to the experts, working out in a full face of make-up definitely isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be.
“It’s advisable to keep the skin clear of any heavy facial make up such as 24-hour, long-lasting products or those with heavy coverage and it’s essential during exercise to avoid makeup that contains comedogenic ingredients, this will help prevent possible congestion and breakouts post-exercise,” explains Emma Hobson, education manager for Dermalogica.
Take a look at her top tips for a beauty-friendly workout.
1. Cleansing wipes are always handy for the gym for a quick skin clean but nothing beats a good foaming gel cleanser to get all the dirt and sweat off the skin.
2. Since sweat evaporates on the skin’s surface this can actually can cause dehydration, therefore before you work out, spritz your skin with a non-alcohol based toner, the humectants (Hyaluronic Acid) within the toner bind, boost as ‘lock’ the moisture in the skin.
3. If you can, wait a few minutes until you put your moisturiser until the skin has cooled down. Then apply a lightweight skin hydrator. Nothing too active whilst the skin is hot and the blood flow is very active.
4. Since we tend to resemble a red tomato once we finished our workout, to combat the redness apply a ‘ booster’ or concentrate that contains calming ingredients and bio flavonoids. Red raspberry (in an 80% concentration) will not only reduce the redness it will also help to strengthen the capillary walls as well as sooth the skin. Another great and instant redness reducer is to use a spritz toner that contains Canadian Willowherb: It has been compared to hydrocortisone due to its non-steroidal drug qualities for affecting the inflammatory response.
5. It’s also a good idea to keep your hair off your face during exercise, particularly if you use styling products in your hair, often these products contain comedogenic ingredients which can irritate the skin and lead to breakouts. Equally, if your hair, as well as your skin, is oily it is advisable to tie your hair back to prevent the skin from becoming excessively oily and increasing the incidence of skin breakouts. It is so important we keep the bodies hydration levels up otherwise you can feel dizzy and nauseated. Organs can’t function properly without water so ensure pre, during and post exercise you drink plenty of water.
