The area in which you live can be a leading cause of why you’re suffering from breakouts, as a lot of air pollution in your city can build up eventually leading to acne.
Many factors affect why you experience random blemishes or acne including stress, a bad diet, sugar and sleep deprivation – however another leading cause is a build-up of the pollutants in the air you breathe every day.
Skincare experts revealed that despite the many causes of acne, being surrounded by smog can cause serious skin damage and pimples if not treated properly which is why they shared advice on how to rid your skin of pollution.
Pollution: The area in which you live can be a leading cause of why you’re suffering from breakouts, as a lot of air pollution in your city can build up eventually leading to acne
While it may sound frightening that the air you breathe every day could be causing your skin to break out, professionals gave helpful tips on how you can learn to live with the impurities around you without sacrificing your complexion.
Annie Tevelin, founder of Skin Owl shared with Get The Gloss: ‘Pollution weakens the skin’s immunity and ability to fight off free radicals and unfortunately, as you might imagine, dirty air quality equals dirty skin.’
Bella Schneider, founder of LaBelle Day Spas and Salons shared with DailyMail.com, that if the air surrounding you is not pure it can damage your skin immensely.
‘Living in urban areas where there is a lot of pollution – dirt, debris, dust – it’s common for it to collect on your face and block your pores. If the pores are not properly cleansed, they can turn into pimples.
‘City living also exposes you to free radicals which causes inflammation in the skin,’ she continued.
Bella detailed the exact causes of pollution entering the skin barriers explaining, ‘Our bodies main function is to maintain homeostasis by disposing of toxins from main channels of elimination.’
Some of the main channels of elimination are through sweating, the urinary tract, colon and lungs, but she said: ‘If the body is overloaded or unable to effectively eliminate toxins, you will see reactions like acne, sensitivity or rashes on the skin.’
While it would be insane to walk around the city covering your face, there are some ways that you can protect yourself to the overexposure of contaminated air both topically and orally.
‘Antioxidizing products, foods and an environment can all help prevent pollution burden on the skin,’ Bella explains.
‘Use protective products that fight free radical toxins, acne and signs of age like copper, rose extract, Vitamin-C and marine extracts.
‘This barrier of antioxidants will neutralize free radicals that come into contact with your skin so they don’t attack and inflame your cells or enter your bloodstream.’
She also suggests incorporating an air purifier in your home or office to cleanse the air you breathe in or are exposed to every day.
Nicolas Travis, founder of Allies of Skin also shared tips on how to treat pollution-induced acne with Get The Gloss: ‘Treating pollution damage should not be difficult.
‘Prioritize products and ingredients that restore and strengthen the skin barrier such as niacinamide, ceramides and natural plant oils like rosehip.
‘Antioxidants are your best allies – taking them internally and applying them externally would give the best results.
‘Internally, consider taking a resveratrol supplement for superior antioxidant protection.
‘Topically, your best bet is to use products with a cocktail of antioxidants – the more the better. Just as the body cannot survive on kale alone, the skin needs more than one antioxidant to thrive,’ he concluded.