How to Spring Clean Your Skin
Spring is a time of renewal and regeneration. Flowers blossom, leaves turn bright green and our skin wakes up from a long winter slumber. Hopefully you’ve been masking and moisturizing diligently all winter, but if not, what better time than spring to bring back the luster and vitality?
Spring is a great time to bring back that purifying routine you may have neglected while doing a bit of hibernation during the colder months. We have some tips on how you can spring clean your skin and emerge radiant.
1. Clean Your Makeup Brushes
Not only can cleaning your makeup brushes feel like a chore, but it’s something you can easily forget to do. However, not cleaning your makeup brushes can be very bad for your skin. Makeup brushes hold not only dirt but bacteria that can cause breakouts. Some tools, like foundation (Image Skincare’s I BEAUTY Flawless Foundation Brush is a great one) and concealer brushes, should be cleaned at least once a week to prevent product from building up through the brush.
If you’ve ever cleaned a foundation brush after too long, then you know how hard it is to get a thorough clean. You can use a gentle soap or a brush cleanser to clean your makeup brushes. First, wet the brush with lukewarm water, then massage a drop or two of cleanser into your palm and swirl the bristles in a circular motion. Rinse out the brushes thoroughly and remove excess moisture with a towel or paper towel. Reshape them and place them to dry with the bristles hanging over the edge of the bathroom counter. If you leave them to dry on a towel, they can become contaminated with mildew.
It should also be noted that clean makeup brushes will make applying makeup more seamless than if you use dirty ones. Oils, dirt and bacteria easily cling onto the bristles of a brush, causing makeup application to be less smooth than it otherwise would be. This can make makeup look spotty and cakey. And that’s something none of us want. P.S. It’s time to throw away your makeup brush when the bristles lose their shape or begin to shed.
2. Exfoliate
Exfoliation is so important when it comes to having beautiful, radiant and healthy skin. Like washing makeup brushes, it can also feel kind of like a chore. Luckily, though, you don’t have to exfoliate every single day. It can be done 2 to 3 times a week (if your skin is sensitive, you can limit exfoliation to once a week). Removing those dead skin cells on the surface layer of your skin is crucial to help prevent dullness, rough texture and, of course, breakouts. If you already have breakouts or dull texture, regular exfoliation can help treat these issues to reduce their appearance.
You can exfoliate via physical and chemical exfoliation. Both methods can be helpful, although chemical exfoliation is considered the gentler version. Physical exfoliation involves using a mechanical method like a scrub with small beads or a tool like a brush to slough away dead skin cells and help unclog pores. Chemical exfoliation involves using an acid like glycolic acid or salicylic acid to cause all the oils, dead skin cells and general debris inside pores to break apart and dissolve away. You can certainly imagine exactly how perfectly well suited either method is for spring cleaning your skin.
Image Skincare’s ILUMA Intense Brightening Exfoliating Powder combines both physical and chemical exfoliating powers to gently but thoroughly exfoliate skin for a gorgeously radiant complexion. It includes coconut milk powder, pumpkin enzyme and lactic acid (lactic acid has been shown to improve overall skin smoothness and texture[1]) that work together to improve the texture and brighten and illuminate by reducing the appearance of dullness, discoloration and breakouts. Regular use can help fade away the appearance of dark spots or “age” spots to make skin more even toned.
3. Use a Purifying Mask
Once a week or so, follow up an exfoliation with a purifying mask like Image Skincare’s I MASK Purifying Probiotic Mask, which contains yogurt-based probiotics (topically applied probiotics can help produce a “well-balanced microbiome” to keep skin healthy[2]), vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to not only nourish skin but also help to reduce the look of dullness. It also contains activated charcoal to penetrate deep into pores and help to unclog them, which in turn can improve texture and help to prevent future issues.
4. Focus on Brow/Lash “Blooms”
This one’s an obvious reference to spring, but it makes perfect sense! Just as flowers bloom, so can your brows and lashes. Thick lashes and brows have been a trend for several years now, with no sign of dissipating. If you’re old enough, you may remember the thin, overplucked eyebrows of the 1990s. Thankfully those days are gone. But if you followed that particular trend, your eyebrows may need some rejuvenation, so to speak. They may need a chance to “bloom” with hair rather than petals. You get the idea!
Try Image Skincare’s I BEAUTY Brow and Lash Enhancement Serum to help sparse brows and lashes look more robust. It contains peptides, conditioners and plant stem cell extracts. Together they support healthy follicles while also working to protect against breakage. With regular use, lashes and brow hairs will appear fuller and thicker.
5. Pay Some Lip Service
The skin on our lips is delicate and thin; thus, it needs extra TLC. It’s truly the rare person who doesn’t have at least mildly chapped lips during the winter. But even if you’ve been moisturizing, you can still spring clean by doing a lip scrub or mask to scrub off loose, flakey skin and help plump up your pout.
After scrubbing or applying a mask, follow up with Image Skincare’s ORMEDIC Lip Enhancement Complex. This lip treatment is ultra-hydrating and features a polypeptide formula, which helps to improve the visual volume of your lips, making them appear fuller. Ingredients include avocado oil to provide a thoroughly hydrating effect that will help treat and prevent chapped and dry lips.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8784274
[2] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/exd.14032
