Cleaning you skin From The Inside Out

Washing Your Face From
The Inside Out

Exercise

We all know how important exercise is. It’s great for your body, mind, and even your skin. 

Personally, I believe a little exercise that gets your heart rate up and has you sweating every day is the secret weapon that will bring your skin from average okay-looking, to super glowing.

• Exercise makes you look healthier.

• Exercise gives your skin added colour and freshness.

• Exercise increases circulation, which nourishes your skin.

• Exercise allows you to sweat the junk out of your pores.

• Exercise stimulates cell turnover which gently exfoliates your skin.

• Exercise will help heal your acne.

Sweating It Out

You know the expression “sweating it out”, well, that’s exactly what your pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, and acne need. 

When you exercise, your body naturally begins to heat up and, in response to the increase in body temperature, you’ll begin to perspire and sweat. Sweat is actually anti-bacterial, and the heat and sweating from exercise softens up the top layer of your skin, which in turn releases trapped sebum, dirt, and dead skin cells. As I see it, when you sweat you’re cleansing your body, from the inside out.

Best Exercise For Clearing Acne

All exercise will have a positive effect on your skin, because it improves blood flow, oxygenates your cells, stimulates your lymphatic system, supports good digestion, detoxifies your body, and stimulates waste elimination. Exercise is integral for good overall health.

As great as exercise is for your body, there are certain types of exercise that are more effective for clearing up acne. In general, anything that gets your heart rate up and gets you sweating will be good for clearing acne. As I said before, sweating and perspiring is like washing your body from the inside out, and sweating helps break up and release pore-clogging debris, sebum, and dead skin cells. Examples of acne clearing exercise: any form of cardiovascular exercise like running, aerobics, interval training, sprinting, dancing, playing team sports, bike riding, etc.

Other forms of exercise that don’t involve sweating or perspiring are good for your health, but not an effective tool for clearing acne. If you want to improve your skin, you need to get your heart rate up and sweat.

Can Steaming Your Face Or Sitting In A Sauna Be As Effective?

I know many of you would love a short-cut, and I’m asked all the time if you could just steam your face a few times a week or sit in a sauna and get the same benefits for your skin as you would with cardiovascular exercise. The answer is no.

Steaming and sitting in a sauna is great for detoxifying, relaxing your body and muscles, and, for some people, can even have a positive effect on their skin. But, if we’re talking about clearing up acne and fast tracking your results, exercise that gets your body moving, your heart rate up, and has you sweating is by far a much more effective solution.

As much as I’m emphasizing the importance of sweating to help heal your acne, there are other complex bodily systems that are being used and stimulated when you’re exercising that are important for good skin health. These systems include your lymphatic system, digestive system, nutrient delivery systems, and circulatory systems - all of which rely on the movement of your body for them to work and function more efficiently. 

Sweating and moving your body work hand-in-hand to help create great skin. Doing one without the other won’t offer you the great results that you get when you do both.

How To Clear Your Acne With Exercise - The Rules

Best exercise for clearing acne

All types of exercise are great for your body and skin! But, to clear acne, the best exercise is cardiovascular exercise (exercise that gets your heart rate up, and gets you sweating).

Examples of cardiovascular exercise:

• Aerobics

• Running

• Biking/Cycling

• Group Sports

• Dancing

• Sprinting

• Interval Training

• Step

The only cardiovascular exercise that I’m excluding from this list is swimming. Swimming is a fantastic form of exercise, but, unfortunately for those with acne, prolonged periods of time in water, and/or chlorinated pools can irritate and dry out your skin (which will make your acne much worse). You can go swimming occasionally, that’s not a problem, but I recommend that you avoid swimming regularly for long periods of time (like going swimming a few times a week, every week). If you swim regularly, I suggest doing an experiment where you take a break from swimming for 2 weeks, do some other form of cardiovascular exercise and see how this impacts your skin. If you notice your skin is looking much better, than you’ll know that swimming is, in fact, contributing to your acne.

Frequency of exercise

Make it a goal to do cardiovascular exercise at least 3 times a week, for a minimum of 20-30 minutes of exercise per session. 

This doesn’t mean that you should stop doing other non-cardio exercise like weight training, resistance training, pilates, yoga, etc. You can do non-cardio exercise on separate days, or incorporate the two into one exercise routine. 

One way or another, just make sure you’re doing sweat-filled exercise at least 2-3 times a week!

Not In Shape?

Don’t let your current fitness level hold you back from doing any exercise at all. I don’t expect you to be a marathon runner, or an aspiring one. I just want you to start moving and get your heart rate up, even if that means starting with just walking. We all have to start from somewhere, and the key word is “start.”

Skin Care & Exercise

To get all the skin clearing benefits from exercise, there are a few skin care guidelines you must follow.

When you exercise, your face must be completely clean - no make-up, no medicated creams or lotions, and preferably no sunscreen on your face either! The make-up, medicated lotions and creams, sunscreens, etc., will not only clog up your pores when exercising, but irritate your skin as well.

It’s important to know that when you exercise, your body is heating up, and your skin becomes much more sensitive than usual. If you’re wearing a lot of make-up and products on your skin while exercising, they will cause irritation and inflammation, which will make your acne worse. Also, right after you finish exercising, your skin is still in that sensitive state for at least 30 minutes post workout, as your body is cooling down. You want to make sure that you don't use a harsh cleanser or put medicated creams or lotions on your face immediately after your workout. 

Optimal skin care routine for exercise:

1- Remove all make-up and skin care products before exercising (if your skin feels dry without skincare products, you can moisturize your face with a touch of oil, or a light lotion, or moisturizer. If you do use a lotion or moisturizer while exercising, make sure it doesn’t contains any harsh medications or acids like retinol, salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, etc., (which can irritate your skin while exercising). You want your skin to breath. Exercising with clean, bare skin is always the best option!

2- Tie your hair back away from your face in a pony tail or bun.

3- If you are wearing a headband, sun visor, sunglasses, hat, or headphones while exercising, make sure you thoroughly wash them after every use. These accessories are known to harbour bacteria which can make your acne worse. The less “stuff” you have touching your face, hair, or head, the better!

4- When you’re exercising and sweating, do your best to allow the sweat to drip off your face and evaporate on its own as opposed to wiping it off with your hands or towel. I know this might sound gross to you, but every time you wipe the sweat off your skin with your hands or towel, you’re potentially pushing bacteria and debris back into your pores, and irritating your skin more. Let your skin “sweat it out,” by allowing it to push all the pore-clogging debris to the surface.

5- After exercising, allow you body to cool down. Your skin is sensitive for the first 30 minutes post work out, so it's best to only rinse your face with water as opposed to washing it with any type of cleanser (you already cleaned your face before working out, so there's no need to clean it again!). Try to wait at least 30 minutes after exercising before putting any type of skin care product or make-up on your skin. 

A few extra tips:

• If you have a breakout along your hairline, your hair products could be causing it. When exercising, avoid using any hair styling products. 

• If you have acne on your back or chest, always tie your hair up in a bun as opposed to a pony tail or leaving your hair down. Avoid using hair styling products in your hair while exercising.

• Always wear clean workout clothes! It’s preferable to use a fragrance-free, phosphate-free detergent to wash you workout clothes (fragrances and harsh detergents can irritate your skin. If you have bumps or acne on your chest or back, your clothing detergent could be contributing to it, or even causing it).

What To Expect

Cardiovascular exercise will improve your overall complexion. You should notice within the first week of incorporating more exercise into your routine that your skin will become much softer and smoother, and you’ll have a healthier glow. 

The appearance of blackheads, whiteheads, and pustules should start diminishing in size and appearance, and breakouts tends to heal much faster when you’re exercising regularly.

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