5 Easy at Home Tips for Clear Skin

As a licensed esthetician, people ask me all the time how can they get clear skin? I tell them what I’m about to tell you—I bet you’re skimping on five easy at home rituals that will drastically change the appearance of your skin. Want to know? Here we go!

1. Wash your sheets and pillowcases in all-natural detergent. If you think about it the reason why our clothes and sheets smell so good after a wash, it is because of all those harsh chemicals, perfumes, and dyes are attaching to the fibers then, in turn, rubbing off on our skin. Our skin is our largest organ, and at night we are absorbing all those chemicals through our skin. So if your skin is dry, itchy, and irritated, this could be the culprit! Try switching your tried and true detergent for an all-natural one that doesn’t contain harsh perfumes (or no perfumes). If you need that extra boost of scent there are some great all-natural linen sprays you can use, like one made from real lavender (great for skin!) Part two: Change your pillowcases at least once a week. I know most of you wash your sheets once a week, but if you don’t, please change your pillowcases! All that hairspray, hair gel, and dry shampoo gets trapped in the fibers and put right back on your beautiful skin all night long, clogging your pores and creating breakouts. You can flip over the pillowcasehalfway through the week too for added protection!
2. Try switching out your pillowcases from cotton to silk. Cotton is a very durable fabric which is great, but it can also be harsh on your delicate skin. At night, as we toss and turn, the fabric is pulling at our skin. Ever wake up with fabric marks on your face? I bet you had a rocking night's sleep, but your poor skin bore the brunt of it. Silk’s fibers are soft and supple, and don’t pull and yank on your skin. No wonder royalty sleeps on silk! And for an added bonus, the silk will help your hair too! Say bye bye to frizz!
3. Have a designated washcloth or small towel only used for drying your face. Most of us like to use the same towel to dry our face and bodies (and if you have been listening, then you know you should be washing your towels in natural detergent too!), which is great economically but all those moisturizing body washes and conditioners contain silicones to keep our hair and body moisturized. Then, we are putting all of that right back onto our freshly washed faces. This leads to irritation, clogged pores, and even acne. So keep a washcloth or small towel handy and use it only to dry your face. And dab your face dry, never pull. You may have to tell others living in the household your new regime and let them know not to use it. After they see the change in your skin they will probably start doing the same too!
4. We all know to wash our faces twice a day, drink water, and apply sunscreen. (If you didn’t then you get three more tips for free!) But here’s a new one—let your face dry out a little. Okay, this one is a little controversial and doesn’t work for every skin type (sorry dry skin types!), but if you have oily, combination, or a normal skin type, try going to bed without a moisturizer. Or try switching to a lighter gel-based moisturizer. This is only for the hot, sticky summer months! See, at night we produce so much sweat and oil that during the summer sometimes our heavy moisturizer does more harm than good by trapping all that in our skin, not allowing it to breathe. Keep applying your eye cream, but give it a shot and in the morning, exfoliate your skin, then apply your favorite serum, moisturizer, and sunscreen!
5. And lastly, we all have that pink goo known as calamine lotion lying around waiting for the summer months right? You know the stuff our moms would spackle all over our skin as kids whenever we got bug bites? Well, now that we are all grown up and stuff, we can still use it. It’s formulated to be very gentle on skin and it naturally dries out the wound, in this case pimples. So use a q-tip and dab it on your spots at night and leave it on while you sleep. Yes, you will have pink stuff all over your face some nights, but if you wake up with clear skin, who cares right? And all you skin care junkies have probably tried out the expensive name brand version of this (won’t name names!) but your drugstore brand works just as well or better! Give it a try!

And there you have it! Five easy, at home tips and tricks that will drastically change the appearance and quality of your skin. You will have glowing, fresh skin just in time for summer! I’ve got way more tips I’m always ready to share! Happy summer!