How to avoid summer breakouts when having to wear a face mask

If your skin tends to breakout come summer - you’re not alone. Warm-weather acne can wreak havoc on our faces, with the combination hot, humid temperatures, sweat and oil making the perfect breeding ground for blemishes to flourish. Add in the combination of wearing a face mask, and it seems like the bottom half of our faces are doomed. However, luckily there are a few small changes we can make to prevent summer breakouts from happening, here are some tips we learnt below.

Causes of warm-weather acne

A reason as to why we all tend to break out in the summertime is mainly because of the hot, humid weather which leads to more sweating and oil accumulation on the skin. Ultimately, this means more food to feed acne and block pores. Air conditioning only adds this problem too, with the cool air stripping our skin of any natural moisture which in turn makes our glands produce more oil, and just guessed it, blocks pores and causes acne.

Acne solution

Peeling

Now we know the main cause of warm-weather acne, which is due to a combination of over-stripping the skin and clogged pores, we can adjust our routines accordingly in order to prevent breakouts from happening. The key to avoiding summer breakouts is to plan for seasonal skincare routines, which makes sense given that what we should be doing in winter - using heavier, thicker moisturisers and hydrating serums - will have the opposite effect come June. So what should we be doing differently in the summer than in the winter? From changing up our cleansing routine to investing in exfoliators and switching-out our moisturisers - here are our recommendations below.

(2) Don’t forget to moisturise

Beware, just because your skin is feeling dewier (sweat, oil, you name it) this does not mean you don’t need to moisturise. Instead, it’s quite opposite! Refusing to moisturize can actually lead to your skin looking oilier, which is all because excessive cleansing and external factors such as UV rays and pollution can damage the skin’s moisture barrier, causing loss of moisture and an increase in oil production. Which we can all agree, is not the goal, right?

Instead, you want to give up the thick, rich creams you've been relying on all winter and seek out a lightweight moisturiser that will keep the skin hydrated but not sticky. Here are some of our favourites below.

Exfoliate

Though we shouldn’t be over-stripping the skin during the summer months, which means staying clear of excessive cleansing, we should all be regularly exfoliating which is essential in unclogging pores and getting rid of the dead skin that can breed acne. Skin that is exposed to the sun or has suffered over-exposure to the sun is more likely to be damaged and ages faster - which means we have to be especially diligent during the summer months.

This is where fruit acid peels come in. Some of the most popular exfoliating treatments are actually derived from fruits, with glycolic, salicylic and lactic acids are all being included in this category. So what do fruit acid peels do? Just short of miracle workers, fruit acid peels treat the entire face, removing the outer layer of damaged skin cells to reveal new, rejuvenated skin. They also work to stimulate the production of natural collagen which assists to fill in fine lines, treat acne scars, pigmentation and age spots for softer, smoother skin.

Just like everything though, acid peels are best used in moderation, a good exfoliation once a week will work to thoroughly clean out pores and increase cell turnover.