Many of you may already know skin benefits from exercise. The increased blood circulation brings more nutrients to the skin, helping your skin rejuvenate and push impurities out of pores. Not to mention the stress relieving benefit of exercise which leads to fewer fine lines and wrinkles.
Unfortunately, for some people, exercise can result in irritating red bumps and pimples on skin.
How does it happen? You see bacteria cause acne, so when you exercise, you may let your skin expose to bacteria by touching dirty gym equipment or yoga mat, rubbing dirty towel over your skin to sop up sweat, getting hair into your face and dragging haircare products into your pores. Breakout can also cause by having makeup on while working out or when sweat mixed with bacteria on skin, resulting bacteria and dirt seep into pores and clogging them. Even if you don’t touch anything else, simply touching your skin with your fingers can transfer bacteria to your skin where it can later cause acne.
So it’s not uncommon to turn your workout into a breakout, to stop that, you should first and foremost, always clean your skin right before workout. Cleanse skin with a gentle cleanser then apply a light moisturizer or hydrating spray before hitting the gym machine or yoga mat. Don’t forget to wash again afterwards.
Wiping off sweat with your hands, arms and shirt is a big no no. Use only a clean, fresh towel to blot. Be careful where you put the towel too, if you hang it on a dirty treadmill, then use it on your skin, the result can be even worse. Also, don’t rub too hard or that will cause irritate skin, and end up leading to post-workout acne.
Your hair, especially the bangs increase risk of getting forehead pimples. Try to use a headband and tie a ponytail to keep your hair away from your face. Make sure your band is moisture-wicking. Tying up hair can definitely avoid transferring bacteria and pore-clogging products from your strands to your face.
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