4 Essential Steps to Hydrate Your Skin and Heal Your Acne

It is the dead of winter- You've got the heater running full blast and, if you're like me, you're taking wonderfully hot showers. Though I love a hot shower and keeping the heater running all day, I know that also means your skin is crying out for moisture. And, as I frequently mention in my Acne Survival Guide, putting water on your face does not equal hydrated skin. So, it is important to understand these 4 crucial steps to keep your skin hydrated, especially acne prone skin, and maintain healthier skin.

Step 1: Make sure you exfoliate your skin

The first essential step to hydrate your skin is exfoliation. Though physical exfoliants are popular and trendy, you should avoid all physical exfoliants because they actually cause tears on the surface of your skin. These micro-tears aggravate your skin and increase the chances that bacteria will get into your skin causing acne. Given the harms of physical exfoliants for your skin, don't use exfoliating gloves or beads as your outer skin is fragile.

So, what's the best way to exfoliate? I recommend chemical exfoliants once every three days. Note that you don't need to exfoliate your skin every single day and I would not recommend daily exfoliation. There are a lot of great options on the market for chemical exfoliants.

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Step 2: Apply humectant, the moisture magnet

You will hear me mention the importance of humectant A LOT in my Acne Survival Guide. Helpful humectants include glycerin, aloe, and hyaluronic acid. Be aware that humectant can actually dry out your skin if you're not using it correctly. The secret to using humectant is to apply to damp skin, and never to dry skin. If you put it on dry skin, it will try to pull water from your skin and essentially dries out your skin. So, adding water to your face will allow the humectant to pull water from your face instead of the dermis layer of your skin.

A perfect time to apply humectant is after showering since your face will be damp post-shower. You can also use a spray bottle to spritz filtered water (because we want to avoid heavy metals from tap water for healthier skin) onto your face.

After spraying and applying humectant, prepare yourself for a sloppy, wet mess! Next you must wait for the application to dry. Maybe brush your teeth or say some self-affirming messages to yourself in the mirror (really, practice self-compassion when you can). I cannot emphasize enough the essential purpose of humectant as the moisture magnet.

On top of all the perks of humectant, it is affordable! You can try different humectants like glycerin or aloe. For what I use, I recommend The Ordinary's Hyaluronic Acid.

Step 3: Seal in all that moisture

Now that you've exfoliated and let that handy humectant dry on your skin, you're going to want to seal in the moister with a moisturizer. Think of it as saran wrap. Sealing in the moisture prevents something called Trans Epidermal Water Loss (TEWL). Basically, adding moisturizer, like saran wrap, stops things from getting in or out. And you want to keep that water in your skin!

You can also think of it as a sponge. Once a sponge is wet, over time the water evaporates away. This is the same effect as water in your skin so we want to seal that moisture in using products with emolliant ingredients. And moisturizers already have these ingredients built-in.

For moisturizer, I recommend investing in a good product because you don't need a whole lot each time you moisturize. In essence, the moisturizer will last a long time. So only use a PEA SIZED amount every time.

Step 4: Add occlusive, if in an extremely dry climate

If you are in an extremely dry climate, are using heat daily, or your skin is cracking or peeling, then I recommend adding an occlusive over the top. Some examples are aquaphor, eucerin, mineral oil, jojoba oil, shea butter, and beezwax. Just be aware of acne breakouts as occlusives can clog pores, so you will need to do some trial and error here.

Jojoba oil usually works best for acne prone skin.