Should I Stop Using Skin Care For Acne

One of my all-time decisions ever: I stopped using skincare products for 3 months.

Hullo, my name is Zi, I'm 32, I've been a digital nomad for 5+ months, AND my skin broke out back in July when I inverse locations from Medellín, Colombia (high summit and cooler weather), to the sweltering Mediterranean summer in Istanbul, Turkey.

What kind of skin do I have?

I've got combination pare, which means I'm dry and sensitive in some areas such equally my cheeks, and oily in others such every bit my T-zone.

My previous skincare routine

My skincare routine when I started my nomad journey involved a twice-daily (morning & evening) face up launder, followed by toner, hydrating confront cream, and heart foam. ane–2 times a week I would also use an exfoliating face wash. All of my products are from Aesop, autonomously from my not-branded rice-based exfoliator which I bought from an eco-store in Mexico. (I'm mentioning the brands of my skincare to provide context, just this post isn't nigh the brands themselves, rather the journey of eliminating products for my pare).

What happened?

I started breaking out into fiddling cherry bumps and developing high sensitivity effectually the mask-wearing region. The sweat, coupled with the frequent wearing of a mask, aggravated my skin making it itchy, irritable, and inflamed. Turns out, there'due south been quite a few of usa experiencing this matter they are terming 'maskne', literally mask-acne.

The science behind 'maskne' (mask-acne)

"When y'all breathe or talk, your mask tends to trap in a lot of hot air. As well being annoying, this air creates a warm, humid surround — and an ideal setting for yeast, bacteria and other flora, such as demodex (types of peel mites that naturally live on our skin), to grow. These bacterial imbalances and friction from your mask can promote acne and rosacea flare-ups besides as something called perioral dermatitis. This is when fine pimples and pustules appear effectually the olfactory organ and mouth." — Source: Cleveland Clinic

At this point, I was convinced that wearing the mask in extremely hot weather caused my peel breakouts. One twenty-four hours, my hubby (who doesn't apply anything apart from sunscreen) said,

"why don't you lot just stop using skincare for a while and see how your skin reacts?".

Prior to condign a digital nomad, I would have probably outright rejected the idea because it'southward a huge break in routine and I would have plant it wasteful to not use skincare I had already purchased. Every bit a digital nomad who carries travel-sized skincare, the thought of non having to purchase top-ups and decreasing the weight of my carry-on was quite alluring. I also realized that my skin in hot weather didn't dry out as much, so I was ok to surrender moisturizing it externally, and I likewise used this experiment as an excuse to remind myself to increase my h2o intake (although I've also heard it's a myth that staying internally hydrated improves the hydration of the epidermis layer). Above all, I was kind of excited that giving up skincare products might work?

"I've got nada to lose correct?",

my pare was already screaming, and then a break from everything sounded logical. I'grand not a skincare expert, and there's too much alien information on the internet, so I went with the philosophy that our ancestors probably didn't use much in the way of 'formulated' skincare.

My new skincare routine

I thought I would ease myself into it, and then I still washed my confront morning/evening with a clammy warm towel (no products at all), and I still used a natural lip lotion for my lips, sunscreen during the 24-hour interval, and treated my peel to natural face up masks on Sun (I literally spread yogurt, dearest and olive oil on my face up).

Progress Photos

Day 1

My cheek area was irritated and inflamed. I had scarlet spots and breakouts. My peel was fatigued. Then after 2 days, my peel calmed down after I stopped using skincare products, despite continuing to wear a face up mask, overall information technology felt less red and less itchy.

24-hour interval 10

We can visibly see my skin had calmed downwards and information technology looked significantly relaxed compared to day 1. The red spots were not as prominent simply I notwithstanding had redness effectually the lower cheek area. Overall I felt the biggest comeback physically as the irritation, itchiness, and sensitivity had faded.

Day 30

I had adjusted to my 'new' skin and saw fewer changes. I think this is where I striking a plateau and I'yard pretty happy if my skin stayed like this forever!

October 2021 (3 months of no skincare products)

Taken in Porto Portugal, lying down on the grass on a sunny day, lazing around :)

What do you recall of my results?

Takeaways

Will I continue skincare production-costless forever? I'm not entirely sure. I honey my skin at the moment, but nosotros've been chasing summer destinations for a while, and when nosotros eventually feel wintertime again, I'grand not sure my pare volition provide all the necessary protection from drying out. Yet, I recall I volition refrain from using lab-formulated products and stick to natural ingredients such as squalane oil extracted from olives, or honey/propolis should I find myself needing a petty extra help.

Honestly, this journey taught me to trust my torso, and my skin feels and so much stronger, less irritable, and even when I do break out every now then, the healing procedure is so much quicker. You know how at the kickoff I said I had combination pare, I'm not entirely sure that I have that anymore equally my current skin has produced significantly less oil on a daily basis in my T-zone area and my cheeks no longer feel dry. My skin definitely feels more balanced.

I think this is a great experience to build a foundation of trust and knowledge so yous sympathize what works and what doesn't work for your skin. This experience encouraged me to wait at skincare differently and realize yous can all the same have a skin-care routine that doesn't involve industrially manufactured products and focuses more than on my own definition of self-care. Instead of applying toners and creams to my confront, I loved applying a hot steaming towel to my face, and giving myself gentle facial massages using my hands and the tips of my fingers.

When I was a teenager I was often bombarded by product advertisements to treat acne, and my skin has probably suffered so much chemical exposure that I'll never know what my skin would accept looked like if I just allow my hormonal skin run its course…if it hadn't been for all the societal shame for having acne, and if nosotros merely accepted that skin has a miraculous ability to heal itself, then possibly stripping my skin off its essential oils wouldn't have become my norm. For the record, I'm not discrediting what manmade treatments do for skin health and cocky-esteem, rather just wondering 'what if'.

I'm super happy I gave this a try and if you endeavour this out please let me know your experience in the comments below!

I leave you with a fun fact!

Did y'all know, our skin exfoliates naturally?! Our skin undergoes a natural turnover cycle every 30 days or then . When this happens, the upper layer of your peel (epidermis) sheds off the surface of your skin, revealing new peel from the middle layer of your skin (dermis).