Weekend Top 10: Skin care tips for the monsoon\Lifestyle

Weekend Top 10: Skin care tips for the monsoon\Lifestyle

The arrival of monsoon is indeed a sign of relief from the sweltering and scorching heat but you have to take care of your skin to protect it from the atmospheric humidity

The bright sweat-causing sun has given way to cloudy skies and soaring levels of humidity. The monsoon is here and has brought with it a lot of joy and enthusiasm. With every downpour, your spirits are relished and revived. Your skin, however, does not experience the same enthusiasm and instead suffers from oiliness or dehydration brought on by monsoon. This is the time when the skin becomes irritable due to humidity and summertime rashes give way to other skin problems.

Since your skin behaves differently in monsoon, it becomes important to take special care of it. While everything around you is bright and beautiful, the increasing humidity does not allow your skin to breathe properly.

Skin care tips for the monsoon

Here is a list of things that you should follow during rainy season to look beautiful and fresh and save yourself from the misery of bad skin:

1. Avoid fungal infections. Fungal infections are the most common complaints of the rainy season. Never keep your skin wet for a long time. Bathing with lukewarm water and using antifungal creams, soaps and talc will prove to be effective in combating fungal invasion. Some of these common infections are athlete’s foot, ringworm, or itching caused by wet damp clothing.

2. Cleanse the skin. The skin should be cleaned 3-4 times a day with non-soapy face washes. This helps to clean excessive oil and dirt from the skin pores and helps it breathe.

3. Skin toning is essential. Non-alcoholic skin toners should be used to tone the skin twice a day to maintain the skin’s pH balance. Toning revives the skin and gives it an impeccable sheen.

4. Keeping dry skin moisturised. If your skin appears to be dry, moisturise it with a good moisturiser. Application of rose water, glycerine or almond oil before retiring to bed is beneficial in keeping the skin supple and healthy.

5. Keep oily skin clean. If you have dry skin and have visible whiteheads or blackheads, try to minimise oil secretion from the skin by using water based moisturisers, cleansers and by applying citrus face packs. Drinking a lot of water also helps in reducing oil production.

6. Shield your skin. Just because it’s cloudy, does not mean your skin is protected from the sun. It is highly important to guard your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays, so always use a good sunscreen with a high SPF factor.

7. Gentle exfoliation. Dead skin cells should be daily removed. Use a good skin scrub to get rid of those dead cells and make your skin radiant and glowing.

8. Drink adequate water. Drink at least 7-8 glasses of water to maintain skin hydration, as the skin loses a lot of water due to sweating.

9. Wash hair often. Wash hair a little more frequently that you usually do in the monsoon as all the humidity and sweat causes it to get dirty soon and attract dust and pollution.

10. Avoid artificial jewellery. For those who have very sensitive skin, it is best to avoid wearing heavy jewellery altogether. The humidity can make your skin break out when it comes into contact with anything irritable. So avoid jewellery around your neck and wrists and allow your skin to breathe.

A bonus tip. Chemical peels done by dermatologists are a fantastic way to freshen up a lustreless dull skin. A number of peels are available to choose from like peels for sensitive skin, arginine peels for under-eye dark circles, etc. Of course, all these external efforts will be in vain if you are not hearty from inside. So eat vegetables and fruits and make sure you get adequate rest and stay relatively stress-free.