How To Care For Your Skin If You Workout Regularly

Getting your sweat on can have stacks of benefits for overall health, including benefits for skin. It can help speed up the release of toxins from your skin, as well as delivering a dose of oxygenated blood to skin cells. But for some of us, all that sweating can lead to breakouts. For a glow both inside and out, here’s some advice on caring for your skin if you workout regularly.

Wash your face before you start

If you’re coming straight from home in the morning, washing your face can help wake you up. If you’re hitting the gym towards the end of your day, a quick wash helps to remove makeup and bacteria that may have settled on your face. Working out with makeup on can cause a buildup of oil, potentially blocking your pores and reducing the skin’s ability to breathe. Oh, and you might find your mascara runs all over your face too!

Apply sunscreen if exercising outdoors

A light moisturiser with SPF can help protect your skin from UV rays when you’re sweating it up outdoors. Try using oil-free lotions that have an SPF included, they are less likely to clog your pores, but they still offer plenty of sun protection.

Avoid touching your face

It’s hard to resist when there’s sweat running down your forehead, but try not to touch your face with your fingers once you’ve started working out (use a SWEAT towel instead!). If you use your hands, you risk transferring any bacteria from the gym machines to your face (even if you’ve wiped the equipment down with those sanitising wipes). Wash your hands once you’ve finished working out to avoid spreading bacteria onto your body.

Get out of your workout clothes ASAP

By leaving sweaty workout clothes on, your skin’s ability to breathe may be affected. This can lead to clogged pores, which may lead to body acne. Jump in the shower and rinse off that sweat and any accumulated bacteria. Your skin will thank you for it.

Skip the hot shower

Don’t skip the shower altogether, but resist the urge to stand around in a hot shower. While it might be soothing for tired muscles, the hot water is likely to strip natural oils and moisture from your skin. You probably don’t want to be heading out of the gym with dry, irritated skin. Instead, have a lukewarm shower to rinse away odour-causing bacteria and sweat. Once you’ve showered, moisturise your skin to help keep it hydrated.

As most people that have done a tough workout know, your skin can be affected by all of that physicality! Taking a few moments to soothe it with these simple steps may definitely pay off in the long run.