Working out & getting a sweat up on a regular basis is one of the best things you can do for your physical & mental health, but unfortunately gyms & fitness studios are breeding ground for acne causing bacteria. These are my top tips for avoiding face & body breakouts cause by working out.
1. DO NOT touch your face at all while you are at the gym! Your hands can pick up dirt & germs whilst working out, so it is very important to keep those hands away from your face.
2. Don’t put your towel on the floor then use the same towel to wipe the sweat from your face or body. This is a super easy thing to let happen, but the floors of workout spaces generally have a huge amount of foot traffic & are very dirty. I personally like to bring 2 towels, one to put on the equipment & a little one to pat any sweat from my face & body.
3. Remove the sweat from your face after you finish. I know its easy to get caught up with a busy day & rush off onto the next task straight after your workout. And even often you may not feel like you really got a sweat up. But its important to clean your face after a workout. A gentle micellar water is best. It’s even great to ensure you get all along your hairline to help avoid those little breakouts there.
4. Get out of those sweaty clothes! Again, you may not feel like you even got that sweaty, but gyms are dirty, so you may be walking around is sweaty, grimy clothes. This is a recipe for chest & back breakouts. Get out of those damp clothes, pop into quick shower if you can & pop on something clean, fresh & dry. I personally find wearing a cropped top leads to breakouts on the exposed bits of skin, so I am always careful to pay extra attention to those areas. I like to cleanse those areas with micellar water after working out to remove any bacteria.
5. Hydration! Often if it was a more gentle workout, you may not feel very thirsty. But always remember to try to drink a litre of water for each hour of working out. You need to replenish any lost hydration. Additionally this will help flush any impurities out of your skin.
6. Supplement your skin with vitamins that have properties that assist with increasing cell turnover, regulating oil production & antibacterial properties.
Try these tips for the next 4 weeks & let me know how your skin goes!
Happy exercising!
K xx
