10 Things Dancers Need To Know About Skin Breakouts

Make-up, sweat, late nights, travel. You are a dancer and you love it! But your skin may not so you need to pay attention to the 10 things dancers need to know about skin breakouts. Many dancers have trouble from time to time with acne, blackheads and other breakouts. These are some of the main reasons for skin breakouts, and solutions.

1. Beware of your cell phone!

• A LOT of bacteria builds up on phones. Really you have no idea.

• When texting just isn’t enough, wipe your phone down every day with antibacterial wipes, or hand sanitizer on a tissue.
• If you don’t, you will be pressing bacteria into the side of your face.

2. Don’t touch your face!

• When teaching or dancing with different partners, or travelling and touching things in public places, you probably wash your hands before you eat to avoid germs and bacteria.
• You should also avoid touching your face for the same reason.
• BTW, another good reason to pay attention to this is that touching your eyes with germs on your hands makes you more prone to getting sick than eating with germs on your hands.

3. Pay attention to your emotions and manage your stress

• Emotions play out on your skin. Increased blood flow, blood constriction, stress hormones and all the nerve endings that are connected to the skin can create a problem, even if caused by “good” stress, like excitement.
• To manage this, everyone needs down time in addition to sleep, to calm and rejuvenate your mind, body and skin. You actually need a bit of down time every day. A vacation twice a year won’t really cut it as far as your skin is concerned.
• Down time will actually help the quality of your sleep which critical as you will soon see.

4. Avoid smoking

• According to researchers, 42% of smokers suffered from non-inflammatory acne, blackheads and blocked pores compared to 10% of non-smokers.
• This is due to the toxins in cigarette smoke.

5. Sleep. You are going to stay up late. We know that, but you still can’t skimp on good quality sleep!

• When you sleep, your body gets rid of toxins, your hormones stabilize, and your body repairs itself. Miss this and you will pay in many ways.
• When you are sleep deprived, skin inflammation is more likely, stress hormones may trigger breakouts, and collagen and hyaluronic acid will breakdown, leaving your skin dry, thinner and more vulnerable to irritation.
• Try to get deep rest or sleep in planes and trains when you travel.
• Plan ahead to wind down before bed and get 7-8 hours sleep a night, in a dark noise free room.

6.  Keep well hydrated to help accelerate the removal of toxins

• It is definitely not a substitute for sleep in the removal of toxins, but tired and dehydrated is way too much for your body to cope with.

7. Protect your skin from hairspray, hair shine products and glue

• Any of these can cause irritation, which may lead to sudden breakouts.

• Get your hair done before you put on make-up to give yourself a chance to wipe your face clean.
• When sleeping in “done” hair, get a satin cap (similar to a shower cap but in satin) from the drug store or a beauty supply store. It will keep your hair from rubbing and unravelling on a cotton pillow and will also protect your face from any product that rubs off on the pillow.

8. Disinfect your make-up brushes and sponges frequently

• If you use brushes or sponges every day, wash them at least every other week with a mixture of baby shampoo and water.
• In between, it is a great idea to keep antibacterial wipes on hand to wipe them after each use. The wipes clean well and dry very quickly. They have the added benefit of allowing you to use the same brush for different colors to reduce the number of brushes you need to buy or pack.

9. Pay attention to the make-up you miss cleaning off before you go to bed

• Make-up itself will rarely cause a break out unless you are allergic or the make-up is over a year old, but if you don’t clean it off, it will plug you pores and create problems.
• We all know that sleeping in make-up is one of the worse things you can do, but sometimes when tired, we do not cleanse well in certain places so traces of make-up that you can’t even see are left around the hair line, under the jaw or near the lash line.
• Pay special attention to these areas and always go over your washed face with a cotton pad soaked in toner, to help clean the last traces of make-up so your skin can breathe.

10. So. What do you do if you have a breakout now?

• Be gentle. Avoid too much harsh scrubbing as it will irritate your skin further. Use a gentle soap or cleanser and wait until after your breakout settles a bit before you exfoliate, not when it is full force.
• Moisturize after any cleansing to keep your skin from further vulnerability to damage due to dryness.
• To spot-treat a breakout, use a product with benzoyl peroxide, which helps kill bacteria. You could also use tea tree oil or a use a paste made of baking soda and water.
• Use an over-the-counter retinol product to clean pores. Also prevent discoloration and fade acne scars with products that contain salicylic and glycolic acids.
• Use ice cubes to close pores and make irritation less noticeable
• Pay attention to all the causes noted above and make sure you take the right care.

Author: Miss P
Photography: Egorich.ca
Exclusively for Dance Comp Review