Maybe you celebrated your promotion a little too far into the wee hours. Or maybe you were so exhausted from studying that you’ve skipped washing your face before bed for three days in a row. So you woke up with puffy eyes, dark circles, and dull looking complexion. Whatever the reason these days happen. Here’s what you need to do to get glowing on a bad skin day. 

Cleanse Bad Skin

First things first, under that leftover smeared makeup is an ever growing layer of dead cells. Your skin sheds 40,000 cells a minute. And your face has 20,000 pores. That means you have 20,000 places that can get clogged with all those dead cells, oil, makeup, dirt and SPF. That sounds like a dull, bad skin day in the making! The solution? Get it all off your face!

Cleansing

Yes, cleansing daily is a huge must. If you forget the night before, then get right on it in the morning. Cleansing powerfully changes the surface of your skin by removing all the ick. So bye-bye yucky look...almost. 

Cleansing Benefits

• Cleansing removes dirt, makeup, SPF, dead cells.
• Removes that dullness that comes from a build up of shed, dead cells.
• Prepares the skin to better absorb the beneficial ingredients in the next steps.

How To Cleanse

• Use an oil cleanser. 
• Apply the oil cleanser to dry face, massage around for 30-60 seconds.
• Add a small amount of water, keep massaging, turning the oil into a milky-white cleanser.
• Thoroughly rinse.

Exfoliate

The next step is to thoroughly exfoliate. Physical exfoliants like scrubs can be too harsh on skin, creating micro-tears in the skin’s surface. These micro-tears can allow in un-welcomed bacteria. On the other hand, acid exfoliants dissolve the ‘glue’ that holds dead cells together, making them easy to wash away. 

Benefits of Exfoliating

• Removes any leftover cellular build up.
• Improves skin texture, smoothing it out.
• Improves moisture absorptions.
• Soothes hyperpigmentation.

How to Exfoliate

• Use a chemical exfoliator like lactic acid or glycolic acid. 
• Add the liquid to a cotton round, then gently wipe the face for 30 - 60 seconds. 
•  For more information on exfoliating read this article.

Hydrate

Hydrating helps, because oftentimes bad skin can be dull looking from a lack of dewy, glowing moisture. Add some extra hydration with hyaluronic acid.

Benefits of Hyaluronic acid

• It has humectant properties and draws moisture to the skin. 
• It attracts up to 1,000 times its own weight in water to the surface, meaning it actually brings more water directly to the skin.
• Great for all skin types.

How to Use 

• Look for water - based serums. Apply the hyaluronic acid serum before you apply creams, oils or SPF. Always apply water - based products before oil-based ones.

Peptides for Eyes

Peptides are amino acids, also known as protein building blocks. There are specific peptides for the eyes that have numerous benefits. Below are the benefits and how to use peptides.

Benefits of Peptides

• Reduce puffiness
• Increases skin moisture
• Lighten dark circles
• Reduces the appearance of crow’s feet and fine lines

How to Use

• Gently apply to the eye area with the ring finger, tapping and smoothing gently.
• Look for a product that contains the following peptides:
  • REGU®-age
  • Beautifeye™
  • Eyeliss™
  •  Haloxyl™

Lock in Moisture and Banish Bad Skin

Keep your skin glowing all day by locking in moisture. Moisture is what plumps and reduces the appearance of fine lines. Use a heavier moisturizer or pure oil, like argan, squalane, marula, and jojoba if you are particularly dry or dull. 

Takeaway

Sometimes bad skin just happens. Or you get that dull, puffy look because you haven’t made a habit of daily caring for your face. If you are having one of those days, don’t stress. If you follow the steps above, your skin is sure to perk up and look fresh and glowing all day long. And if you keep up a regular skincare routine, you might just banish bad days for good!