How Does Pollution Affect Your Skin?

Does pollution really affect your skin?

You might have noticed that as the world around us gets more advanced, air pollution increases as well. This brings us to the questions – how does air pollution affect your skin and how do you counter it?

What’s the situation?

If you live in the city, pollution can come from dust, smog, traffic fumes and even indoor and outdoor air.  It’s hard to determine which one is responsible for the changes that your skin might have been facing and since we are so used to being exposed to pollution on a daily basis, we tend to underestimate the impact of it on our skin.

How pollution impacts your skin

Pollution in the form of dirt, dust or soot are small nanoparticles and can penetrate into your skin, resulting in long-term damage, premature aging and darkening of skin cells from the inside. Eczema and rashes are also a common problem as a result of air pollution.

Besides that, pollution damages your skin barrier by destroying collagen – a protein that provides elasticity and keeps your skin strong. It also helps to cure scarring from acne!

 When your skin is exposed to high amounts of pollution, you’ll realize that you have a lot worse skin hydration compared to someone who’s living in a cleaner area – even if you have a better cleansing routine, water consumption of excellent skin care products.

How do you solve it?

Fret not! A right skin care routine can fight against the effects of pollution, clean up your pores as well as prevent further damage to your skin.

1.Always cleanse!

We recommend you to cleanse your skin daily but remember to always be gentle! Double cleansing is even better because it first removes your make up followed by any remaining dirt, make up or pollution.

 2.Hydration

Choose a good moisturizer and drink up! Your skin works best at strengthening the skin barrier when it’s moisturized. This also helps to reduce a dull appearance and prevents your skin from drying out.

 3.Protect your skin

Besides pollution, UV rays are also harmful for your skin and even more so when the two are combined. UV rays can contribute to skin damage and ageing. Pair that up with the fine particles from pollution that will cling to your skin and become lodged in your pores, you get a damaged skin barrier and aggravated skin sensitivity. A good sunscreen will definitely come in handy – SPF should always be a part of your skin care regime. We recommend Morning Glow, our physical sunscreen, as it has 4% niacinamide which helps to brighten and strengthen you skin. Not only that, it also helps to moisturize, killing two birds with one stone!

Some other ways you can protect your skin from pollution are consuming antioxidants. Strawberries, goji berries and kale are some great examples that can help to encourage collagen production and allow your skin to repair itself! Although pollution is not improving anytime soon, we advise you to follow these steps and stick to a skin care routine to minimize the harmful effects of pollution.