You’re in! You’re officially a college student and now considered ready to take on adult roles of preparing for a career, making your own decisions, etc
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Make time for a skincare routine.
If you don’t have a skin care regimen, now is the time to get one. Wash with a gentle cleanser daily. This will keep all the excess oils, sweat, impurities and environmental pollutants from settling on your skin, clogging your pores and even causing scarring on your face from infections. Gentle cleanser, tepid water — never hot water because that dries out the skin even more!
Avoid salt, sugar and caffeine and eat healthily.
You are what you eat and it shows on your face. Salt will cause dehydration AND make your face look bloated. Too much sugar can cause glycation, which interferes with the body being able to produce collagen. Not enough collagen leads to fine lines and wrinkles!
Watch out for sugary drinks (and be careful not to rely on artificially-sweetened beverages because they have their own problems, too). Overdoing coffee constricts blood vessels, dehydrates and results in loss of sleep, a perfect trio that causes premature wrinkling and dark circles under the eyes.
What should you eat? Logical: lots of nutritious vitamin-loaded colorful vegetables and fruits, fish for omega-3’s, high fiber grains, lean meats, protein-rich beans. You probably learned about healthy eating in grade school; now is the time to practice it.
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Avoid alcohol over-indulgence.
Beyond alcohol enabling poor choices and dangerous situations when driving, it is bad for the skin, too! Alcohol dehydrates to dry out the skin. Also, alcohol can make the skin appear bloated, and as blood vessels dilate, it can cause the red flushed appearance many people get when drinking. So unattractive! Like salt and sugar, alcohol doesn’t make someone look grownup; it ages their faces and internal organs, making people look old before their time.
Don’t smoke.
Smoke products get inhaled into the lungs, which spread the chemicals through the blood stream and hurt all the organs in the body — causing health problems from malfunctioning organs to appear on the face. Beyond the impurities ingested, just the repeated squinting and sucking from physically drawing in the smoke causes premature wrinkling around the lips and eyes. Again, another scenario that results not in looking like an adult, but looking old instead. Costly to get procedures to eliminate those lines appearing too soon. Wouldn’t it be better to use that money to pay off college loans or rent?
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Moisturize.
Dry skin looks dull and flaky. Your dry face will take on a grey tone. Flaws are more visible. Dry skin is an unprotected, compromised barrier, vulnerable to injury, scarring and infection. Exfoliate the dead skin — gently — and use moisturizer to keep the skin supple and glowing. Use a thick moisturizer at night and a lighter one during the day.
Humidify and hydrate.
Drink lots of water to hydrate the skin from the inside out. Avoid salt, caffeine and alcohol. Dehydration affects the organs and internal problems and the effects will show up on the face. A humidifier ads moisture in the air, putting less stress on the skin. Dry air also can cause coughing and dry out the nose, enabling infection to come in. Again, the goal is to look like an adult and avoiding looking old! There are small humidifiers that won’t dominate a dorm or small bedroom. At the very least, put a pan of clean water on the radiator and let it evaporate into the air!
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Don’t go to sleep with makeup on.
Chemicals in cosmetics break down and may irritate the face if it stays on too long! That’s especially bad for dry or sensitive skin. Makeup clogs the pores overnight, causing breakouts. Makeup on the pillow gets in the eyes, causing more problems than just looking old!
Wash those pillowcases.
Parents leave college students to be responsible for themselves, and they are definitely not driving to dorms every week to wash sheets! So whether you’re home or away at school, old makeup, dirt and oils from not washing the face build up on an unwashed pillowcase. When you sleep, you rub it back on your skin, clogging pores and developing reactions to the chemicals and pollutants. A dirty pillowcase can be the source of your acne! Buy extra pillowcases so you can switch out on laundry day.
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Take care before you share.
Friends want to bond by sharing secrets, clothes, hair and beauty items. But there are two dangers: infection and allergies!
NEVER share makeup and brushes that touch the lips and eyes: mascara, eye shadow, eye liner, sponges, lip applicators etc. You can catch many things from bacteria to herpes virus by sharing makeup.
Also, trying out a new hair product can result in an allergic reaction on the face, neck, back — where ever it drips. Those with sensitive skin must spot test before trying new products.
And be wary of sharing combs and brushes; lice likes heads of any age!
NEVER squeeze your pimples!
Leave the popping to the professionals. Doing it wrong will lead to permanent scarring and even infection and more scarring! Eat healthy, manage stress, hydrate, cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize to avoid developing pimples
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Check those moles.
If a pimple, mole or birthmark grows or changes in appearance, beware! Skin cancer can happen at any age, even while in college! Pay attention to your skin!
Wear sunscreen no matter your age.
The best way to avoid the skin cancer and damage from UVA and UVB rays is to wear sunscreen every time you go outdoors, even in the winter. It may be colder outside but the sun is still doing its job.
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See a dermatologist and stock up before semester begins.
While students go to the doctor for vaccinations, birth control and other medications right before semester begins, also go to the dermatologist to get the skin checked and to get hooked up with the most effective acne medications. Birth control hormones can affect the skin, too. Be sure to ask the dermatlogist for enough prescriptions and products to last until winter break.
Exercise.
Healthy circulation increases that glow. Sweat purges impurities in the pores. Be sure to hydrate during and after a workout and wash off that sweat. Allowing the sweat to dry re-clogs the pores with oils, dirt and salt. (Check out the article on our blog about the post-workout skincare routine: https://patcollins-skinsmart.com/2021/10/20/are-workouts-good-or-bad-for-the-skin-yes/)
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Sleep and relax.
Stress from lack of sleep keeps the body from recovering from the day. Stress from being in college wreaks havoc on the hormones that work so hard to keep your levels calm and normal. Seek counseling to deal with the stress. Without rest, your body goes out of whack, can’t fight infections, causes chemical imbalance in the body’s organs and it will show on your face!
SUMMARY: stress, poor diet and health problems appear on the face, causing pimples, infections, scarring, hyperpigmention, dark circles under the eyes, whiteheads, blackheads, premature aging and more conditions! College students want to treated as adults and have a mature appearance, but they don’t want to look too old before their time. To prevent these problems and maintain your good looks, take time to take care of oneself and see a doctor regularly!
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