Did you know that you can buy a skin moisturiser that costs $1,355 for 100ml? For that price, I’d expect a new face…
Skincare can be really expensive and I’ll admit – I do fork out a bit of money on it too. I’ve always had difficult skin and had to visit dermatologists to get put on Accutance twice. Not fun and not cheap. But, I have noticed that there are certain “free” things that make a massive difference – even more than expensive products. Most of these involve cleanliness and not adding extra oils and bacteria to the skin.
Here are my top frugal skincare tips!
1. Change your pillowcase regularly
This is one of my biggest skincare tips for you. It sounds so simple, but truly makes such a big difference with breakouts and the overall look of your skin. I personally change mine daily, however skincare experts recommend once a week. If you’d like to read more about why this works, Insider has a great article – click here to read it. Just give it a try and see how your skin reacts.
2. Stop rubbing and tugging!
Stop stretching and rubbing the skin around your eyelids – it leads to premature wrinkles. Start patting in skincare products instead of rubbing them in. I notice a lot of women like to pull their eyelid when they apply pencil eyeliner – which directly contributes to crows feet! It is hard to start break out of this habit when you’ve been doing it for so long, but your skin will thank you.
“The skin there is much finer than the rest of the face, so tugging can really damage collagen and break capillaries”
Dr. Weiser (New York City dermatologist)
3. The sun is your enemy!
Did you know that UV rays accounted for 80% of skin ageing, including wrinkles? The study also found that a 2% increase in skin damage ages a face by three years. Yikes! Luckily, you don’t need to buy expensive skincare products to avoid this – just focus on sun protection!
Wear a hat and sunglasses when outside, try to sit in the shade when you can and of course, use sunscreen. Sunscreen isn’t exactly “free” but it is relatively inexpensive and also aids from avoiding skin cancer – a win-win!
“Effective use of sunscreens will not only limit extrinsic skin ageing but will also reduce skin cancer risk”
Dr Richard Warren (Senior clinical lecturer/consultant dermatologist at the University of Manchester)
4. Clean the surface of your phone
If you take a lot of calls with your phone up to your face – clean it regularly!
I used to regularly clean my landline phone at the office because I’d have my face up to it all day. This starts to store oils, makeup, dead skin and can contribute to breakouts if you don’t clean it regularly. It is one of those areas we really should be cleaning but a lot of people forget to do so, or never really think about it.
5. Avoid touching your face throughout the day
Your hands carry a lot of bacteria and dirt – stuff that you don’t want on your face!
If you don’t wash your hand regularly in particular, it could lead to breakouts. Now, if you have a habit of touching our face – it is really hard to break out of it. I always try to redirect my hands straight into my hair, maybe you could find another point to do this.
6. Wash your face before bed
Are we sensing a trend here? Yes! It’s all about strategies to keep your skin clean.
Throughout the day, we gather a lot of dirt, oils and sometimes makeup on our face. We then lay our face in one area for hours when we sleep. Especially if you don’t clean your pillowcase, it’s a recipe for a breakout. Try to incorporate washing your face as part of your bedtime routine and see the difference in your skin!
Great tips! The last three could be said for corona too