The Best Way to Take Care of Your Skin After Class
Optimizing your workout for skincare starts before you sweat and hinges on what you do after. Say good-bye to pesky post-sweat problems with these best practices whether or not you’re an AM or PM kinda person. After your Margo’s class, take the time to cleanse the skin and give yourself a self-care moment. Your post-sweat skincare can do wonders for not only the skin, but the epiphanies and lessons you learned in class.
Cleanse
Take the time to cleanse your skin to not let bacteria and oils settle. While sweating is great for the outer layer of the epidermis, if it sits too long it can create ideal conditions for microbial organisms that can cause damage like blemishes, congestion, and discoloration down the road.
Exfoliate
Sweat can loosen dead skin cells and provide natural exfoliation. Finish the job and promote the new skin layer with a chemical exfoliant. A chemical exfoliant is easy to stick in your gym bag and requires little effort. Look for an AHA/BHA exfoliant pad to wipe and go.
Hydrate and Glow
Follow up with an essence or serum to boost your over all glow. Look for an essence to pat on the skin to soothe and calm any redness or irritation from your workout and exfoliant. Follow with a serum like vitamin C for the brightening effects in the morning or collagen boosting hyaluronic acid at night.
Moisturize
Finish your routine with a moisturizer and SPF if it applies. Remember, if you' applied SPF before your AM workout-it’s probably sweated off by now and if not, you’ve washed your face again. No worries-just reapply to protect your skin from UVA and UVB rays. If your post-sweat skincare is happening before you wind down for the night, find a moisturizer that feels luxurious to you and let it work its magic all night.
Your post-workout skincare is an optimal time to repair and replenish the epidermis and microbiome. Plus, taking care after your workout is the final step of ensuring you reap all the rewards of your hard work. If you’re running short on time, make sure to at least cleanse and moisturize (including SPF if it applies) and change all layers (including your socks and underwear) before you get on with your day or evening.