Smash In Case Of Emergency Skincare

One of my wildest dreams is having a luxe subway tile bathroom that contains a small little case on the wall that has a sign saying 'break in case of a skincare emergency'. And inside this little case, you would find all the products that help when it comes to breakouts. I'm sure that I bought this most recent breakout onto myself after writing a post not that long ago harping on and on about how my skin was behaving really well and those pesky seasonal transition breakouts weren't bothering me this year. But of course now they are and I've had to bring out my break in emergency skincare and here are some of my favourites.

WHAT TYPE OF BREAKOUTS ARE THEY?

Before I do anything when a breakout starts to erupt I like to try and distinguish what type of breakout it is. And I'm by no means a skincare expert, we all know this but over the years I've certainly realised that there are many types of spots. Sometimes a little white head can pop up and I know what to do with them but often they're more deep set and require a different type of treatment. There is, of course, a tonne of information online but some of the best knowledge I've consumed about skin has always been from books like Sali Hughes - Pretty Honest and even the Lauren Conrad Beauty book. It's not a glamorous subject to study that's for sure but it's something that can help so much when it comes to picking a skincare routine that is effective for you and treating breakouts quickly.

LIFESTYLE FACTORS

I've always been a big advocate that you can't hide a bad lifestyle through a brilliant and more than likely expensive skincare routine. Paying attention to what is going on in your life so things like diet, exercise routine, hormones, contraceptive choice, stress and environmental factors are things that come to play when it comes to breakouts. And we all know that taking good care of ourselves is important and recommended by practically everyone but it's not always that easy. But just working on one thing could help drastically as dealing with breakouts from that cause are probably never going to be helped by skincare, no matter how much we apply.

CLEANSING

Having a consistent cleansing routine is so important anyway, I truly believe if you don't do anything else to your skin that if you give it a proper cleanse [not with a micellar water or face wipe] that it's a great place to start. Our skin goes through the ringer on a daily basis with how much we do to it and expose it to so making sure it's properly clean is the least that we can do. When my skin is freaking out the first place I start is with is cleanser and typically I go for a cream.

ANTIPODES GRACE CLEANSER*: The Grace cleanser from Kiwi brand Antipodes is targeted towards sensitive and irritated skin and when your dealing with a breakout your skin will typically be one of those things. It's gentle enough to keep the complexion calm and soothed but it's still effective enough to remove all dirt and grime that might have built up. It contains avocado oil which is something I've found to be highly effective when it comes to nourishing the skin but not being too overwhelming which can often be a worry when it comes to something that can nourish your skin but it keeps it balanced and just generally happy.

TREATMENT

Typically when you're breaking out it can be so tempting to just throw anything on our skin and hope it works and sometimes it might. But trying to keep things relatively simple and for the most part letting the breakout run its course is something I've found helps them. There are a select few products though that I've always relied on to help clear up a breakout that never cause more irritation.

MERUMAYA CONCENTRATED SPOT TREATMENT*: To deal with those little whiteheads that can pop up from time to time, usually without any big reason I like to reach for the Merumaya spot treatment. Which is what you would typically expect for a spot treatment as it tingles upon application. It contains salicylic acid which is why you can feel it on the skin and I've found it to the best option for clearing up small little whiteheads and just popping this on once can stop them in their tracks from becoming explosive. This is a treatment that is for on the spot only as it can be a little drying to the general complexion so you have to be wary when applying it and make sure you're using something nourishing in combination.

AESOP PARSLEY SEED MASQUE: Using any type of deep cleansing mask is great when spots are erupting even though it might not seem that way. But getting all the dirt and grime out for your skin as well as tackling any congestion issues is my first port of call. The Aesop Parsley Seed Masque is one of the only high-end deep cleansing masks that I truly think is worth it. The clay gets absolutely everything out of your skin whilst the aloe vera makes sure the complexion doesn't become dry or irritated. Then finally the rosehip and parsley seed deliver a big dose of brightness too which is perfect whilst dealing with a stressed out complexion.

FIGS & ROUGE ANTI BLEMISH COMBAT CREAM*: For a breakout treatment that you can use all the time and reapply throughout the day this item from Figs & Rouge is perfect. It's unlike any other spot treatment because it doesn't cause the blemish to become dry but it somehow stops it in tracks before it gets too severe and then you can keep on using it afterwards to help get rid of the mark that it might leave. It's even one that I think a sensitive skin could get along with due to the Vitamin K that helps to boost moisture and is an anti-inflammatory.