To have a better life, I have been regularly exercising almost everyday for 30-60 minutes. Plus, I am currently eating healthy and clean diet. However, I was quite surprise my face was covered with acne! Oh dear, don't get me wrong. Don't stop exercising because it can cause you acne. Today, I would like to share with you whether exercising and acne are interrelated or not?
Exercising makes you sweating. While sweat is made mostly of water, with small amounts of ammonia, urea, salts and sugar. When you sweat, these impurities are flushed from your skin. But what does that mean for people who are prone to acne? It might help, but it doesn't necessarily hurt, say the experts at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado (CHC). Sweat in itself neither fights acne nor causes it; but the increased blood flow, unclogging of pores from sweating, and stress reduction that result from exercise may all benefit the acne sufferer, says the CHC.
However, there's long been a rumor that a good sweat will actually clean out your pores, but science says that's not the case. Sweat glands and oil pores are two different things, so not only does sweat not clean out oil pores, but it might actually make things worse. For one, irritants like dust and dirt are more likely to stick to moist skin, which can lead to clogged pores. Here is how acne develops:
In simple word, exercising is good for your skin as the activity flush out toxins from your body through your sweat glands however, dirt and bacteria can still clog up your oil pores as it enjoy humid and moist surface. What you want to avoid is doing anything to exacerbate skin problems or cause irritation. So, please do not stop exercising and there are ways to combat the acne caused by bacteria and dirt by following my tips below.
1- Avoid tight clothing. Avoid wearing clothing that rubs against your skin during exercise, and if you wear a helmet, hat, sunglasses or other protective equipment while you move, clean it often as these sweaty surfaces can collect dirt and oil that can be transferred to your skin. Wear lightweight, breathable and unrestrictive clothing and change out of it soon after a tough workout.
2- Wash your hands. To avoid spreading germs, wipe equipment down before and after use and wash your hands after you work out. Bring along your hand-sanitiser or anti-bacterial wipes can be very useful. Ignore what other people might think about you (germ-freak) as this habit may prevent you from getting any serious diseases.
3- Avoid touching your face. Touching your skin increases the risk of clogging your pores with bacteria and oils, especially if your hands are already picking up bacteria and germs from touching workout equipment. If you need to wipe excess sweat, blot your skin with a clean, dry towel and avoid rubbing or wiping the skin with your hands, shirt or towel. For those with longer hair, wearing hair back and keeping your hair or bangs off of your face can prevent additional dirt and oil from clogging your pores.
4-Cleanse gently. To prevent acne flare-ups and scars, gently clean your skin with a mild cleanser twice a day (morning and night) and after heavy exercise. Fight your bad fats and cellulite then take a deep-cleanse shower afterward. Use anti-bacterial soap would be helpful. Disinfect your workout cloths, equipments, towels, bottles and everything can prevent you from bacteria.
5-Hydrate. Drink plenty of H20 to replace water lost during workouts. Proper hydration will keep your entire body functioning properly. Drink lot of water help to replenish fluids inside your body and balance out the body pH. This habit helps you to remove most of the toxins and cleanse your internal organs and blood.
Thanks for reading.
p/s: Am not a medical practitioner nor fitness instructor. Am just enjoy reading medical and fitness texts.
