Anxiety and Skincare (when you gotta do something....anything)

A friend was recently telling me that when her anxiety gets bad she sometimes focuses that energy towards her face (this one's for you lady, love you so much). Picking at breakouts, overly- extracting her blackheads and congested areas, sometimes even breaking blood vessels. This is so hard because “just stopping” is not something you simply do when you have anxiety. The constant need to do something to make it better and make it better right  now is overwhelming and relentless. But actually doing something that you think will make a blemish or breakout better can most of the time make it much worse. So here are some ideas of things you can do that will help, but not harm.

Spot Masking

Using a clay based, clarifying mask all over your face can be a bit much but using it just on your blemish can really help. It can help bring whatever is going on to the surface quicker. And it can do this without over drying your whole face. Every now again go for the clay mask on your whole face, but if you and your brain are not getting along and you have an urge to pick or apply that mask everyday, maybe twice a day, don’t, just use it as a spot treatment. You still get the mental satisfaction of doing something but it isn’t going to compromise everything. I really like this mask for my chin and nose. And just last week I was having a weird time and my skin was showing it. So I applied a thin layer of this every night for a few days, but only to my chin and nose. There are even acne treatment sticker things. I personally have not used them but my sister has and she loves them.

Moisturize Anyway

A lot of people that suffer from breakouts are scared that moisturizers will clog their pores or cause more breakouts. Not always so. If you are treating breakouts by trying to dry them out you need to bring that moisture back. Good skin is about balance. You can have breakouts and uneven texture from your skin being too dry. So moisturize anyway. And strive to find that balance in your skins health. Moisturizing masks have been something I've been doing in the morning before makeup on days when I need a little extra self care. I got these sampler packets online at Ulta and am trying to decide which one I want to order in full size.

Try To Prevent Scaring 

Once a blemish is popped or messed with and the junk is out, the healing begins. This is where I have a really hard time of leaving my skin alone to do it's thing. But you just gotta let the skin work. I like to use simple Neosporin on a blemish at night. The point being to protect the skin so it can work and generate new skin cells and shed the old scarred ones. And during the day I try to not use makeup that is too heavy.


Using a Face Cloth or Warm Towel
This is probably more of a mental trick then anything, but using a clean face cloth to remove cleanser provides some very gentle exfoliation. Using a towel can just feel a little extra sometimes. So again it is doing something and satisfying that anxious need without harming your skin. I just use wash cloths from target. I have whole bunch of them and grab a fresh one every night. By morning it is mostly dry and goes in my hamper to be washed with all my other clothes.

Hope this helps if you struggle with anxiety and skincare. Feeling pretty is never a simple thing but do what you can and rest in the knowledge that you are not alone...ever.