Introduction

With the end of school comes the beginning of summer. And with summer comes sun, constantly being at the beach, sleeping late, and catching up on all the TV shows you didn’t have time to watch during school. This rest and relaxation means a rejuvenation time for your skin. But when school starts again, so does stress. And stress- perhaps unbeknownst to you- is skins greatest enemy. I have outlined three easy methods that will keep you one step ahead of the effects of stress on your skin, and have recommenced products for each. But the most important part of maintaining healthy skin during the school year is consistency. The more stressed you become, the stressed your skin becomes. But, if you can make a skincare routine that you are comfortable with and can complete on a nightly basis, then the state of your skin will not fluctuate.

Moisturizing

When stressful activities, whether it be homework, tests or sports, start to fill your days, your skin tends to start to become dull and not luminous.

The best way to fix these and make your skin seem shiny (and overall rested) is by regularly moisturizing. Invest in a soothing, creamy and hydrating moisturizer. If you are doing sports in the fall, I suggest trying one with SPF for constant sun protection.

By applying moisturizer daily, before any makeup, and after any more rigorous skincare routine at night, your skin will bounce back against the effect of stress.

Products

Mario Badescu: Aloe Moisturizer..  Best for daily hydration, especially with sensitive oily skin types

Tatcha: The Dewy Skin Cream.. Best for influx of hyaluronic acid

Drunk Elephant: Lala Retro Whipped Moisturizer.. Best for a decadent and restorative boost

Cleansing

One of the biggest mistakes with skincare is overdoing it. When life gets stressful and your skin start to show it, many people result to just overdoing their normal skincare. Putting on more moisturizer or more toner or more serum or, the most popular mistake, over cleansing.

But by putting more products and different products, this is only causing your skin to work harder to adapt to the new processes. In addition, over cleansing will also damage a strong protective layer your skin tries so hard to make stay intact.

Instead, I suggest exploring some more gentle cleanser that you use about two times a week. This will provide sufficient cleaning without taking large amount of time out of your busy schedule.

Products

Glossier: Milky Jelly Cleanser.. Best for soothing cleaning and removing any makeup buildup

CeraVe: Renewing SA Cleanser.. Best for light exfoliation, especially with sensitive skin

Neutrogena: Oil-Free Acne Wash.. Best for deeper cleaning and a cooling finish

Treating

Perhaps the most common and irritating trait of stress-induced skin problems are stubborn, large, and obvious pimples. If you’re like me, then stress means an increase in sweeter foods. With this stress, and sugar, your hormone levels are changing as well, and your natural production of hyaluronic acid decreased leaving your skin vulnerable to pimples and helpless against them.

This does not mean acne, which is a large quantity of smaller pimples. So instead of a general product to apply everywhere, I suggest the on-the-spot route to pinpoint and take down the stress pimples.

Products

Neutrogena: On-The-Spot Acne Treatment.. Best for a cooling touch to pimple, minimal sting

Mario Badescu: Drying Lotion.. Best for fighting red and puffy pimples, especially when used at night

Dermalogica: Breakout Control.. Best for it’s bacteria fighting formula and using under makeup