How You Can Continue To Be A Skin Nerd At Work

Being in an office environment all day long can pose some specific skin concerns. Air- conditioning or fans can dehydrate your skin, the screens you are probably surrounded by emit possibly skin-damaging blue light. You may not often think about it but the great indoors can be detrimental to your skin. So, how do you tackle this?

The Skin Nerd Jennifer Rock

Spritz O’Clock

This is the nerdy way of saying frequent use of a hydrating facial mist. Facial mists refresh the skin with H20, rosewater, essential oils and other fabulous ingredients so that your skin doesn’t shrivel up. On top of that, they awaken your makeup so that you’re not looking sweaty or crusty come lunchtime.

Avéne’s classic Eau Thermale Thermal Spring Water spray is ideal for this. If you want a little more than hydration, Academíe Scientifiqué de Beauté’s Stop Pollution Anti-Pollution Mist hydrates the skin whilst protecting it from pollutants. For a spritz that soothes the skin and the senses, YonKa Lotion contains their signature blend of balancing essential oils.

The best thing about Spritz O’Clock is that it can be wherever you like as often as you like! Spritzing will help with hydration but realistically, you need to have additional hydrating skingredients in your routine too. Skin dehydration is such an issue for people today due to mod cons like screens and air-con.

Protect Your Skin From Blue Light

Blue light, aka HEV or high energy visible light, is a form of visible light that is thought to cause something called ‘screen face’. We’re not 100 percent sure of the extent of damage that HEV can cause to the skin but it is possible that it impairs the skin’s barrier function and could contribute to problems with pigment.
Murad City Skin Age Defense Broad Spectrum SPF 50 is a lightweight sunscreen that protects from HEV light as well as both UVA and UVB rays. It has a very slightly peachy, demi-matte finish so it plays well with makeup.

You also need topical antioxidants as blue light exposure means more free radicals. Free radicals contribute to accelerated ageing by causing something called oxidative stress within the skin and we need to up our skin’s antioxidants so that it can battle them off.

Give The Wipes A Miss

Do you use wipes to remove your old make-up prior to reapplying your post- work-party look? That’s a skin sin, my friend. Many contain alcohols, fragrances and preservatives that strip the skin, dehydrating it, and impair its essential barrier function. Opt for a skin-friendly Cleanse Off Mitt, €5.95, instead. It’s just as quick and easy, in my opinion… I did create it though so I’m biased.

Don’t Forget Your Lips!

Your lips don’t have sebaceous glands, meaning that they don’t have the glands that pump out lubricating, protective
oil like the rest of your skin does (you never know, maybe we’ll evolve to have this skill in future). This is why you’ll often notice that your lips feel dehydrated before the other parts of your body do.

You need both a lip scrub and a nourishing, hydrating lip balm. You can make your lip scrub yourself – just mix coconut oil with granulated sugar and find a suitable portable container. Very gently roll it across your lips with your finger and then try your best not to eat it off. Once removed, you can apply your hydrating lip balm, which will now penetrate better as you’ve gotten rid of the collection of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin.

Get your hands on ‘The Skin nerd: Your Straight-Talking Guide To Feeding, Protecting & Respecting Your Skin’ and you’ll understand all the lingo! Published by Hachette, €17.99