5 Bad habits you need to break if you want clear skin

I spent many years trying to figure out how to heal my acne, and I eventually made a career out helping women who have the same struggle.

A lot of things that can contribute to acne, and the last thing you want to do is make the problem worse. Unfortunately, I see a lot of people do just that without realizing it.

Using too many products

Many people think acne is a topical problem, so they rely solely on topical products. Products can help, but more doesn’t mean better.

Acne-prone skin is often sensitive to products and ingredients. The more you use, the more breakouts you’re likely to cause.

My tip: Keep to the basics. Use a gentle cleanser, a toner and a simple moisturizer. Use a spot treatment on occasion, and try to find products with as few ingredients as possible.

Constantly using harsh products

Still clinging to a topical solution, many people use harsh, aggressive products to fight acne.

Unfortunately, many of these products can cause inflammation in the skin, which triggers acne. These products leave skin vulnerable and less able to fight infection, and some products potentially causes as much acne as it treats.

My tip: Use milder products that promote healing, and save anything aggressive for occasional spot treatment.

Over-exfoliating

The upper layer of your skin protects your skin and maintains the water and oil balance. Constantly stripping away that outer layer can lead to skin vulnerability, irritation and inflammation — which won’t help your acne.

My tip: Exfoliate no more than twice a week if you use a buffing exfoliator. If using a product that chemically exfoliates — such as with enzymes — use it for a few weeks, then take a week off. Always be extremely gentle if you have active acne.

Picking

Popping pimples has a lot of potential problems — and zero benefits.

The pore is already in a very delicate state, so popping it is likely to cause more damage and increase the likelihood of scarring. You may rupture the pore lining, pushing that “gunk” into the bloodstream, making the infection worse and irritating other pores around it. You could also permanently damage the pore opening, resulting in a larger pore that is more likely to have problems in the future.

My tip: Whenever you feel the urge to pop, try distracting yourself and doing something else with your hands. No joke, I used to kept bubble wrap in my bathroom so I could pop it instead of my pimples!

Analyzing every pore on your face

Another common habit for those with acne is constantly looking over every inch of skin. It’s the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing before going to bed.

You may think it’s helpful trying to decide if your skin is better or worse, counting how many new pimples showed up, debating if that pimple on your chin is bigger — but it’s not.

Over-analyzing your skin can create stress and anxiety, and stress leads to breakouts. So in a way, by constantly paying attention to your acne, you’re keeping it there.

My tip: Set a timer when you go into the bathroom that gives you just enough time to wash up. You’ll be less likely to hang around the mirror and analyze your skin. If you cannot resist the urge, seriously consider covering the bathroom mirror for a while. I had to do that!

Breaking these habits and following my suggestions will go a long way in letting your skin heal and prevent you from sabotaging your skin care efforts.

Source:Sheknows

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What really happens when you sleep in makeup?

You don't need a degree in dermatology to realize that sleeping with your makeup on is a horrible idea. It's not good for your skin or your sheets. You might think, It's late. I'm tired. What's the harm of crashing out without washing my face just this once? Well, it causes more harm than you might think. Going to be bed without washing your face is bad news and can have a cumulative harmful effect. Here's the icky stuff that happens to your skin, your lashes, and beneath the surface when you nix removing your makeup before bedtime.


Pores get clogged

Sleeping with makeup on is murder on your pores. "Going to bed with makeup on will leave you with clogged pores, since so many makeup [products] have ingredients like silicones that block the pores," Debra Jalman, a New York City-based, board-certified dermatologist and author of Skin Rules: Trade Secrets From A Top New York Dermatologist, tells me. "When the pores are blocked, your skin gets bumpy. If you are acne-prone, it can even lead to breakouts." You are effectively damaging skin by neglecting to remove makeup at the end of the day.

You get acne

Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr. Harold Lancer points to the fact that our skin never stops working, just like our hearts never stop beating. He tells me, "Just like our internal organs, our skin is always at work. Skin is made up of water, protein, lipids, and different minerals and chemicals. Skin is also covered in pores, which allow us to sweat and secrete sebum, a natural lubricant that moisturizes skin and removes dead skin cells and other irritants from our pores. When you apply makeup, you block your pores from releasing sebum, which may lead to visibly larger pores and acne overtime."

Dr. J. Matthew Knight of FAAD Knight Dermatology Institute also notes that "the mechanical pressure of your face on a pillow can grind makeup into hair follicles, leading to clogged pores acne." Losing a few minutes of shut eye in favor making use of some cold cream and face wash doesn't seem like such a hassle when you think of it from that perspective, does it?


You damage skin cells

Skin cells are also damaged by the practice of sleeping in makeup. Dr. Knight sums it up best, saying, "Makeup can trap environmental pollutants and free-radicals that can damage skin cells, including collagen, leading to premature skin aging." So not only does crashing out with your concealer on ultimately clog pores and lead to zits, but it can also speed up the aging process. Ack.

Your skin becomes dull

Dewy, glowing, soft, and smooth skin is usually a desired trait. Dull, sallow, or parched skin is not. If you use a makeup product, like a highlighter, to impart some peachy pink glow, that's great. But sleeping in it can cause the opposite effect. "Our skin is the largest organ of our body and it performs vital functions for our body, like secreting sweat, excreting lipids, healing wounds and heat regulation," New York-licensed esthetician and makeup artist Liz Donat tells me.

"So it is imperative that we cleanse and exfoliate it regularly and we especially do not sleep in our makeup! Clogged pores and blackheads, aka comedones, are formed when dead skin cells, oil and makeup get trapped in the pores and suffocate the skin," she continued. "These clogged pores are the pre-cursor to acne-like breakouts and make the skin look dull and lifeless." That's reason enough to reach for a makeup remover wipe or a washcloth, no matter how late it is or no matter how tired you are.


You interfere with the reparatory process

Our bodies regenerate while we are at rest. The same holds true for our skin. Lancer says, "Skin repairs itself while we sleep, so taking off your makeup at night is important because it allows your pores to release sebum that rehydrates and protects your skin from free radicals in the air." If you leave makeup on, it disrupts these critical processes.



You set yourself back

As stated, when you sleep, skin regenerates and heals itself. One night of sleeping with makeup on can and will disrupt the delicate balance of your skin and set you back. Dermatologist Dr. Kathy Taghipour of Savana Urban Spa tells me, "When you sleep, your skin regenerates. When your pores are blocked, your skin can't breathe, and thus it can't regenerate. The oil in your pores build-up and transform itself into a bacteria, which can lead to various skin problems. After a night with your makeup on, your skin will need about a week to restore its previous condition and to balance again everything." A whole week? It's not worth it. Take that makeup off, people!

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Whatever happened to the girl from Dirty Dancing?

You may have first seen her in Red Dawn or Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but there's no denying that Jennifer Grey's most iconic role is Frances "Baby" Houseman in 1987's Dirty Dancing. Now more than 30 years old, the beloved movie is a favorite of people of all ages and, despite its 1960s setting, somehow feels truly timeless. Although a 2017 television remake tried to capture some of that charm, it was ultimately a flop. While Abigail Breslin did her best to channel Baby, many were left wondering what happened to the original Baby after all these years. So just what has Jennifer Grey been up to since carrying that watermelon? We've got the answers!


She was in a car accident with Matthew Broderick

Even if you remember that Grey played Matthew Broderick's sister in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you may not remember that she was also in a relationship with Broderick. Even more under the radar, then, is the fact that Grey and Broderick were in a serious car accident just before Dirty Dancing was released. While on vacation in Ireland, the pair were in a rented car when Broderick (who was driving) collided head on with another driver, killing two people.

While Grey only suffered bumps and bruises externally, the accident left her with emotional scars. "I became America's sweetheart within five days of the accident," she told People in 2010. "The juxtaposition of that deep sorrow, the survivor's guilt … and then being celebrated as the new big thing just didn't jibe. It didn't feel good to be the toast of the town."

So Grey didn't relish her newfound fame like she likely would have otherwise, choosing instead to take a bit of a step back. "The impact was emotional and physical," she said in the People interview. "My body was never the same, my head was never the same, my ambition was never the same."


She was in Bloodhounds of Broadway with Madonna

While Grey didn't embrace her Dirty Dancing fame the way she might have if not for the accident, she did take on another silver screen role when she starred alongside Madonna and Matt Dillon in Bloodhounds of Broadway in 1989. While Grey's performance was met with mixed reviews (Variety said she did "a good job"), the film was met with overall negative reviews (with The New York Times noting that it "never gets going"). But if nothing else, Grey's duet with Madonna showed audiences that not only could she dance, she could also sing.

She dated Johnny Depp

After her relationship with Matthew Broderick, Grey was linked to another Hollywood actor. After A Nightmare on Elm Street, but before Cry Baby and Edward Scissorhands, none other than Johnny Depp wooed Grey. While they were only together for a year, and famously only appeared in a single photograph together, the two were actually engaged during their short romance. Given the current state of Depp's personal and financial life, we'd say the actress probably dodged a bullet. (Add that to things we never thought we'd say a couple of years ago.)


She got a nose job

While 1989 might have been the year she was in a movie with Madonna as well as the year she was engaged to Johnny Depp, it wasn't all positive. It was also the year she got the nose job that changed everything. Well, sort of. It was 1989 when Grey got her first nose job, a decision that People notes was a choice that perhaps "most ambitious people would not have made" as it "radically altered her appearance" in the long run. But that could have been because fame wasn't really what Grey was after, with the impact of the car accident with Broderick still lingering. "I really felt like I wanted to be a wife and a mom," she told People, but her acting days were not yet over.

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What a 30-day break from smoking weed does to your brain.

Cannabis is now legal in Canada and several U.S. states, but its effects on the brain aren’t fully understood

A new study offers “convincing evidence” of how temporarily quitting smoking marijuana affects young people’s brains.

Here’s something pot-using teens should remember: Swearing off marijuana for a month may improve memory.

A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital offers “convincing evidence” that adolescents and young adults who abstain from marijuana for 30 days are better at acquiring and storing new information compared to their counterparts who persist in the pot puffing.

The memory improvements — specifically the capacity to absorb new information and access it at a later date — could be seen as early as a week into abstinence, researchers said in the findings, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

This study provides convincing evidence that adolescents and young adults may experience improvement in their ability to learn new information when they stop using cannabis.’

“Declarative memory, particularly encoding of novel information, was the aspect of memory most impacted by cannabis abstinence,” it concluded.

“This study provides convincing evidence that adolescents and young adults may experience improvement in their ability to learn new information when they stop using cannabis,” they wrote, noting adolescent marijuana use is “widespread” and will likely increase. Researchers worked from a sample of 88 Boston-area marijuana smokers between the age of 16 and 25. The people selected to forgo marijuana had to take urine tests.

In fact, some teens are more likely to use weed than they are to drink alcohol. The majority of the 55 million recreational marijuana users in the U.S. are millennials, according to a 2017 Yahoo News poll. Meanwhile, millennials drink far less alcohol than past generations, an annual national survey of 50,000 adolescents and young adults in America from the Monitoring the Future Study found.

More U.S. states have legalized marijuana

The study comes as fully legalized marijuana use is taking root in some parts of the U.S. and nationwide in Canada. Recreational marijuana use is legal for ages 21 and up in the District of Columbia and nine states, including Massachusetts.

Other states, including New Jersey, are eyeing full legalization. Medical marijuana is legal in another 22 states, as doctors note the drug’s benefits for conditions like chronic pain and glaucoma. Canada legalized the use of recreational marijuana on Oct. 17.

Meanwhile, cannabis companies are also getting a lot of investor attention these days — even with the market recently harshing a good buzz. Monday capped another tough day for cannabis companies including Aurora CannabisACB, +10.55% Aleafia Health Inc. ALEAF, -0.59%  and Cronos CRON, +2.85%

“In this era of widespread cannabis legalization, we need to be mindful of more prevention programs for adolescents and young adults,” Randi Schuster, the study’s lead author, told MarketWatch. The study noted that two years ago high-school senior perceptions of regular marijuana use as harmful were “at or near historic lows.”

Schuster, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and senior author A. Eden Evins noted that the findings focus on a critical time in a person’s life, while their brain is still maturing and they are going to school.

Evins, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School, said the study included “weekend users” who might be under the impression that a hazy Saturday night didn’t matter for an upcoming test. “That may not be the case,” Evins said. “They may be okay for the test in a week’s time.”

The authors said the study was the first of its kind to examine whether cognitive improvement happened with abstinence, and when that improvement happened. “What we found was surprising,” said Schuster. There was a lot of improvement in just one week, the study found.

The tell-tale differences were found in participants’ ability to absorb new information, like a broader vocabulary. “Those who maintained abstinence learned more words than those who continued to use cannabis,” the study said.

Experimenters acknowledged they lacked a non-using control group to measure the improvements. A broader version of the experiment is planned, using 13- to 19-year-olds and a control group comprised of people, Schuster said.

The forthcoming study will look into memory and attention, but also other mental tasks like decision-making, she noted. Including a non-using control will help researchers determine if abstinence returns certain cognitive tasks back to a normal baseline, Schuster said. Findings are expected in about a year.

The newly-released study noted marijuana is thought to impact brain maturation through tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is the chemical that causes the user’s high and the study involved changes in THC levels.

But there’s a whole other angle to the budding cannabis market, and its effects are still being studied as well. Another component of marijuana is cannabidiol,which reportedly helps with anxiety and inflammation without any high. The CBD market is estimated to grow to $2 billion by 2020.

Source:marketwatch

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