10 Easily Overlooked Breakout Triggers!

Ever had an unexpected breakout?  I know I have, and it can be mind-boggling where those pesky blemishes are coming from.  Who knows, maybe there's something you've overlooked that can be fixed- and thus solve your breakout problem in a jiffy!

1. Hair Products Around Your Hairline
Especially leave-in conditioner after a shower.  Or hair gel.  If you tend to break out on the perimeters of your face, hair products could easily be the culprit.  Always wipe your skin clean all the way to the hairline after you wash or style your hair.

2. Your Hair Itself
Be it bangs or long locks, oily hair especially can transfer residue onto our face which can seep into your pores.  Keep your hair clean and off your face if possible.  Powder your face to protect your skin against the oil in your hair.  And if oily hair is an extreme problem, carry a small bottle of dry shampoo to comb through the front locks in the middle of your day.

3. Your Cellphone
Cell phone screens tend to be sticky and dirt and oils will cling to them.  Try not to press your cell phone against your face when you use it.  A quick tip is to use the hand sanitizer in your purse to carefully wipe it clean.

4. A Dirty Pillow
How often do you wash your pillowcase?  Once a week is ideal.  Oil from our skin can build up in our pillowcases over-night and become a breeding ground for bacteria.  Not grossed-out yet?  Go smell your pillow.  If you must have that "familiar scent" to lull you to sleep, hold another pillow (or stuffed animal I suppose) near you- but not against your face.

5. Cuddle Buddies
Any other person's face or skin touching yours will deposit foreign oils onto your skin.  And sometimes rub them into your pores... Their hair can also be a culprit.  As a makeup artist, I need to very careful about touching people's faces.  It's not too big of a deal, but if little Sally has a nightmare and insists on holding you tight all night, just make sure you cleanse your face in the morning. :)

6. Mindless Touching of Your Own Face
Not only your hands carry their own oils, but a lot of other dirt from the things you've touched as well.  If you have a habit of leaning your face into your hand, try leaning your neck onto your hand instead.  You'll feel your weight right below your ear.

7. Sweat
After a workout, always take a quick minute to wipe your face, chest, back and any other acne-prone areas.  Just take a washcloth and run it under some hot/ cold water in the restroom.  It feels great to let your face air dry as you stretch and cool down.

8. Contaminated Lotions
This one is a biggie.  If you have any facial products in a jar or pot, and your using your finger to scoop it out, it's probably contaminated.  Our fingernails carry a lot of germs, and lotions are wonderful places for them to grow and multiply.
I once had mysterious breakout all over my face soon after I started using a night cream in a jar.  I tossed it and bought a new one that I only use sanitized scoopers with.  All my acne cleared up within a couple days. 
This can be anything- a small plastic spoon, metal teaspoon, even that red stick you find in a handy snacks package.  Keep a small spray bottle of alcohol handy to give it a split-second spritz before scooping out product.

9. Picking at Your Face
Using your fingernails is a huge no-no.  It's like asking for acne.  They're filled with germs and you're basically scraping your skin open and rubbing germs in.  If you must extract, use a blemish extracting tool sanitized with a spritz of alcohol.  Or cover each finger with a clean tissue.  But even then, irritating an area that does not need to be extracted can cause a blemish to appear.  This has happened to me many times.  If it is a bad habit, try promising yourself not to pick at your face for three days.

10. Diet
Eating greasy, fried or just plain unhealthy food can make you more prone to breakouts.  Or you may have a mild allergy to something.  If this is a concern for you, try keeping a food diary and see if there are any connections to what you eat and any breakouts.

Hope this helped you to see if you have any hidden breakout triggers!  Now you can feel more confident that you taking good care of the beautiful face God gave you. <3

Tips for Super-Soft Feet

Aww, look at how soft and cute our feet started off when we were brand new little people.  But time, work and not tending to our feet can cause a lot of unwanted roughness.  Did you know that statistically men have softer feet than women because they wear socks more often?  It's okay, because here's is a great guide to help you get back to your beautiful soft feet.

Many tutorials offer different strategies and tools, but when it comes to making your feet softer, there are only three basic steps.

1. Exfoliate

~Soak your feet in water first or wait until the end of a shower so dead skin cells will come off more easily.

~Use a pumice stone, foot file, or cleanser with microbeads.  (You can also add sugar to an oil-based cleanser).  Exfoliating cleansers are popular b/c you can give yourself a foot massage at the same time :)

~The PedEgg tool is safe to exfoliate dry feet.

~Exfoliate smartly- do more on calluses and rougher areas.  Be gentle on softer areas.  Over-exfoliating will cause irritated, raw skin- ouch!

2. Moisturize

~Dead skin cells block the penetration of moisture, so now that you've exfoliated, your feet are ready to soak up the softness! :)

~Use a heavy duty moisturizer, such as a foot cream, night cream, anti-aging moisturizer, or body butter.  But honestly, plain old extra virgin olive oil also works great.  Whatever you use, apply a lot of it.

3. Seal in the moisture!

~Wear socks so walking around and air exposure don't undo all your hard work!  Microfiber material will help your feet absorb more moisture.  Wear them throughout the day or overnight to wake up to smoother, softer feet!

~Other methods include wrapping the feet in hot towels or other things.  But I've found that a good pair of socks have been the easiest.  Throw them in the dryer for a couple minutes if you want them luxuriously warm when you put them on.~

Keep using this technique and your feet will only get softer and softer...  Until you return to those baby-soft feet ;)

The Beautiful Season of Gratitude

It's the first day of the most colorful season of the year- Autumn, the season of gratitude.

I imagine God smiling down as he watches his most beautiful children jumping around in bouts of colorful leaves.  Or the wind blowing a woman's long locks and suddenly- ah!  A flower has landed in your hair.~

As this season begins, I hope you will take the path of gratitude.  It will open doors to joy you never knew were there.  It brings a warmth from within- a glowing peace that makes a face soft, bright and pretty.  Have you ever seen the most gorgeous child with an ungrateful look on her face?  It ruins all the beauty God intended for her to have!  Here are a few points to help you open up this season on a path to a more grateful, and beautiful heart.

1. See the Positive Things

~There is a delicate balance between hoping for more and being content with what we have.  Being angry about how "little" we have may be a sign of greed or fear that God is unable to care of us.  Desiring more is okay as long as it doesn't take over our thoughts and make us bitter.   Being able to focus on our current blessings and take joy from God's generosity is key.  But how do we do this?


 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." -Philippians 4:8

"...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." -1Thessalonians 5:18 


Praticals to try:

*Try taking a prayer walk only saying thank you.  Don't stop until your walk is over!

* Find a song of praise and sing it.  This often changes my mood when I'm upset and I don't know what to say.

*Take time at the the end of each day to write down 3 things you were grateful for from that day.  I did this for a while, and no matter how negatively I may have seen my life at times, reading over that list always made me feel better.

2. Resolve Any Bitterness

~This is a command of God.  Bitterness is a huge killer of joy and gratitude. 

 "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." -Hebrews 12:14-15

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  ¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." -Colossians 3:12-15

~Depending on the types of hurts we may have, further bible study on this subject may be necessary.

3. Let it Shine!

~Allow your gratitude to shine throughout your day as a form of worship to God!  This fruit was meant to be savored. 

~Be careful not to get distracted from the proper times to grieve and have compassion for yourself and others.  Remember, there is "a time to weep and a time to dance." (Ecc 4:4)  And "like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart." (Prov 25:20) Usually however, there is a need for more gratitude in our lives.

I hope you enjoyed this Bible Study.  May the Fall season bring you more beautiful smiles of gratitude than ever.

And remember to say...

"I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!  Body and soul, I am marvelously made!   I worship in adoration—what a creation." -Psalm 139:14 msg