beauty

How to keep your skin clear during exams

It’s exam time for us students, which means a lack of sleep, routines turned upside down and a lot of stress. This can cause your skin to turn into spot central. So here are a few of my top tips to make sure your skin is A+ ready.

Obviously as students, we have to be careful with our finances, but sometimes to really look after your skin you have to pay a little extra. Superdrug (who offer 10% student discount) have their own skin and beauty range called B, which is a little pricey but it is great for your skin! I have never gone back since using B.

For those of us with sensitive skin, Simple’s skin care range is perfect as it’s a lot lighter on the skin compared to many others I’ve tried. This can help with breakouts as clogging up your face with thicker products can suffocate affected areas.

Keep it clean

Aside from washing your face, I would advice that you use a cleanser. You can get a range of them that do different things for your skin, but to save money and time, I use B’s own Micellar Water, which is available at £4.99 (150ml) from Superdrug. It is a 3 in 1 cleanser that cleans, tones and refreshes your skin. I just soak it in a cotton wool pad and sweep it once over my face. It smells really nice and is actually quite relaxing to use if you want to wind down after some revision. 

Or try Simple’s Kind to Skin Moistursing Facial Wash, which is available from Boots at £3.49 (150ml). It is so gentle on your skin and leaves it feeling soft before you start your day. 

If you are looking for a deeper facial wash that really gets to grips with your skin, then I would go with Simple’s Kind to Skin Vital Vitamin Foaming Cleanser, available at £4.49. It’s pump action produces a foam, which is really for removing make up but I find that my skin gets oily after a stressing about an exam, so using this can refresh your skin and remove all the oils.

Keep it exfoliated

Exfoliating helps remove any dead skin, which can be the cause of unwanted blemishes, bacteria and oils within the skin. Simple’s Triple Action Face Wash, £3.75 (150ml) does this, but is still kind to sensitive skin. Simply massage some onto wet skin and wash off with warm water after you have a lather.

I wouldn’t advise doing this on a daily basis, as exfoliating your skin means that you are taking layers off. If your face is already suffering from spots stear clear of this altogether as it will only irritate them further.

Keep it moisturised 

Depending on your skin type, everyone wants something different when it comes to moisturising. For during exams I have found Simple’s Hydrating Light Moisturiser, £3.99 (125ml) to be a godsend. It is a great base if you want to wear a bit of makeup before a big exam and is also really light on your face which means your skin won’t feel sticky or suffocated.

I have also taken a shine to the B. Ready Day Cream (Phase 1), which is £9.99 (50ml) from Superdrug. You might want to wear this when you are having a no makeup day and trust me, during exams we have a lot of those days! It is easy to apply, really smooth, leaves your skin looking nourished and most importantly gives that healthy glow you may need help with around this time.

Apart from using products, I make sure and recommend to you my dear Kettle Readers, that you drink plenty of water, eat lots of fruit and veg, get as much fresh air as possible and sleep well. Good luck!