Beauty Sleuth #8: “Help me! I can’t breathe!”

I hear from clients and friends that they don’t want to apply skincare at night because they “want to let their skin breathe.” Recently, I had a client say this to me and then ask, “Does that make sense?” and then “Maybe you could do one of your beauty myth buster video blog things about it!” 

So here you go! Let’s demystify this “thang”. With just a little bit of research, one can determine that skin doesn’t “breathe”. Look, the top layer of skin is dead! It ain’t breathin’! Now the living layers of skin are beneath the top layers, and these living layers are nourished by oxygen and nutrients from the blood supply.

What I think people are asking about or referencing, when they say “I need to give my skin a chance to breathe” is “I don’t want to apply something to my skin that is clogging the pores.” That being said, my significant other (!) surmises that this statement comes from being a youngster, when you are told not to put a band-aid on a boo-boo (his word, not mine) so that it can “breathe”. (I looked that one up too and it makes no sense, but I digress.) 

Let’s go with when people say I need my skin to “breathe”, they’re actually referring to whether the pores are clogged! I also think this statement is tied up with the one I addressed earlier about whether or not makeup can make you break out. 

When it comes to skincare, there can definitely be too much of a good thing. More doesn’t always equal better. The doctors I work with (Dr. Rodan and Dr. Fields) often make a comparison to a plant being watered. If the plant doesn’t need any more water, it just runs out the bottom and you are essentially wasting money. And if you water the plant three times a day, it will not receive triple the benefits! Sometimes too much water is even detrimental to the plant! So follow the rules for the best results. You need to use the right amount of skincare to make the difference to your skin that you are paying for, but not so much that you are wasting money. That’s why you should always ask “how long will this skincare last?” Your skincare provider should know. Dr. Rodan and Dr. Fields’ skincare comes in a 60 to 90 supply depending on how fast you ramp up to using it every day. If you are not replenishing that often, then you are not going to get results either. It’s like a lot of things in life…too much isn’t great…too little isn’t either.

Instead of applying nothing to your skin at night to let it “breathe”, take advantage of your skin’s best rejuvenation hours! Pollution, bacteria, makeup and useless dead cells should be removed every night, and then your skincare routine applied. In your sleep, your skin is in its natural repair cycle and that’s when there is the greatest potential for the penetration of beneficial ingredients. Plus, sleep is when your body recovers from a busy day, and your skin cells undergo repair and turn over slightly faster to help your complexion appear bright and healthy-looking when you wake up. “Well-rested” skin has a chance to soak up the benefits of your daily skincare routine.

The bottom line is if you feel that your skin is suffocating when you wear make-up or skincare, switch to a different kind of make-up and skincare. There are more than enough foundation formats to choose from, and more than enough skincare regimens on the market to address all of your needs in a way that feels good on your skin!