6 Easy Ways to Keep Your Skin Clear When You're Busy with Life

I'm a busy professional working as a news writer in Toronto Canada. For a long time, I found it difficult to work a skincare routine into my daily life, but through doing lots of extensive research on the internet I have finally figured out the best ways to keep my skin clear without wasting precious time.

When I was a teenager, I had terrible acne-prone skin. I would see colourful commercials with beautiful women with perfect skin promoting skincare products, and I even tried a few until I realized a majority of them didn't work. Not knowing what to do, I put my skincare on the back burner and decided not to waste my money on products. I would just wash my face with whatever soap was at my disposal, and I didn't clear up my acne properly. Sitting here at age 28, I have acne scars from all of my years of not knowing what to do; I consider them "battle scars" in the war against bad skin and clogged pores. Again, through research, I've started to see results in shrinking the scars, and some of them have even disappeared forever.

The point of me telling you this story is: No matter where you're starting from (with less-than-ideal skin you want to correct OR perfect skin that you want to maintain) it's possible to see results. If you're in the same boat and looking for a way to easily take care of your skin without both breaking the bank and losing time in your daily life, read on and you may be pleasantly surprised.

One thing I do want to preface this with is everyone's skin is different! Something that may work for me may not work for you. You may have more sensitive skin than I do. It's just the nature of the beast, unfortunately. That said, I'm still confident that this will get you into a routine of making time for skincare.

After all, your face is important when you're a busy bee working at moving up in your career, or out in the dating world where you want to look your best.

1) Set aside 30 minutes each day for skincare and "me time."

Okay, I know I said that it would be easy for people with busy schedules, but the single most important thing about caring for your skin is to set aside a bit of time every single day to focus on you. At first, it may seem like a waste of time, but I promise when you start seeing results you'll be happy you made the choice. You can even work on things at home while you're following along with the steps in this guide.

2) Exfoliate up to three times a week.

Exfoliation involves the removal of the oldest dead skin cells on the skin's outermost surface. You can see why this would be beneficial when caring for your skin; you're literally getting rid of the dirty skin and shedding it off to reveal better skin underneath. Now that you feel like a snake, let me tell you what the best exfoliation methods are. There are different ways to get rid of dead skin cells; you can buy an exfoliation product that has tiny grains in it (I recommend) OR if you do have the time you can make one yourself by combining coconut oil and sugar in a small bowl. It's the perfect DIY exfoliation product made up from products already around your house, and you don't need to spend any extra money. Once you've decided what type of exfoliation you are going to use, it's time to apply. You want to put whatever product you've chosen on your face and rub it in a circular motion, just hard enough that you feel like you're massaging your face with the grainy parts.

You'll want to start by doing this twice a week and decide whether it's working enough just two times a week. If not, add an extra day. You don't want to be exfoliating TOO much; too much of anything isn't a good thing. Once you're done enjoying the massage, you're onto the next step.

3) Take off ALL makeup as soon as possible.

The exfoliation step may have helped with this, but you want to make sure you don't leave behind any makeup from your day in this step. Leaving makeup on for extended periods of time, especially if you use makeup all over your face, can cause your skin to break out. Especially if you leave it on as you sleep. When I get home from work, if I've applied makeup that day (I don't always wear makeup; sometimes I let my skin breathe instead) I remove it immediately. The most important thing is to remove it before you sleep. You could take all of my other advice and not follow this step and you'll be back to square one, so make sure you remove all makeup.

4) Use a toner every day, twice a day.

Once you have revealed the beautiful fresh skin underneath the dead skin cells after exfoliation, you want to start the actual cleaning process of unclogging the dirt from your pores. I say to do this twice a day, once when you wake up and once right before you go to bed. Some people may think, "If I do it before I go to bed, why do I have to do it again when I wake up?" The answer is simple: you sweat and collect dirt in your pores as you sleep, and it's important to clear this out immediately if you don't want to break out. I'm about to give you the absolute best advice I could give you in this entire guide: Witch Hazel. Witch Hazel is a miracle product for skin. It comes in a big bottle from any drug store (so it lasts a long time) and it leaves your skin feeling refreshed and clean, and is perfect for people with sensitive skin as well.

This next part is optional for anyone who may have acne-prone skin: As I mentioned before I struggled with acne for many years, so I also opt to do a follow-up salicylic acid toner (I use Clinique Clarifying Lotion for this since it's readily available at a drug store near me). Salicylic acid is one of acne's biggest enemies and the biggest reason I was able to finally break free from break-outs!

5) Use a face mask up to four times a week.

You know how I said some of these steps you can do without having to actually take time away from your work? Before you clean your bathroom or vacuum your floors, simply apply a face mask and let it work its magic while you get things done. I personally prefer to do these when I get home from work—I put one on, lay down with cucumbers on my eyes, and pamper myself. However you choose to do your face mask, make sure you do it.

I stumbled upon these little packaged face masks from Shoppers Drug Mart (that's in Canada, though). For you non-Canadians, I'm sure your local drug store will have some like this. Otherwise, you can look up alternatives for where you live. Some of the face masks I use are sheets that fit over my face, some of them are mud-based, some of them are clay, some of them harden and peel off, and others have effects like "moisturizing," "clarifying," and "purifying." You can mix and match them too! I sometimes "multi-mask" by starting with a clay mask then finishing with a moisturizing mask. This step is completely up to you and how you feel each day. I wrote "four times a week," but you could always experiment with this step and do it less or more for your desired result.

You can either slather on a mask of your choice with your hands or you can use a thick fluffy makeup brush to apply it. If you opt to do it with your hands, make sure your hands are very clean. Likewise with the makeup brush, you don't want to be slathering on old dirt along with your mask that could be on the brush or under your nails!

The mask on the left in this photo is my favourite.

6) Moisturize your skin before you go to sleep and before makeup.

This final step is really important. Moisturizing keeps everything clear and makes it harder for dirt to penetrate your pores (which as I explained earlier in this article is extremely important before you go to sleep). It also makes sure your makeup doesn't sit in your pores and clog them up as well. It can also have a "smoothing" effect on makeup, making it look creamier and blend into your skin easier, which is an added bonus. Choose your favourite brand of moisturizer (I personally use Aveeno products) and massage it into your skin with freshly-washed hands. You don't need to use a ton of moisturizer; using too much can result in oily-looking skin. You just need a light, thin layer all over your face and neck.

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And that's it! Easy, right? All of this may sound like it takes a long time, but I'm a very busy person and I do all of this twice a day and it's worked wonders for my skin. I feel good because I look good, and I know I'm taking care of myself, which makes me feel even better. You can too!

I have a few extra prevention strategies to keep in mind:

• Limit your sugar intake. Foods high in sugar and saturated fats (such as candy, fried foods, ice cream, sodas, white bread, and anything else with a main ingredient of sugar) can cause spikes in your insulin levels that further cause inflammation in your skin. If you've ever noticed you break out after eating something sugary, this is why. I try my very best not to have any sugar if I want to keep my skin looking its best.
• Buy a silk pillow to sleep on. This one is one I just found out this past year and since switching to pure silk, I've noticed a huge difference in my skin (and this also benefits your hair as well!). Pillowcases made entirely of silk are said to help prevent wrinkles and breakouts, help skin stay hydrated, and even regulate body heat. The moisture pulled into a regular cotton pillow can draw in allergens and bacteria, which can cause damage and reactions to your hair and skin. Sleeping on a silk surface means less moisture will be taken from your skin and hair and reduces the friction between your skin against the pillow. You also want to make sure your pillow is washed fairly often (this goes for any pillow, as you want to make sure you're getting any of the dirt it's pulled out of your hair and face as often as possible)
• Go easy on foundation/concealer. Foundation and concealers highlight your best features on your face and are great for covering up acne and scars. But using a heavy foundation or concealer all over your face can clog your pores and actually cause breakouts. Which will mean more concealer and foundation. It's a vicious cycle. To combat this, I only use foundation/concealer if I have a breakout during a day where I NEED to look my best (for example a job interview, or meeting up with an old friend, or going on a date). Otherwise, I don't use foundation or concealer at all. You may not feel like you look your best, but your skin will thank you. Following the steps in this guide will make it so that you don't need to rely on foundation or concealer to look like you have great skin anymore. You will be able to show off your clean and clear skin and people will think it looks way better than caked-on foundation!
• Get regular facials. This one is optional, only because I promised this guide would be a cheap and easy way for the average busy person to keep up with skincare. However, I wanted to mention it because I do highly recommend it if you can fit it into your schedule. Make sure the person giving you the facial is an esthetician and knows what they're doing (do your research, look up reviews, etc.). Facials can sound scary, but I promise you will feel pampered throughout the process (I sometimes even fall asleep it's so relaxing!). If you've never had a facial before, you're in for a treat. An experienced esthetician will use expensive products on your face that wouldn't be readily available to the average person, and they will have tools to look into your pores and find dirt that your daily routine might have left behind. I highly recommend getting a facial done once a month. You won't regret it.