Five Tips for Keeping Your Glow On (Even When You Feel Like Blah!)

If you’ve ever met a girl who hasn’t mentioned her skin problems at least once a week (though it’s more like once an hour for most of us here), you’ve probably met a unicorn: the rare gal with flawless skin.

Your skin has a mood of its own, and it doesn’t take much effort to flip its switches. It could be stress, it could be a breakup, it could be a change in the weather. But whatever it may be, it can absolutely ruin your day and your complexion. 

Realistically speaking, stress is unavoidable and you can’t look like a porcelain doll 24/7. But that doesn’t mean your skin has to look dead and dull when you’re having a bad day, right? That’s why we’ve curated our top five tips for keeping your glow — even when it feels like the world’s out to get you. 

#1. Exfoliate Your Skin With Some Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey

An early morning exfoliating scrub will leave your skin looking naturally radiant throughout the day. Using this recipe for a creamy, nourishing exfoliator will make your skin so bright and dewy, you’d probably ditch five of your skincare products already. 

All you need to do is combine half a cup of oatmeal with a 1/4th cup of milk and three tablespoons of honey. Mix it until all your ingredients are incorporated into a thick, rich, and grainy mixture. Pat the mixture on your face and leave it there for a minimum of five minutes before rinsing it off with some light, moisturizing soap. 

If you’ve got the ingredients lying around, you could also add an extra three teaspoons of brown sugar, 1/4th cup of yogurt, and coconut oil for an exfoliator that’s extra-nourishing (and also awesome for acne)! 

#2. Avoid Pollution

If you’ve been using the internet long enough, you’ve probably come across a Korean model and thought, “Okay, but her skin’s legit gorgeous though.” 

One of the interesting facts that we uncovered while cracking the secrets behind ultra-dewy and glowing Korean girls’ skin was the Korean environment. The lack of pollution and the sheer humidity and oxygen in their atmosphere serves as a natural, infinite moisturizer for their skin. 

Sure, you can’t replicate that here, but you can always stay away from the extra-polluted places and carry a moisturizing skincare product that has oxygen in its base formula to replicate skin that’s at least 20% similar to theirs.

#3. Use a Vitamin C moisturizer.

Moisturizers are a staple in every girl’s bag, but are you sure that you’re using the kind that’s best for your skin’s glow? Most common moisturizers are just extra oils and chemicals for your skin that do it no good. 

Of all the moisturizers available right now, Vitamin C moisturizers are definitely the most popular. And that’s because Vitamin C has some amazing anti-aging properties which clear off fine lines and wrinkles for smoother skin. They’re also brimming with antioxidant properties that brighten the skin and reverse the damages caused by UV radiation.

You’ll want to look for a Vitamin C moisturizer that’s also loaded up with cofactors such as beta-glucan for instant brightening and hydration to help restore that fresh glow to your face. Once you find your HG (holy grail), it’ll claim that coveted spot as the designated moisturizer in your bag. 

Oh, and if you’re acne-prone? Try to find one that’s oil-free, so you don’t have to worry about looking greasy 30 minutes after applying it (or deal with unwanted spots!). 

#4. Carry a Rose-Water Face Mist

Rose water’s got some wonderful anti-inflammatory properties, and is also an antioxidant, making it the perfect companion for those occasions when you really need to look super bright and dewy for a short amount of time. 

Just fill up some rose water in an empty mist sprayer bottle and spray it on for instant glow. Oh, and rose essence can also improve your mood, so what’s better than that on a bad day?

#5. Stay Hydrated

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve probably understood by now that the trick to glowing skin is moisture and humidity. But your skin doesn’t just need these two things externally; it needs to be nourished on the inside, too. 

Drinking water is the easiest way to give your skin some well-needed moisture from the inside. Even a small sip every 20 minutes or so can make a big difference! 

At the end of the day, all these tips are meaningless if you’re not happy on the inside, though. That means that your first aim after clearing a bad day should always be to turn that frown upside down. Treat yourself kindly (maybe take a nap, or enjoy a bubble bath) to help make your skin its happiest, brightest self!