The crucial make-up mistake we all make now that we are at home

Maybe I ran to my mascara in shock this week when I had already pressed accept for the online meeting. Suddenly I realized that I might have brushed my hair, but I was still working with a bare-faced look. Not that it matters, but if I have to look at myself for an hour (because let's be honest: you look at yourself more often than at colleagues) I want to look a bit nice.

But all those make-up-free days are doing a lot of good for my skin. The second puberty that was happening on my chin is three-quarters resolved and my mother asked if I had secretly been to the botox clinic because my forehead is so smooth. Time to ask Skin Clinics  skin therapist Annelijn van Ierland what we can do to keep it this way.

Annelijn, we are still at home quite a bit, is there anything we should pay attention to?
“Make sure you maintain that daily skincare routine, even if you’re not going out. Now that we are home a lot, you might take an extra walk, where you especially need sunscreen to protect yourself but also cleansing. You still have to deal with substances in the air, even if the air quality is better. If you have an unsettled skin, it’s even more important to keep that routine. If you don’t, sebum and dirt will accumulate in your skin. You can even see it if you skip a night of cleansing, the next day your skin is just a bit duller. Clean well in the evening and take care of your skin with creams. So don’t think it’s not necessary just because you’re not using make-up and are at home a lot.’

Our skin is also coming out of intelligent lockdown, what to do?
“I’m for adding some specials to your routine, as I call them. Think of a serum with antioxidants, products with vitamin C and E or make a mask with avocado yourself. My advice is to leave vitamin A a bit more for now, because you’re probably getting more sun. Now that all practices are open again but we are still at home quite a bit, this is the moment to tackle your skin with a laser treatment.”

Read immediately: what lasering does for your skin.

Another tip we don’t think of quickly?
“Watch out for sugars, because they are not good for your skin. Make a smoothie with fruit, because that is much better than grabbing a bag of candy and it’s easy to prepare now that we are at home a lot. Start with pineapple, it has loads of vitamin C, is good for the body and your skin loves it too. The condition is of course that it is fresh.”