Katie Harper-Penman: How to Get Clear Skin

January has been full of detoxing for me.
I have embarked on the ambitious (for me) and challenging journey of Dry January which is a what a lot of people do after all the heavy drinking at Christmas and New Years Eve. To be completely honest with you, it's easier said than done.
I had gotten so used to reaching for the bottle of Pinot with my dinner or when I was running one of my Lush baths and it got into a habit that I couldn't imagine breaking.
So after Christmas I decided I had abused myself enough with the Booze, the party food, the goats cheese and Celebration boxes and wanted to try and get my body back to it's normal rhythm.
I cut the drink, I have tried my best to cut bread but have had a few cheeky slices of toast here and there but the biggest effect on my body was my skin!
After all the junk food I just broke out in so many spots and my skin was clearly unhappy!

I know I am not the only one to suffer from this breakout as a result of the festive season but Christmas is over so I vowed this spell of bad skin would be too! Below are some of my tips on how to get clearer skin, they have definitely worked for me the past 3 weeks to clear up the mess made from Christmas!

First, always start by taking your make-up off and cleansing your face. I love using this Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. It's very similar to the Bioderm Cleansing water is a cheaper alternative. It also lasts ages as you get 400ml!!
It is really gentle and most importantly, it doesn't dry out your skin.
This has no scent which is a bonus because I usually find with other cleansers that they have quite a sweet scent and don't like that on my face.

I then like to go onto washing it with the Body Shop's Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser. Tea tree, I think, is one of the best things for clearing spots as it contains antibacterial properties which makes it a good alternative to other synthetic chemicals that can be quite harsh on our skin.
Because this is so gentle and soothing you can use it daily, morning or evening whatever suits your skin routine better. It also smells really fresh and great for waking you and your skin up in the morning!

Then I just wash it off with a clean flannel because I hate splashing my face with water and getting my hair, floor and all contents of my bathroom completely wet!!

When I am not in a rush in the morning I like to use the Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub and Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser. I wouldn't suggest using these every day as they are quite strong.

I'd recommend using the scrub once maybe twice a week just to get rid of dry, dead skin because it is very coarse and gritty and can be too much for our delicate skin every day.

If my skin is particularly bad that day I will also reach for my Cosmetic Warrior face mask from Lush.

This was recommended to me by one of the lovely ladies who work in my local shop. I told her I have really dry skin but also suffer from a lot of spots and I want a face mask that can tackle both problems. She immediately recommended Cosmetic Warrior and it sounded about right.

My skin tends to suffer from an wearing an excessive amount of make up on a daily basis and this makes really tackles that problem.

It consists of garlic which has antiseptic properties, but don't worry it doesn't stink of garlic! It also has tea trea WOO! and Kaolin which is a type of clay which is supposed to be deep cleansing!

I'm currently sniffing it to be able to describe the smell!

Its definitely got the tea tree scent but is also sweet as there is a bit of honey in it too. but overall not over powering.

I usually reach for this mask on one of my pampering/staying in nights where I'll have a long hot bath, light some candles and read a book, as it is Dry January that is minus the wine!