How does the Monsoon Affect your Skin?

This cool fresh air, earthy smell that emerges from the soil and trees bathed with the rain droplets makes everyone’s mood on top of the world. We feel so amazing, don’t we? But oh! So lovely weather comes the wave of humidity which leaves our skin dull. Usually, monsoon is a very tough time for our skin as it causes lots of other problems like itching, rashes, acne breakouts, oily skin, blackheads, and whiteheads.

Also, this is the time when infection-causing bacteria are viruses that spread at a rapid rate. Humidity gives rise to various bacteria and fungi, getting drenched in the rain often or wearing wet clothes and shoes for a long time can lead to the same bacteria and fungi growing on your skin. Listed below are some of the common skin problems people face during monsoon season:

• Fungal Infections: One of the most common fungal infections like facial folliculitis occurs during monsoon in which there is inflammation of hair follicles on your face. It looks like tiny red bumps and white-headed pimples around the hair follicles.
• Excessive Sweating: On days when the weather is very dry, your sweat evaporates quickly and takes away all the heat from the body making it cool. But on days when the weather is way too humid like the monsoon, sweat will take long hours to evaporate completely leading to excessive sweating. Excessive sweating can clog your pores that are directly linked to acne and breakouts. To avoid this, take proper hygiene of your skin.
• Skin Allergies: Skin allergies are common, especially in places where pollution is way too high. Monsoon weather is a bonus to such allergies as this will aggregate the condition even more. Commonly affected areas include the upper back, hand, and feet.
• Eczema: Yet another common skin condition that gets worse with damp and humid weather is eczema. The itchy blisters on your skin can be due to irritation on the skin’s surface from rainwater, humidity, and fabrics like silks, satins, polyesters, etc. one should avoid such rough fabrics and rather go for cotton fabric clothes.

Ways to avoid these skin conditions are:

• Feed your skin with a nutritious diet. Include foods rich in Vitamin C like pears, jamun, litchis and peaches as it helps in killing the infected cells in the body. Nuts and dry fruits like dates, almonds, and walnuts are rich sources of riboflavin, niacin and Vitamin E that are powerful antioxidants keeping your skin healthy. B-Complex foods like eggs, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, and bananas that prevent infections and promote skin cell health.
• Keep your face clean as humidity, grime, and dampness result in the accumulation of skin cells that cause infections; particularly fungal infections. It is important to clean your face at least 2 times a day to keep these infections at bay.
• Keep yourself well hydrated. Drinking 8-10 glasses of water every day will help to flush the toxins out of your body and keep your skin looking fresh and glowing.
• Include probiotics in your diet because probiotics help to restore the balance of the skin and prevent harmful bacteria from growing.
• Take shower only from lukewarm water as hot water will harm the blood capillaries and eventually it will damage your skin.
• Exercise regularly.

Over to you:

Monsoon brings a lot of troubles too along with its pleasures, especially when it comes to skin troubles. So, try to keep your skin calm and composed during these times by following skin and diet regime. Also, consult a doctor immediately, if required.

Happy skin = Healthy skin!