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How Poor Indoor Air Quality Can Affect Your Skin

Photo by JuniperPhoton on Unsplash

In today’s world most people do everything they can to maintain the health of their skin. Anything from creams & lotions, exfoliation, to even surgical intervention are employed to keep skin radiant, young looking, and supple. All of those methods focus on the skin itself as a way of maintaining skin from the inside-out, but what about the other way around?

The quality of the air in your indoor environment can have a huge impact on the end-result of any skin care regimen you’re choosing to go through with. Think about it, regardless of what you do during the entire day to keep your skin as healthy as possible, there’s an eight hour window every night when you’re asleep when the quality of the air in your room can wreak havoc on all of the hard work you’ve done throughout the day.

Not sure what I’m getting at? I’ll break it down for you:

Humidity Level

Remember that you’re spending in excess of eight hours a night sleeping in a particular room, so the effects of the level of humidity in said room can’t be understated. A room that is too dry (humidity level is too low) will result in your skin drying out and becoming more susceptible to cracking and general irritation than if your room were at a better humidity level. Not only that, the skin dryness caused from a low humidity level means that your moisturizer used in the morning is doing far more in the damage control department than it is to increase the health of your skin overall.

If your room is too humid, the pores on your skin will open up while you sleep which allows dirt & airborne debris to enter them and lead to breakouts of acne or blackheads.

Ideally the humidity of your room should be somewhere from 30%-40% for ideal skin health. A hygrometer is used to determine the amount of humidity in a room. Once you’ve determined the level of humidity in a room, you can then purchase either a humidifier or a dehumidifier to address the problem.

High Levels Of Particulate Matter

Small, difficult to see particles can find their way into your skin if the air quality in your living space isn’t up to snuff. I’m not talking about allergens or pet dander necessarily, but particles from your outside environment making their way in.

If you live in a large city, you may be underestimating the effects of all of the traffic and other miscellaneous big-city processes of your skin. Air pollution can damage your skin in two distinct ways: either by allowing dirt to enter your pores and cause breakouts or by the damaging effects some of these chemicals have on the skin directly. Both of these have the end result of prematurely aging your skin. An ozone generator can be used to purify the air in your room and reduce the amount of airborne particles that can find their way into your pores. No matter how big or small your city is, the air quality could be impaired due to traffic or local industry, so it’s best to find some way to keep the air in your living space pure and breathable.

If you’re like most people and spend a significant amount of time in your home, you should make sure that you are taking care of your skin and your overall health by monitoring the air quality inside your domicile. It’s rarely excessively difficult to maintain good air quality, most problems are usually a $50 appliance away from being completely dealt with. So, make sure to check your humidity levels and ensure that the air in your house is as clean as possible to ensure proper dermatological health.