When you move to London or any big city, you’ll soon notice the effects of the environment on your body. If you have any kind of latent asthma, you’ll soon become aware of the high levels of pollution in the air – having to walk alongside a busy road in a busy city is a less than comfortable experience. If you’re using the Tube a lot to commute, the phenomenon of black snot is one you will shortly be sharing with plenty of other Londoners.

Perhaps the most dramatic effect of all is on your skin: all those pollutants stress your skin’s natural defences, and stress, late nights and poor diet (which all seem to be de rigueur for London life) only add to the strain. All these factors make it absolutely vital to build a skincare regime that will repair the worst of the damage, and help shore up your body’s defences for each new day.

Cleansing and Exfoliation

Your first port of call needs to be dealing with the build-up of dirt, grime and polluting particles that will make their home on your skin in the course of day to day life in the city. Make a twice-daily cleanse part of your routine, and prevent the build-up of particles that put your skin under pressure and lead to dryness, blotches and redness.

Use micellar water in the evening – the oil particles in the water bond with dirt and dust and lift them away from the skin for a thorough cleanse. In the morning, a clay-based cleanser helps to do a more in-depth job and prepare you for the day ahead.

A weekly exfoliating scrub does a deeper job than a light, daily routine can hope to, scrubbing away at entrenched dirt, dead skin and oils to leave you feeling new. Over-exfoliating can irritate your skin, you do this sparingly – between one and three times a week depending on your skin type.

Moisturising

The other key part of the recipe for healthy skin is keeping it moisturised. All the harmful elements you’re exposing it to, from cold winds, to UV light to pollution dry you out, so add a moisturising night cream to your armoury as well as keeping a day cream with you throughout the day so you can top up.

If you’re building a skincare regime for the first time you may be tempted to over-moisturise, but this can do more harm than good! Try not to carried away, stick to the instructions and you’ll make your skin healthier, while avoiding excess grease and clogged pores.

Expert Help

If you’re in need of a more serious intervention, perhaps to kick off a New Year of better skincare and repair some of the damage that neglect has caused, then you can do no better than turning yourself over to the experts. Finding a city location like the Skinsmiths Skin Clinic Liverpool Street means you can fit a moisturising facial into a lunch hour or immediately after work and get your skin care sorted without it dominating your life.