keeping pores clear?

[PlayaFox]

Might be a dumb question, but between the sun, the fine dust, and less than perfect opportunities to wash my face, I'm sort of expecting my face to break out into pretty bad acne after a couple of days on the playa. Any suggestions on how to avoid this minor misfortune?

[gaminwench]

I've had great luck with face cleansing wipes that have Aloe in the mix; I get mine at Trader Joe's.
Once in the morning, and again before sleeptime.
The rest of my skin regime goes all to hell out there; this seems to be sufficient.

[PlayaFox]

I've had great luck with face cleansing wipes that have Aloe in the mix; I get mine at Trader Joe's.
Once in the morning, and again before sleeptime.
The rest of my skin regime goes all to hell out there; this seems to be sufficient.

Cheers!

[FIGJAM]

Pore's clear, Piss clear, ALL good!!!

[DerbyDave 18]

I wouldn't worry. The sandstorms will sand blast any acne right off your face.

[Captain Goddammit]

Wouldn't sandstorms require sand?

[BBadger]

Whenever I get acne it's usually from lack of (or no) sleep and poor eating -- both of which occurs in abundance at BM. It's caused by stress and inflammation, not so much pore clogging. The dust and sweat... that wipes off pretty easily, and if you do it before going to bed, when your face will be rubbing against a surface, you'll probably be fine.

For sleep, try to avoid staying up 24 hours at a time. Even with long days/nights, having relatively consistent sleep is important. For food, try not to consume so much "camping food" and eat more fruit, vegetables, and nuts. Drink more electrolytes in your water, not just plain water. If you're thirsty, but pissing too much, and especially if your piss is water-clear, you're just flushing out your minerals and your body is probably craving electrolytes and acidity (put some lemon/lime in your water).

Speaking of acidity, your skin is best when it is slightly acidic. The commonly cited "ideal" skin pH is 5.5, where 7.0 is neutral. However, others have found it lower, such as 4.7, which is beneficial for the flora that lives on our skin -- the same flora that helps clean it. The dust on the playa is alkaline (heard its pH cited as 9.97 to 10.21), which can affect the pH balance of our skin, just as cleansers or other chemicals can.

So maybe find some sort of wash to restore that balance, or at least get rid of the alkaline coating so your skin can recover on its own?

[pepita]

I found that Witch Hazel applied topically works a treat

[Eric]

I just use basic baby-wipes: face & hands, pits & bits - both when I get up & when I go to bed, whether I need it or not.
I wash my hands when I eat (either just rinse w/ water or use baby wipes), but other than the above I'm fairly lackadaisical about skin care out there and haven't had a problem.

Drink more electrolytes in your water, not just plain water.

I drink 1 - 2 bottles of coconut water a day, and eat real brined pickles constantly (brined pickles = fermented with salt, not vinegar. "Bubbies" is my go-to brand). Bananas are also great because of the potassium, if you can keep them cool.

[Savannah]

I wish wipes were enough for me out there when it comes to the face, but I have oily skin and a fondness for makeup (with SPF).

At bedtime, I spritz a wipe (or a wash cloth) with water and liquid face wash and scrub, wipe again with water and swab with witch hazel, then follow with moisturizer under my eyes and on any windburned areas. If I use only a wipe, I break out. *sigh* . . . And of course, it is really hard to keep to a nightly regime @ 2am in a tent, when you've maybe had some champagne or something. Or all the champagne.

. . . I always bring skin meds of varying kinds, too. Whatever you usually use: bring it. But be careful and read the label, some treatments will make you burn easier. Phase those out in the week or two before the Burn, if you can.

And if you break out easily, investigate face-specific sunscreens before the Burn if you haven't got a favorite already. You might use these under makeup + SPF and certainly on your upper chest and neck even if your hat coverage is amazing.

[QueenFrostine]

Savannah has the hot ticket! This is an excellent routine

My first year I had some serious cystic acne (fun for you and yours!) and it was totally cleared (temporarily) by the dry environment and sunshine. In my experience, the playa doesn't leave a ton of room for bacteria growth so my skin usually gets magically better even under the harsh misery of SPF and crazy makeup.

That being said, I love washing my face and do it religiously before bed in "the real world". My favorites on the Playa are the Simple brand cleansing wipes and the Garnier Skin Micellar Water with a cotton ball. Neither leave any weird residue and clear the dust and grime. The micellar water is the closest I've come to making me feel like I actually splashed my face in a sink.

I hope this helps Your friendly, neighborhood beauty blogger/burner

Now bring forward the snark!

[meibelline]

Speaking of acidity, your skin is best when it is slightly acidic. The commonly cited "ideal" skin pH is 5.5, where 7.0 is neutral. However, others have found it lower, such as 4.7, which is beneficial for the flora that lives on our skin -- the same flora that helps clean it. The dust on the playa is alkaline (heard its pH cited as 9.97 to 10.21), which can affect the pH balance of our skin, just as cleansers or other chemicals can.

So maybe find some sort of wash to restore that balance, or at least get rid of the alkaline coating so your skin can recover on its own?

Zero playa experience...but regarding pH of your skin, I'm bringing witch hazel like pepita suggested, and Summer's Eve wipes. I know they're for kittens, but it's like a baby wipe that specifically aims to balance your pH. They also have a liquid soap that I'm planning to bring to use as face wash ahaha

Again, no playa experience yet so it might not even matter. Let's be real, skincare is going to be the last thing on my mind when I get there...but no one ever died from over preparing? Maybe? Maybe.

Ps. I second QueenFrostine's love for micellar water. I use heavy make up for work all the time and love my Bioderm. I'm bringing a tiny mister and plan to spritz my face with it before I use them wipes! (Best laid plans of mice and men, I know, I know...)

[C.f.M.]

I'm a freak about washing my face at burns because it will break out, if I don't - especially with the sunscreen. I don't moisturize, everything breaks me out. Plus hormones. Neck down, whatever, but if I break out my self-esteem plummets and I feel uncomfortable. So here's what works for me:

I've found this sunscreen does not break me out. It's expensive. One pump covers my face, neck and throat, I don't reapply (much to very burnable surprise) and I don't break out. It's about the most expensive beauty product I own, by FAR.

This one actually seems to make my skin look better, but I've got two trial tube I hoard because paying $50 for sunscreen is a bit out of my league. But everytime I use it, I seem to come home with clearer skin.

For me, beyond just washing it, exfoliating is key to keeping it clear. I wash it morning and night with a scrubby and my favorite soap, if I can.

A camp sink to catch the grey water, a shamwow to soak up the splashes, both dry quick. Just dampen the face, soap and scrub, rinse off. Doesn't use too much water.

In lieu of a proper washing, the two wipes I've found to be best over the years are these from Trader Joe's, because they're the *only* ones that make me feel a little cleaner, as opposed to having that wipe...feeling on my skin. And they're rough, so they give a good scrub.

The other ones I find on sale at stores like TJ Maxx are these. Good scrubby side, then wipe off with other side. I found the pineapple ones to not leave me feeling at all clean. Say Yes to Grapefruit have also been good to me. I still try to do a water rinse, if possible.

For some reason, this is the best benzoyl peroxide I've ever used (I've been on Accutane TWICE, to give you an idea of my struggles with acne).

Also, for me, with Celiac's, no gluten. Gluten means cystic break-outs. I've also found, when I went super low carb for weight loss, that when I had fun (aka ate and drank what I wanted) I'd be breaking out later on. So I stick to vodka soda and do my best to not sit around eating pixie sticks.

tldr: exfoliate and rinse clean with water, find a sunscreen that doesn't clog your pores

[misslotus78]

This isn't an attempt to sell products....hell they aren't even my invention...I just love the way they feel and make my skin glow:
I personally love the Rosemary Geranium Cleanser, anti inflammatory facial oil, seaweed mask, and control cream for keeping breakouts at bay: benedetta [commercial link redacted by moderator].

[LowePro]

I don't like to leave the sunscreen on any longer than necessary. Do a baby wipe at sunset and give your face a shot of your regular face lotion or aloe if you're dried out.

[Token]

Pure Castile soap and water.

.

[dustyfux]

Very surprised, and proud, of the responses here. Figured some tool would have recommended a protein based face cream. Looks like the eplaya board isn't as snarky as its made out to be.

[Token]

L-Argenine - You cannot go wrong with that.

There, you happy?

[1stargazer]

2 bottles of Rosewater

[Skuzzy61]

We used baby wipes and that was it.

The only skin issue we had was our feet as our vinegar got stolen at the Las Vegas KOA and we were not aware of it until we are parked on the playa. All the foot cream in the world did not prevent damage from being done.