How to Protect Skin from Pollution

With the excitement of big city living comes sacrifices – more traffic, more expensive rent, and, or course, more pollution. Anyone who has experienced the difficult of breathing air pollution knows that smog can wreak havoc on your lungs. But did you know that pollution can also harm your skin?

Luckily, great skin doesn’t have to be one of the sacrifices that comes with living in the city. Keep reading to find out how pollution harms your skin, and what you can do to stop it.

How Pollution Damages Skin 

Cities are a breeding ground for pollution from factories, cars, cigarette smoke, and ozone. These microscopic bits of air pollution are actually small enough to penetrate pores and get into the skin. There, pollutants interact with our skin cells and UV rays to form free radicals, which damage our cellular DNA and impair our skin’s ability to repair itself.

Over time, this can cause all kinds of premature aging. In fact, air pollution has been linked increased pigmentation, decreased collagen production, plus dryness and inflammation.

Unfortunately, pollution isn’t just a problem for city-dwellers. Wind carries pollutants, so they can damage your skin even if you live in a less populated area.

How to Protect Skin from Pollution 

This is where antioxidants come in. Antioxidants like vitamin E and vitamin C bind with free radicals, neutralizing them and thus protecting your skin from harm. In general, eating more antioxidant-rich foods (think fruits and vegetables), will help to protect your skin from pollution. You can also protect your skin by incorporating these habits into your skincare routine:

Wear Sunscreen 

Many free radicals come from sun damage, so make sure you’re applying adequate SPF daily.

Apply Antioxidants 

In addition to SPF, you’ll also want to use a daytime moisturizer that’s rich in antioxidants. These antioxidants will protect your skin cell from free radical damage while preventing against the formation of new free radicals. Herbacin Day Cream is formulated with carnosine and vitamin E, both of which bind with free radicals to stop them from causing further damage.

Wash Your Face 

Nighttime is when our skin repairs itself, so you want to make sure that you remove all pollution before going to sleep at night. To make sure you get rid of all the skin-harming pollution, we actually recommend double-cleansing with a facial cleanser and an oil-based makeup remover. Pollution is lipophilic, which means that it can be dissolved with oil, so using an oil-based solution like Herbacin 2-Phase Makeup Remover will ensure that you thoroughly cleanse skin of all pollutants.

Avoid Cigarette Smoke 

We don’t need to tell you that smoking cigarettes is bad for your health and your skin. But even secondhand smoke can cause free radical damage to your skin, so try to avoid any situation where you’ll be exposed to secondhand smoke to preserve your skin.

Exfoliate Regularly 

Exfoliating once or twice per week helps to remove any toxic buildup on your skin from pollution. Plus, it’s key for removing dead, dull skin cells and unclogging pores. If you want great skin, exfoliation is a step you cannot skip!


How do you protect your skin from pollution? Let us know in the comments!