Have you ever wondered how to get clear skin, or why you are in your 20’s or even 30’s and still struggling with breakouts? I think we all have at some point in our lives, so today I’m talking about my vegan skincare routine and my best tips on how to get clear skin. Keep reading to find out the most important things I do to care for my skin and keep it clear and free of breakouts by using all vegan and cruelty free skin care products!
DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links, which means that I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no additional cost to you.
1. Clean Up Your Diet
First off, I think it’s super important to focus on the effects of your diet on your skin. If you want to see what I typically eat in a full day as a vegan to keep my skin clear, click here! I have heard so much misinformation put out there regarding the fact that what you eat determines how your skin will look – so many “studies” have “disproven” that consuming dairy products, too much refined sugar, etc. can cause acne. To me, it’s amazing that certain industries have tricked people into thinking that your diet has absolutely no effect on how your skin looks. If you think about it – the food you eat can make you gain weight, it can make you sick (food poisoning!) or even give you a terminal illness, so doesn’t it make complete sense that it also has the ability to shape how your skin looks, how shiny or dull your hair is, or how brittle or strong your nails are? You are literally putting food into your stomach and it’s what your body runs off of. The fuel you give your body determines how it looks and feels. So the number one thing you can do to get clear skin is to consume a diet high in fruits and vegetables as well as a high water intake. You can use the best products in the entire world, but if the issue is internal and being caused by your diet then those products are really only going to make a minor difference!
Whether you are on a fully vegan diet or not, the less meat and dairy you consume and the more fruits and veggies you take in, the better your skin is going to look. Fruits and vegetables have so many antioxidants and nutrients that simply cannot be obtained from eating meat, eggs, etc; there really is no substitute for eating your greens!
You also want to be consuming healthy fats (key word here being healthy) in moderation. Healthy fats would include things like avocado, nuts and seeds, and dark chocolate. Before I went vegan, I would get acne breakouts all the time. I used to think it was because I had a stressful job, but it was actually because at the time, I was drinking a lot of cow’s milk and eating cheese every day because back then I still believed that stuff was good for you (lol!). In reality, those two things would be two examples of very dirty and unhealthy fats. So I started an elimination diet where I would cut one particular thing out for a week (like gluten), trying to figure out what the problem was, and would pay close attention to how it affected my skin. It didn’t take long before I figured out that dairy was the culprit and I will never be consuming the stuff ever again! Literally a day or two after I cut dairy products and anything containing dairy/dairy byproducts out of my diet, I started waking up with better, clearer skin every single day!
2. Use Quality, Natural Vegan Skincare Products
There are so many irritants in makeup and beauty products these days it’s crazy. Ingredients you can’t pronounce, ingredients that came straight out of a test tube in a lab, you get what I’m saying right? So finding a quality skincare brand that is natural and/or organic is so essential if you want to get clear skin. One big reason why I say this is that because there are so many chemicals in skincare and makeup products, you could be experiencing redness and even acne not because of anything you’re eating or doing, but because your skin is having an allergic reaction to a beauty product and you might not even be aware of what’s causing it!
I have two current favorite vegan friendly skincare brands that I love and use pretty much exclusively. For things like cleansers, toners, and face mists, I LOVE Pixi Beauty! They have such a great variety of skincare products and at really affordable prices. What I’ve been loving and using for a long time is their Glow Tonic toner. Glow Tonic contains a small amount of glycolic acid, which is great for getting rid of old dead skin cells and promoting skin renewal!
The second brand that I’m obsessed with is Drunk Elephant. My favorite types of products from them would be things like their moisturizers and serums, so basically anything you would use after cleansing and toning. Their products are a little bit more expensive but skincare is one thing I feel like we should all invest in, because having amazing skin is what is really going to make you feel beautiful and confident in yourself. And, if you can get your base as glowing and healthy as it can possibly be then that is also really going to cut down on the time you spend in the morning applying makeup, which is an added bonus!
I have found that with Drunk Elephant products, a little goes a long way, so they really last you a long time. They have a deal going on at Sephora right now where you can get a cute set with all of their most popular products, including a cleanser, a polypeptide moisturizer, several serums, an eye cream, and more – check it out by clicking here!
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3. Exfoliate Regularly
Exfoliating your face is super important for maintaining clear skin because over time you’re going to have product buildup on your skin from wearing makeup, and a cleanser won’t always remove every trace of product from your face. I exfoliate twice a week using this AMAZING scrub that has worked wonders for my skin in terms of clearing it up and even reducing the appearance of old scarring and fine lines. I also LOVE and highly recommend this affordable exfoliating toner that I’ve been using for almost a year now (it’s gentle enough to be used once a day and the bottle lasts forever!)
On the other hand, it’s also important to not exfoliate too much, otherwise this can lead to your skin getting overly dry and it can even cause redness and irritation. I think that exfoliating using an actual scrub 1-2 times per week is perfect, and then a toner once or twice a day depending on what you feel works best for you (I like to use toner just once a day).
4. Drink A Ton of Water
I know you’ve probably heard this a thousand times before, but there’s a reason for that! Staying hydrated is so important for your skin because when you use the bathroom you’re literally getting rid of impurities and toxins in your body that would otherwise build up over time. Staying hydrated also helps with maintaining the elasticity and overall youthfulness of your skin, so it’s basically a win win! The amount of water I drink in a day varies a little, but I generally try to aim for about 80 ounces. I don’t always hit this mark every single day, but it’s what I strive for! I’ve also heard that a good rule of thumb to follow is drinking half of your body weight in ounces of water per day (for example, if you weigh 120 pounds, you should aim to drink 60 ounces of water a day) and that sounds like a fair amount to me as a minimum.
If you’ve having a hard time keeping track of the amount of water you’re drinking every day, my best tip would be to buy a reusable water bottle and calculate how many times you need to refill it and drink it in a day to meet your goal!
5. Use Face Masks
Masks are such a great way to remove impurities and any leftover product from your face. The more you can do to extract anything from your face that shouldn’t be there, the clearer and healthier your skin is going to be. You want to keep your pores free to breathe as much as you can, and doing masks is so good for drawing junk out of your pores!
6. Change Your Pillowcases Once A Week
Since we sweat and oil builds up on our faces while we sleep, your pillowcase can carry so much bacteria and tons of dead skin cells! Make sure to change it out weekly as this can actually make a difference in whether you wake up with a new zit or with clear glowing skin. If you don’t feel like doing so much laundry (washing your bedding stuff is such a pain right?) then you can flip your pillow over and just use the other side of it for another week or so before switching it out for a new one!
7. Don’t Touch Your Face
This one can be hard, but our hands touch so many germy surfaces on a daily basis that it’s just better if we don’t transfer all of that bacteria to our faces. The only time I ever touch my face is in the morning when I first wake up and at night since these times are when I will do my full skincare routine. If I need to scratch my face I will just take the very edge of my nail and do it so that I’m not transferring any oil from my hands to my face.
8. Take A Multivitamin
Whether you’re vegan or not, all of us could potentially be deficient in any vitamin or nutrient depending on all kinds of factors like what we eat, how much we eat, how much exercise we get, and sooo many more variables. If you want to guarantee that you’re getting everything you need, I recommend taking a multivitamin so you can be 100% reassured. The vitamins that I have seen a huge difference in my skin with have been these Ritual vitamins which are different from literally everything else on the market because their angle is that they include ONLY the nutrients that women typically don’t get enough of, and none of the stuff that is completely unnecessary which so many of the average vitamin brands contain in order to make you think that they’re doing you so much good. They’re also the coolest vitamins I’ve ever seen by the way because they’re clear and they smell so good! Click here to read more about how they work!
So this is the full vegan skincare routine that I follow and these tips are the closest thing to a guarantee that you will get clear skin and be able to keep it that way. What you eat and the types of products you use on your skin are really that important, and I know because these skin care tips have worked extremely well for me!
What are some things you do to get clear skin and maintain it? Do you follow a vegan skincare routine too? Let me know your tips on how you get clear skin in the comments below, and if you liked this post please share it on Pinterest!
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Kelly says
This is an awesome post! I noticed recently my skin has improved so much since cutting some excess sugar from my diet!
Tamara says
I found a clean diet and a committed skin care routine give the best results!
Paola Lauretano says
Really interesting, thanks for sharing!
Kisses, Paola.
Expressyourself
Lana_SHON says
Great post! Thanks for sharing!
Harija Ravi says
Amazing blog post and great photos.
I am glad you enjoyed reading my recent post and thank you for the comments!!
MyLyfeMyStory
Kimberly says
This is an awesome post! I’m lactose intolerant but I’m pretty bad cutting dairy out of my diet! I love cheese! Even when it doesn’t love me but I notice that it definitely effects my skin as well. What we put in our bodies is important and our skin shows the signs as to what we eat.
Federica Di Nardo says
Thanks for the tips!
Federica Di Nardo
https://federicadinardo.com
Cristina says
You made a good point about having clear skin: you need to have a balanced diet. Too often, people forget about this fact. Thanks for sharing your tips with us!
Desires In Style says
Great Tips! 🙂
Kisses
Agnese & Elisa
https://desiresinstyle.com/
Libby says
Great article! You’re right, proper nutrition can fix quite a lot! Xoxo
Andi says
Girl you are so right! I’ve been working green smoothies into my diet everyday for the last 6 months and WOW what a difference it makes! Thanks for sharing! xoxo!
Ana Prodanovich says
Thanks for all the tips boo! 🙂
anaprodanovich.com
Christianne says
Such an amazing post, definitely helpful!
Xo, Christianne
http://simplychristianne.com
Gemma says
Great post. Thanks for the tips.
Gemma x
http://www.jacquardflower.uk
Isabel Robertson says
Fantastic tips! A healthy diet is so important for nice skin!
Bella x
https://bellasfashionjournal.com
Emma says
This was an awesome read, thank you. And I totally agree with what you’re saying. Food is the key to so many things, definitely including skin and hair. Although I must say, that sometimes even that doesn’t help. I feel like I’ve tried everything. I do notice though that my skin goes worse when I eat unhealthy stuff, but I generally eat very clean and healthy food and even on the best days my skin isn’t what is used to be at one point.
I’m all in for natural products! They’re the best 🙂
Emma xxx
http://www.wellemma.com
Lily Kanaya says
Sugar is still my best friend until now, so sad 🙁
lisa says
Just came across your blog and am obsessed with how colorful it is! Absolutely love!
Shruthi says
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’m in the stage where I know dairy is the culprit but I’m having SUCH a hard time giving it up 🙁 Any tips on how to move past?
Heidi Kokborg says
Thank you for this! My skin is breaking out like crazy and I actually just realized that I think it’s because of my diet. I am now cutting very much down on dairy, gluten, sugar and coffee and when I move back into my own apartment and I live on my own again I am planning on cutting dairy and sugar out completely, only drink 1 cup of coffee a day (just because I love it so much) and only have things like bread and pasta twice a week or something. I am really going to start eating a plant based diet. I know my skin care products are all good, vegan and natural, I’m not stressed anymore, I do yoga etc. The last thing I need to really start to look at is my diet!
Btw I LOVE your blog!
Caitlin says
Those are all awesome things to do girl! Thank you so much!
Johanna says
Your blog has such gorgeous imagery – I love all the color. And all the avocado toast please! xo
Kiri says
Diet is definitely a must to clean up.
I also think drinking lots and lots of water helps.
I am down with simple, active skincare.
I wear natural deodorant and use natural toothpaste and use natural shampoo and conditioner.
But I don’t use natural products on my face.
Kiri
Set to Glow
https://www.settoglow.com.au
Maria says
Very useful information. I completely agree with cleaning up your diet, so true. I have felt so much better since I quit dairy 🙂
https://www.chicnpink.com
Sophie Naylor says
Pixi is one of my all time favourite cruelty free skin care brands! x
Soph – https://girlvsworldblog.com x