Ringworm, Acne & Skin Care

Most people have a skin care regime that they have either developed themselves, been told by beauty experts about or have copied from the other people. Once you find a skin care process that works for you, you tend to stick with it and use the same skin care and beauty products for a while.It is not quite so easy however if you happen to be an athlete. There are very few people around to help who are knowledgeable in the subject of athlete’s skin and not very many specialised skin care products for athletes either.

Athletes have multiple reasons why normal skin care processes simply aren’t suitable for them.Sweat is covering the skin for more time than most people experience. Their skin is often exposed to the harsh conditions of training and performing outside, as well the huge changes in temperature.  Their hormone levels can be extremely elevated a lot of the time, which can cause the skin to lose regulation of sebum production, resulting in many different skin conditions. Lastly, by the nature of sport, they are much more at risk of picking up things like scrapes, cuts, bruises and all sorts of different skin damage.

So what advice should athletes be listening to? “Natural products” argues Prof Steve Thompson of Loughborough University’s Sports Science Department.He argues that products sourced directly from the natural environment were used a couple of hundred years ago when people had much more active lifestyles and Prof Thompson says they had it right. “when you skin is subject to such extreme changes in environment, and so much is demanded of it to maintain the body’s equilibrium, you cannot expect synthetic products to do any good”.The university tests showed that products from nature where much better for skin than those containing sodium lauryl sulphate, parabens, detergents or dyes. The top natural ingredients found were Lavender that helped heal cuts and bruises, Witch Hazel that cleared up spots and peppermint that relaxed muscles and improved blood circulation around the skin