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As it turns out, we might just be the air we breathe. To combat the effects of poor air quality on our skin, Dr. Patricia Nicolas has a few tips.
As a woman who was born and raised in Manila, I’m too familiar with the air quality that we have in the city. Belching smoke from cars and jeepneys, dust from ongoing construction, fumes from industrial manufacturing, and occasionally, smog. These free radicals and oxidative stress can break down the skin barrier, leading to irritation, redness, and dryness, among other issues. According to board-certified dermatologist Dr. Pat Nicolas, poor air quality can also exacerbate skin conditions, such as eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea.
While that might make you want to just stay inside, you don’t have to. Below, Dr. Nicolas provides tips to protect your skin from poor air quality.
Make sure to double cleanse
After a day of being exposed, cleansing is a necessary step to wash the pollutants off your skin. Dr. Nicolas even recommends doubling down: “When it’s really super dusty, polluted, or if you’re always commuting, I advise my patients to double cleanse with mild cleansers,” she says.
Don’t forget your sunscreen
You may hear this all the time, but don’t forget your sunscreen. The sun’s UV rays damage the skin in more ways than one, including adding to oxidative stress on our skin. Aside from that, sunscreen can help prevent premature skin aging, skin cancer, and sunburns, so be sure to apply some before heading out the door.
Wear a mask
The days of the COVID-19 pandemic are years past us, but wearing a mask might be a habit you want to pick up if you’re constantly outdoors. Wearing a mask physically shields the covered areas of your face from large airborne debris, soot, and coarse dust. For the ultimate protection against pollution, N95 or KN95 Respirators are the best for filtering microscopic particles.
Find the right skincare for your skin type
While air quality can affect our skin in similar ways, our skin can react to it differently. So to combat the effects of poor air quality on our skin, we must find the right regimen for our skin type. For oily skin, she recommends niacinamide and salicylic acid. For dry skin, hyaluronic acid is the key. Finding the right routine and products will help strengthen our skin barrier, which in turn will reduce the effects of free radicals and oxidative stress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Free radicals are highly unstable, reactive molecules with at least one unpaired electron. They are byproducts of normal metabolism and are externally affected by environmental factors, such as air pollution, cigarette smoke, industrial chemicals, and ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Oxidative stress is an imbalance between unstable molecules called free radicals and antioxidant defenses in your body. When there are too many free radicals, they cause cellular and tissue damage and can cause chronic inflammation and diseases like cancer and heart disease.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a standardized, color-coded scale used to report daily air pollution levels.
As of writing, the air quality in Manila has a US AQI score of 60, which is considered moderate. This quality is considered acceptable for most people, but sensitive individuals may experience mild symptoms like coughing or shortness of breath.
In Metro Manila, you can check real-time air quality using the official DENR dashboards or global tracking apps like IQAir Manila and World Air Quality Index. Local updates are also available on the Environmental Management Bureau site.
