Bumps, flakes, and rough patches cropping up across your face? Your skin rivalling the feel of sandpaper? Makeup refusing to sit nice and neat? You might have a touch of a texture problem.
Rest assured: It’s very common, very normal, and relatively simple to fix with a few routine tweaks and clever ingredients.
Here’s how to get smoother, softer, suppler-er skin.
Do you have skin texture issues?
Of course, all skin has texture.
Unless you’re literally a new born baby (in which case, hi! Welcome to The Go-To Guide!), your skin is bound to have some texture—from pores and hair to an unfortunate scar on your forehead from where you scratched your chickenpox.
But! Sometimes, texture can build up across your face and create patches of rough, uneven surface. If you’ve ever felt a coarse patch on your face (maybe between your eyebrows or around your nose), it’s probably a case of texture buildup.
What causes skin texture?
Skin texture can take many forms. From enlarged pores to acne scarring and bumps or a rough texture, there’s lots of different culprits.
Dehydration: A lack of moisture can compromise the skin's outer layer, leading to a dry, rough-feeling surface.
Build-up: Dead skin cells lurking on the skin can build up and cause dullness, unevenness, and texture. Those dead skin cells give the skin an uneven, coarse texture.
Ageing: Skin loses elasticity and collagen as it ages. This causes a rougher texture, fine lines, and wrinkles. Plus! As your natural cell turnover slows down with age, dead skin cells are more likely to build up on the surface of your skin.
Genetics: Something like pore size can be an inherited trait. That means you may be prone to having more textured skin due to your large pores, courtesy of your family. Thanks Dad!
Closed-comodones: That’s when pores become clogged with a mixture of dead skin cells and (sebum) beneath the skin's surface—causing very annoying bumps. These can be caused by hormones, diet, skincare routine, and genetics.
How to get rid of skin texture?
Although there may be many offenders behind your texture—tackling it usually requires just a few steps.
1. Exfoliate!
One of the most common causes of texture is dead skin cell build-up. Not only does this give your face that rough texture, it also prevents your other products penetrating the skin and getting to work. Starting with a thorough chemical exfoliator should help you smooth away some of that texture.
2. Hydrate!
When your skin is well-hydrated, its cells are full of water and appear smoother and firmer. This leads to better elasticity, which helps to make texture like fine lines and wrinkles less noticeable on your face.
Dehydrated skin can overcompensate by producing excess oil, which can lead to clogged pores and breakouts. A hardworking hydrating serum helps maintain a balance in oil production so skin stays smooth and plump.
3. Vitamin A!
Vitamin A is known to be one of the most effective defenses against skin texture. Since this skincare ingredient boosts rapid skin cell turnover, your skin sheds those rough, old cells and replaces them with fresh, new, (and therefore) smoother ones. Plus! It stimulates collagen and elastin to firm skin and reduce lines.
4. Don’t Fret!
Exfoliating and hydrating? Very important parts of any good skincare routine.
Remembering you are a real being and not an expertly blurred photo in a Liza Barlow IG upload? Maybe even more important.
In short: Some texture in your skin is very normal!
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