How To Keep Your Skin From Getting Gross at Coachella
While you’re busy saving up money to buy a ticket or planning the perfect three outfits for your favorite weekend-long festival, you may forget about how to take care of your skin.
But when you’re spending 24 hours or more in the heat while sweating, it tends to take a toll on your epidermis. We spoke to Lucy Hale’s dermatologist, Dr. Zein Obagi of Obagi Skin Health Institute, about how to keep our skin (and our selfies) looking flawless at Coachella and throughout festival season.
1. Embrace Your Natural Glow
While Kylie Jenner may contour the shit out of her face pre-Coachella, she also probably has a personal dermatologist and is certainly opting for a five star hotel over camping out in the desert. You, on the other hand, do not. Instead of slathering on foundation and bronzer in hopes of seducing Zedd with your flawless complexion, try to lay off as much face makeup as you confidently can.
Instead, opt for a BB cream with SPF, or simply spot treat problem areas. “Makeup is a no-no during the day,” cautions Dr. Obagi. Okay, most of us would never dream of heading to a music festival without liquid eyeliner and a statement lip, but if you leave the heavy powder and face cream at home, your skin will thank you.
2. Don’t Forget To Wash Your Face
Amidst the music, the partying, and your drunkenness; it can be difficult to remember your twice daily face washing ritual. While we don’t expect you to bring your 10-step nighttime skin routine, you certainly can bring face wash. Dr. Obagi recommends his Foamacleanse Gentle Foaming Cleanser which is designed to remove impurities and clean pores on all skin types.
If you’re worried about forgetting and waking up with a cluster of fresh acne on your forehead, try setting an alarm on your phone. If you’re skilled enough, you can certainly use a water bottle and a small dollop of face wash to cleanse your face right at your tent before bed rather than waiting in a horrendous shower line.
3. Protect Against Desert Dryness
Being in a desert is oh so lovely. If your face isn’t sweaty from the heat, your skin is drying out from the desert air. The only way to protect yourself against said desert heat is to moisturize.
“Use a light moisturizer to keep your skin strong, protected and to prevent dryness while in the desert,” advises Dr. Obagi.
If you’re using sunblock (as you should be), this will likely also serve as moisturizer. If your sunblock isn’t doing the trick, throw a light moisturizer in your bag.
4. Don’t Forget The Sunscreen!
Forgetting to wash your face is bad, but forgetting to put on sunscreen is worse. It’s going to be really hard to post a cute day two Coachella selfie if your face is the shade of Mr. Crabs’ from Spongebob Squarepants.
“Use a light textured sunscreen and repeat your application every few hours to protect yourself from the desert sun’s powerful rays,” warns Dr. Obagi.
Even if you’re a bronze goddess, try to wear a higher SPF than you normally do. You’ll likely forget to reapply with all the chaos, not to mention you’ll be staring into the sun all day to get the best view of G-Eazy from the crowd.
Whether you spend 24 hours or three days at a music festival, your body is likely to be super tired afterwards, not to mention a hangover. But, if you follow these skin tips, hopefully your face will look fresh as ever!
