Feeling the (beard) burn after a make out session? Been there.
This is one of those issues that school just doesn’t prepare you for. So we tapped Gina Mari, celebrity aesthetician and skincare expert, to share some knowledge.
“I love kissing! Kissing is fun, and the last thing we want is for our partner’s facial hair to irritate our skin,” she says. “Who wants to skip a make out session because we’re afraid of what it might do to our complexion?” L i t e r a l l y.
Check out her tips below for dealing with make out-induced facial irritation.
- “Don’t dry it out by treating the area like a breakout,” Gina says. Um, ouch. “Instead, ‘wound heal,’ and be extremely gentle with the irritated areas.”
- “Switch from a gel cleanser to a creamy one,” she says. Creamy cleansers tend to be more gentle and hydrating to the skin.
- “Use a pH-balancing toner as opposed to an astringent,” Gina says. Meaning, steer clear of potentially drying ingredients like alcohol and witch hazel. Instead, choose nourishing ingredients like avocado and flaxseed oils, ceramides, and peptides that will help balance your acid mantle.
Reminder: The acid mantle is often considered our skin barrier’s chemical line of defense. We want it to be slightly acidic to protect against bacteria and environmental stressors, but not so acidic that it causes inflammation.
- “Stay away from active ingredients like vitamin C and retinol until the irritation is resolved,” Gina advises. Pretty self-explanatory, as the thought of putting retinol over a beard burn makes our stomachs turn. But just in case it needs to be said, these ingredients can make irritation worse.
- “Discover what length of hair doesn’t irritate your skin. Sometimes the tiniest amount of growth will soften the hair and cause far less irritation than a typical ‘5 o’clock shadow’ would,” Gina says. “I prefer facial hair to be at least 1/8 to 1/4 inch in length, which proves to be easy on the skin.” (Time to whip out the ruler.)
- “Don’t forget your lips,” she adds. She recommends Goldfaden MD Lip Therapy for extra hydration and moisture that helps prevent and heal chapped lips. We also like Ghlee Lip Balm.
Gina’s final tip: “Turn this into an enjoyable conversation with your partner, and have a good time with it!” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
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