woman with clear skin smiling

How To Get Clear Skin Fast

Our guide on clear skin diet tips, how to get clear skin & how to keep skin clear.

How To Get Clear Skin Fast

Having clear skin can vary depending on many factors, and your skin will often go through phases of being clear and unclear - and that's fine! What's important to know is that, whether your skin is clear or not, you should always feel comfortable in your own skin. 

Read our guide for clear skin tips, as well as help with a clear skin diet to help with how to get clear skin fast.

What Causes Our Skin To Be Unclear?

To understand how to get clear skin fast and how to keep skin clear, it's important to understand what causes skin to be unclear. We’ve highlighted some reasons as to why your skin might not be clear at the moment:
  1. Hormones can cause an overproduction of sebum in the skin glands which can lead to clogged pores
  2. Stress can trigger hormonal changes in people prone to breakouts 
  3. Harsh ingredients, or ingredients that simply don’t agree with your skin, can result in skin that is not clear 
  4. Not washing your make-up brushes - dirty brushes are a breeding ground for bacteria that can be linked to breakouts. By not cleaning make-up brushes regularly, you are essentially sweeping bacteria across your face
  5. Using too many products - finding the right balance of products with active ingredients is an essential step in how to get clear skin. Stick to a simple beauty regime that works for you.

Read on to learn how to get clear skin fast and how to keep skin clear.

lady with clear skin
How To Have Smooth Skin Without Blemishes

Clear Skin Tips - How To Get Clear Skin In 4 Steps

  1. Understand your skin type
    Understanding how to get clear skin starts with knowing your skin’s needs. Nourishing your skin with what it wants will help avoid irritation, breakouts, redness and dryness among other concerns. 
  2. Choose skincare products that work for you 
    This can take a bit of trial and error, and it is worth being patient when using new products, as the skin may not react to the active ingredients at first. But stop using a product if it is burning or itching the skin. 
  3. Go easy on skincare 
    While the right skincare plays a key part in how to get clear skin, overdoing the products can irritate the skin, causing breakouts and dryness.
  4. Use Gua Sha
    Gua Sha is a traditional Chinese massage that uses a tool - usually a flat, pebble-like stone - to scrape the skin in order to boost lymphatic drainage as well as brightening the skin, smoothing out wrinkles and diminishing fine lines.
How To Have Smooth Skin Without Blemishes

5 Clear Skin Tips - How To Keep Skin Clear

Now you know how to get clear skin, you will also want to know how to keep clear skin. We’ve highlighted some simple daily routine changes that can help keep your skin clear:
woman with clear skin
Clear Skin Tips - How To Keep Skin Clear

1. Wash your face before bed

Throughout the day our skin collects dirt, simply just by being exposed to the outdoors and going about our daily lives. Instead of letting this accumulated dirt manifest into a breakout, use a gentle face cleanser before bed.
Clear Skin Tips - How To Keep Skin Clear

2. Wash your face when you wake up

It's best to start the day by washing your face to remove any dirt or oil gathered on the face in your sleep. It also helps to start the day fresh and make sure there's no dirt gathering in your pores before the day has even begun. Adding this to your daily regime will work wonders when trying to keep clear skin.
Clear Skin Tips - How To Keep Skin Clear

3. Try not to touch your face too much

Our hands are covered in microscopic bacteria and oils, so to limit the amount you're putting on your face. It also helps to make sure you wash your hands regularly and also forgo unnecessary touching of your face.
Clear Skin Tips - How To Keep Skin Clear

4. Give your face a break

Women often wear make-up on a daily basis, some do this to feel confident, some just want to look nice, and some use it to cover blemishes that might appear on the skin. Try giving makeup a miss once a week or over the weekend to give your skin that much-needed rest and recovery, and this will help you achieve clear skin.
Clear Skin Tips - How To Keep Skin Clear

5. Don't over wash

The more you wash your face, the more your skin will produce oils to help counteract this. It's important to wash your face regularly to remove dirt but you want to be gentle with your skin and allow it to produce the natural oils that are healthy for your skin.

Facial Cleansing At Home

Clear skin starts with a good cleanser that suits your skin type. Cleansing your face is not just about sloughing off the day’s dirt and bacteria, it should also maintain the skin’s pH balance.

 

Our NIVEA Hydra Skin Effect Micellar Face Wash Gel, with pure hyaluron, removes impurities and make-up, while preserving the skin's natural moisture balance. Well-hydrated skin is usually clear, as dryness can cause an excess buildup of dead skin cells that can cause irritation and spots.

woman with clear skin
Facial Cleansing At Home

Clear Skin Routine:

To help with knowing how to get clear skin, we’ve created a skincare routine that you can follow at home!

  1. Exfoliate
    Exfoliating removes the dead skin cells from skin that might otherwise obstruct and clog your pores, making it easier for dirt to accumulate and cause blackheads or breakouts. Exfoliating 3 times a week will help to prevent this.
  2. Use a toner
    Toner is a fast-absorbing hydration boost for the skin that also helps to remove dead skin cells in the process. It prepares the skin for moisturiser and makeup, and balances out the pH levels on the face as well as balancing blotchy skin. This is a really simple and effective way you can get clear skin by adding it to your morning routine.
  3. Use oil free moisturiser
    This will provide your skin with the hydration it needs without adding excess oils to your face - it is particularly useful for people with oily skin who find that their face produces more oil. Our NIVEA Hydra Skin Effect Wake-Up Day Gel is charged with deeply nourishing pure hyaluronic acid, which is found naturally in the body and is designed to keep joints and organs (including the skin) sufficiently lubricated. It has the ability to hold a thousand times its weight in water and is an absolute must for anyone wondering how to get clear skin. 
  4. Face masks
    Face masks do a number of useful things all in one go when trying to achieve and maintain clear skin. These include: hydrating the skin, removing excess oils and minimising pores. 

The No-No's!

As well as things you should do to help with clear skin, there are also things that you should avoid! Avoiding these ‘No-No’s’ will help with understanding how to get clear skin fast.
woman screwing her face up

1. Alcohol

We're all aware that too much alcohol leads to dehydration and the dreaded hangover, but what you might not know is that alcohol also dehydrates your skin. This then leads to skin that looks sallow and dry - which can ruin all your hard work put in with your daily routine and beauty regime.

In order to prevent dry skin, limit your intake of alcohol to avoid drying it out. Not only, this but the sugars in alcohol damage the collagen found in your skin, causing your pores to become enlarged and therefore allowing more dirt to infiltrate them.

2. Gluten

Found in wheat, rye and barley, gluten affects the pigmentation of the skin, leading to an increase in discoloured patches on the skin. Gluten can also cause your skin to become inflamed, leaving it looking swollen, so try to limit your intake of this and you will see what a wonderful difference it makes for achieving clear skin.

3. Dairy

Milk or things with lots of milk in them can disrupt your hormone balance, causing an increase in breakouts, particularly in areas such as your chin that are directly affected by your hormones.

4. Sugar

We all know sugar is bad for our health and can cause a number of different medical issues, from increased weight gain to heart problems, but it also has an impact on your skin. High sugar levels can leave your skin looking dull, as well as causing unnecessary breakouts. Try to limit your intake of processed foods, too much fruit, sweets, and fruit juices to keep healthy clear skin.

Clear Skin Diet

What you eat plays a significant role in keeping skin clear. Here’s how to get clear skin fast with a clear skin diet:
clear skin diet
  1. Leafy Greens
    Leafy greens are crucial in a clear skin diet. They are essential for a healthy digestive system, and as well as this, they allow your skin to clear out any build-ups of hormones and toxins found at the skin which would otherwise cause you to breakout.
  2. Fatty Fish
    Eating fatty fish is good for clear skin because it helps to naturally control the production of oil on your skin and also helps to slow down the appearance of aging in the skin due to the fatty acids they contain.
  3. Honey
    Surprisingly, honey is rich in vitamins that really benefit your skin, so much so that many people use honey as a face mask due to its skin-boosting qualities.
  4. Plant-based protein
    Eating things like nuts and beans is really good for your skin because of the proteins that they contain. Protein is what's found in your skin, hair and nails, so eating these will help to keep them strong and create a barrier for your skin against the environment.
  5. Coconut
    Coconut oils' antibacterial qualities help to keep the skin clean, and it's rich in antioxidants too which help with achieving that radiant complexion.

Home Remedies For Clear Skin Of The Face

Home remedies can be a great way how to get clear skin fast. Find inspiration on how to get clear skin from home with our tips:
aloe vera
  1. Aloe vera
    Soothing and moisturising, aloe vera can calm irritated, breakout-prone skin. For these benefits, aloe vera is a popular ingredient in many clear skin face care routines. 
  2. Drink more water
    Water and healthy skin go hand-in-hand. Aim for at least two litres a day, for glowing, hydrated skin.
  3. Coconut Oil
    Deeply moisturising, coconut oil also contains antimicrobial properties that help to keep the skin clear. Apply to the affected area, allowing it to soak it, for the best results!
  4. Rose Water
    Rose water’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties make it one of the most commonly used home remedies for clear, radiant skin. Rose water can often be found on its own, or as ingredients of face creams or serums.