7 Skincare Tips for Gamers
Why is skin care important for gamers?
When you’re devoting large chunks of your day to smashing the competition in eSports tournaments, practising for your next big match, or streaming live game content to your Twitch followers, you don’t often have time to take good care of yourself.
One of the many things which often gets forgotten about in the world of gaming is skin care. But looking after your skin isn’t just important for aesthetic reasons – you want to look your best in front of a live stream, after all – it’s also specifically relevant to us gamers, because our lifestyles can actually be quite damaging to our skin.
In this short article, we’ll walk you through the surprising effects gaming and eSports can have on our skin, as well as the 7 best skin care tips for gamers.
The damaging effects of gaming and eSports on your skin
Sleep deprivation
A recent study shows that 67% of gamers report sleeping poorly. That’s almost three-quarters of every gamer in the world getting a terrible night’s sleep! When we play our consoles or PCs too close to bedtime, the screen exposure (which includes smartphones, TVs, and laptops) stops our brains from being able to naturally wind down. The result is a restless sleep in which our bodies don’t have time to do all the things they need to do to keep us looking healthy.
A set of studies from Korea and Sweden have shown that not getting enough sleep dries out our skin, brings out dark circles around our eyes, deepens our wrinkles, and makes our skin less elastic (meaning that it sags and droops rather than springing back into place). For gamers not getting enough – or a good enough – night’s sleep, these signs of accelerated ageing and poor skin will become more and more pronounced.
Lack of sunlight
Most of us are aware that Vitamin D (which our skin produces when in contact with the sunlight) is crucial to the functioning of a healthy body. For one, a lack of Vitamin D can cause low mood and depression, or SAD (seasonal affective disorder), especially in people living in northerly countries. But did you know that a lack of sunlight can also increase your chances of developing irritating skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis? Shutting ourselves inside all day and night to game is not good for our mental health or skin care.
Controller and keyboard contamination
Over time, our game controllers and keyboards accrue an unholy amount of grease, grime, bits of food and drink, dust, hairs, and flakes of dead skin. When we go from touching these devices to instinctively touching our face – rubbing our eyes, wiping our mouths, stroking our chins – we transfer all of these nasty things to our skin. Since our skin is really sensitive, it doesn’t take long for this dirt build-up to cause major issues like acne outbreaks and oil-overload.
A simple skincare routine made for gamers: 7 tips for healthy, happy skin!
Trying to make it as a Twitch streamer or content creator? Want to look your best as a brand ambassador? Or do you simply want to be healthier and happier about the way your skin looks? Try these 7 top tips on great skin care practices for eSports players and gamers.
Clean and moisturise your face twice a day
The most important (and easiest!) thing we gamers can do to care for our skin is simply to wash and moisturise our face twice a day – once when we wake up and once before we go to bed.
A good skin care routine starts with the products you use to wash your skin and keep it hydrated throughout the day.
Our skin is super sensitive, and should be treated delicately. Whilst most skincare brands don’t understand the specific needs of a gamer/streamer’s skin, GIG Cosmetics does.
GIG is a unisex natural skincare brand designed specifically for eSports and gamers, so that they can look their best whilst they play their best.
Keep your gaming gear clean
Make sure you clean your keyboard, Xbox, Nintendo Switch or PlayStation controllers regularly and thoroughly. You can use really affordable alcohol wipes to clean them of grease and oils, or take them apart using specialised screws to give them a deep clean – removing dust and crumb build-up from beneath the buttons.
Use sunscreen when venturing outside
It’s important to get outside as much as possible to soak up those precious rays, but don’t forget that whilst Vitamin D is crucial to your skin’s health, the strength of the sun’s UV can also be damaging. Apply sunscreen every time you go out in the sun, and keep it topped up throughout the day, to make sure you minimise the risk of doing your skin harm.
Take off your makeup before bed
One of the worst things you can do as a gamer is to forget to take off your makeup before bed. We know that guys and girls and everyone in-between wants to look their best when on camera, either as a Twitch streamer, in gaming clips on YouTube, or when playing eSports in front of a live audience. For many, makeup is a big part of that routine. But if you leave your makeup on overnight, it’s going to seriously upset your skin. Use a trusted cleaning and sebum-reduction moisturising product to wash your makeup off before bed, and wake up feeling and looking fresh.
Get the right amount of sleep
We know it might not always be possible to turn off your PC or console an hour before bed, but the more time you give your brain to unwind after a long gaming session before you hit the hay, the better your sleep will be, and the healthier your skin will become.
Add regular exercise to your daily routine (preferably outdoors!)
Exercise is key to great skin. A healthier body is able to regulate the oils and natural pH of our skin more easily, giving us a gorgeous natural glow – just like the kind of glow we at GIG Cosmetics aim to enhance! Getting outside for a half hour’s walk each day, going swimming, running, or playing a sport in addition to your gaming routine, can significantly improve the appearance of your gamers skin.
Use a facial hydration cream to reinvigorate your skin
Last, but most certainly not least, it’s a really great idea for gamers to double-up on the love they show their skin. When our lifestyles put all this pressure on our skin, the more we can do for it the better. After washing and moisturising your skin in the morning and at night, give your gorgeous gamer face an even fresher feel with a hydration cream, designed to keep your skin smooth and well-hydrated from morning till night.