Glóavia’s Skincare Blog

What Is the Exact Difference Between Hair Shedding vs. Hair Breakage for Type 4C Hair?
Hair shedding and hair breakage can look similar when you’re washing or detangling Type 4C hair, but they’re not the same thing. Shedding happens when a hair strand reaches the end of its natural growth cycle and comes out from the follicle. Breakage happens when the hair shaft snaps somewhere along its length. How can you tell the difference? Look at the hairs you’re losing. A naturally shed hair is usually a full-length strand, and you may notice a tiny white or club-shaped bulb at one end. That bulb is part... Read more...
What Skincare Routine Is Safe to Use While Undergoing Chemotherapy or Radiation?
During chemotherapy or radiation, skincare usually needs to get simpler, gentler, and more protective, not more complicated. But because cancer treatments and skin reactions vary, your oncology team should have the final say on what you use, especially on or near areas receiving radiation. Keep the routine simple A basic routine may include a gentle, fragrance-free cleanser, a bland moisturizer, and sun protection when appropriate. Avoid adding a bunch of new exfoliating acids, retinoids, scrubs, strong acne treatments, essential oils, or heavily fragranced products while your skin is already under stress.... Read more...
Best Non-Comedogenic Hair Oils for Protective Styles That Won’t Run Down Your Forehead and Cause Cystic Acne
If you wear braids, twists, locs, wigs, or other protective styles and keep ending up with painful breakouts along your forehead or hairline, the problem may not be your skincare routine. The oil you’re putting on your hair can migrate onto your skin. There isn’t a hair oil that can guarantee it won’t clog pores or cause breakouts. Even products marketed as non-comedogenic can behave differently depending on the formulation, how much you use, your skin, and how much of the product ends up on your face. What should you look... Read more...
Can I layer Azelaic Acid and Salicylic Acid together, or will they cancel each other out and strip my skin?
Yes, azelaic acid and salicylic acid can be used in the same skincare routine. They don’t chemically “cancel each other out.” The bigger concern is irritation. Both can be active ingredients, and combining them may be too much for sensitive, dry, or already-irritated skin. So why do people say not to mix them? Because “can be combined” and “everyone should combine them” are two very different things. Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid that helps exfoliate inside pores and can be useful for acne-prone skin. Azelaic acid has different properties... Read more...
Does applying a face oil before my moisturizer block the active ingredients from penetrating my skin?
Applying face oil before your moisturizer doesn’t automatically block all of your active ingredients from penetrating your skin. But the order of your products can matter, especially if you’re trying to get the most predictable results from a treatment product. Oils and oil-rich products can change how a formula spreads, mixes, and interacts with the skin, so putting an oil on first isn’t always the best default. Here’s the thing about the “oil creates a wall” idea Face oils can be occlusive to varying degrees, but they aren’t generally an impenetrable... Read more...
How do I clear acne on my buttocks and upper thighs without causing painful friction burns from tight workout clothes?
If you’re getting acne-like bumps on your buttocks and upper thighs, the goal isn’t to attack them with increasingly harsh products. Sweat, friction, tight clothing, clogged follicles, and irritation can all contribute to bumps in this area—and aggressive treatments can make the irritation worse. First, make sure it’s actually acne “Body acne” isn’t always acne. Small bumps on the buttocks and thighs can also be related to folliculitis, ingrown hairs, keratosis pilaris, or irritation from sweat and friction. If the bumps are very itchy, painful, pus-filled, spreading, or repeatedly returning, it’s... Read more...
Can using AHA body washes daily disrupt the vaginal microbiome or cause external vulvar burning?
Daily use of an AHA body wash can irritate the external vulvar skin and cause burning, especially because vulvar tissue is much more sensitive than the skin on most of the body. That doesn’t mean an AHA body wash automatically disrupts the vaginal microbiome. The bigger concern is where the product is being used and whether it is irritating the surrounding skin. Your vulva and vagina aren’t the same thing The vulva is the external genital area. The vagina is the internal canal. An AHA body wash used around the external... Read more...
What is the safest way to dry-brush or exfoliate skin if you are prone to spider veins and broken capillaries on your legs?
If you’re prone to spider veins or visible broken capillaries, aggressive dry brushing isn’t a great idea. Brushing harder doesn’t make exfoliation more effective, and repeated friction can irritate the skin and potentially make visible redness more noticeable. You don’t have to give up exfoliation completely. You just need a much lighter touch. Skip the “scrub until you’re pink” approach Dry brushing is mechanical exfoliation. The pressure and repeated strokes create friction against the skin. If your legs already show fragile or easily broken superficial blood vessels, there isn’t a good... Read more...
How do you safely exfoliate a dry scalp if you have color-treated, fine hair that breaks easily?
If your scalp is dry and flaky but your hair is fine, color-treated, and prone to breakage, the goal isn’t to scrub harder. You want to loosen excess buildup without irritating the scalp or creating unnecessary friction on fragile hair. First, figure out what you’re actually exfoliating Not every flake means your scalp needs exfoliation. Dryness can cause small flakes, but dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, contact dermatitis, and other scalp conditions can also cause scaling. If your scalp is intensely itchy, painful, red, crusted, oozing, or developing thick persistent scales, don’t... Read more...
How does a high-protein, low-carb diet affect menopausal skin elasticity, and can it replace topical collagen?
A high-protein diet can provide the amino acids your body needs to make collagen and other structural proteins, but eating more protein doesn’t automatically replace the role of topical skincare, and a low-carb diet isn’t a proven shortcut to restoring menopausal skin elasticity. During menopause, declining estrogen is associated with changes in skin thickness, hydration, collagen content, and elasticity. Nutrition matters, but skin aging is influenced by much more than one macronutrient. Protein does matter Your body needs amino acids to build and maintain collagen, elastin, muscle, and other tissues. Getting... Read more...
Why does my skin get incredibly red and inflamed the day after I consume artificial sweeteners, even if my sugar intake is zero?
If your skin becomes noticeably red or inflamed the day after consuming an artificially sweetened food or drink, it’s understandable to wonder whether the sweetener is responsible. But there isn’t strong evidence that artificial sweeteners generally cause next-day facial inflammation in everyone who consumes them. That doesn’t mean your observation is irrelevant. It means there may be several possible explanations and the sweetener itself isn’t automatically the culprit. Zero sugar doesn’t mean zero ingredients “Sugar-free” products can contain different sweeteners, flavorings, preservatives, acids, colorants, or other ingredients. Aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame... Read more...
How do you stop the “crawling skin” feeling (formication) on your face at night without using heavy, pore-clogging balms?
That creepy “something is crawling on my face” sensation can be incredibly distracting, especially when you’re trying to sleep. It’s called formication, a type of abnormal skin sensation that can feel like crawling, tingling, itching, or tiny movements even when nothing is actually on the skin. And because the sensation isn’t always caused by dry skin, covering your face in a heavy balm isn’t necessarily the answer. First, figure out whether your skin is actually irritated If your face is visibly dry, flaky, red, burning, or itchy, a compromised skin barrier... Read more...

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