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Thursday, May 5, 2016

The Forgotten Places: The Ears

The ears are definitely a Forgotten Place. Many of my clients are surprised to hear me say they need to start cleaning in and around their ears. I see a buildup of debris behind the ears of a lot of clients who come in for facials. Because I do look over the ears, front, in and in back of, I have a first-hand account that the ears need more attention from many peopleperhaps you? 

The front and back of the ears. Cleansing around your ears (front and back) is important. It may seem silly to say, “Wash behind your ears,” but debris does collect in this Forgotten Place. When I’m examining a client’s skin, I always lift the earlobes and check behind the ears for congestion that may be hidden there. Many times I find a buildup of dead skin and oil that could easily be removed by simply remembering to cleanse back there on a regular basis. It doesn’t take much effort, just a swab behind the ears as you’re cleansing your face. More often than not I see congested pores in front of the ears too. Make sure to get the cleanser all the way over to your ears because blackheads do collect there.

Along with cleansing, you’ll want to exfoliate in front and in back of your ears as well. You don’t need to get aggressive, but do get some of your exfoliator in that long ridge behind your ears, in back of your earlobes, and around to the front of your ears. 

The tops of the ears. Whenever you will be out in the sun for an extended period of time (exercising, golfing, gardening, walking, etc.), don’t forget to put sunscreen on your ears, especially the tops. Over and over again I see clients with sun damage on their ears. If you think about it, even when you wear a baseball cap or visor, your ears are totally exposed. You don’t need to glob a bunch of sunscreen on your ears, but when applying sun protection to your face, don’t forget your ears.

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