“Rubbing the eyes can create tiny tears in the [surrounding skin] tissue,” she says. “This can age the eyes and break the capillaries in the eyelids, which can then intensify dark circles.” And as tempting as it is to drain a pimple by squeezing it, “it’s best to leave touching your face for when you’re moisturizing, cleansing, or applying makeup or sunscreen.” Most importantly, if and when you do touch your face—because it’s somewhat inevitable—Dr. Chen urges you to “please be sure your hands are very clean.” Of course, there’s also the worry of spreading germs and viruses, like COVID-19 or flu viruses, from your hands to your face as well. But breaking the habit of constant face-touching is easier said than done; it’s a habit that’s well ingrained in human behavior. Here are a few easy-to-follow tips and tactics from experts to help break the cycle of face touching for good. “Keep track of the touches,” he says. “It does not matter what the [method for counting] is–it could be a golf counter, a sheet of graph paper, or the lap timer on your smartphone. Religiously record every single time you touch your face and within minutes, it will drop to a rate low enough that you can keep track of it for a long time without disruption.” Simple yet brilliant.
