The good old competition between the skin and beard constantly trying to compete with each other like a game of Mario Kart. Are you a Donkey? Perhaps you are Yoshi?. The skin and beard can sometimes be on the same team when they are competing against Peach and that short guy, Mushroom ( Toad) However, most of the time these two can have a few issues and love to go head to head.
There are multiple reasons why Donkey and Yoshi love to go head to head and they are:
- Genetics
- Environment
- Products
- Skin type and Tone
- Lifestyle
These multiple challenges can affect our beard and skin in so many ways. To get down to the nitty gritty, males have a larger hair follicle on the skin. When a bad boy’s hair follicle is warming up and ready to click A at the start line to go and race, depending on the course and challenge in front of him, it depends on how the skin is going to respond and how the hair follicle will react.
If our course ( skin) is normal to combination, then we are going to have a few good advantages at the start. We are going to be right on track in winning first place in the first few laps. This is because our hair follicles have an easy, smooth environment to race in. He’s coming straight for that golden cup with no bananas, lighting bolts or shells being targeted in his direction. However, if our skin is on a different course like a harder one with a few challenges for example oily skin , dry skin and sensitive skin then the course and challenges for our race are going to get a little difficult!
The reason for this is that our hair follicle has 4 stages of growth. In each stage our hair follicle needs to be living his best life in his best environment. If a challenge arises and we can’t seem to find a banana, shell or lighting bolt to kick it away and get ourselves in front of the race, then we are going to have some issues. If our course is oily and we are having a lot of excess oil on our skin. Then our hair follicle will use that as a breeding ground to produce acne, clog our pores and create more blackheads as well as ingrown hairs.
If our course is set in the desert where old mate Bowser lives then we are going to have a lot of irritation due to the dryness of the course. This then results in our beard and hair being more sensitive long term and us creating that dry flakey skin underneath the beard.
So how do we stay on top and how do I know if this is going to be me?
Everything comes down to the things listed below:
Genetics & Skin type and tone
Just like all the characters in Mario Kart, they all come from different backgrounds , cultures and genetic makeups. Take Donkey and Yoshi for an instance. Donkey is a warm blooded mammal with thick hair and a lot of it . Yoshi is a cold blooded animal with a thinner hair structure. This same rule applies to us as humans. Some of us have different hair follicles and structures. If you have an African American , Caribbean or Egyptian background then you hair has that amazing curly afro vibe to it. However your hair follicle is classified as more fine. If you have an Italian , Spanish or European background you hair is more thick and coarse and lush.If you have a more Celtic , English and Irish background your hair follicle is more coarse, but can also vary between coarse and fine.Your genetic makeup really plays a massive part in the type of hair follicle you have and how it will affect your skin.
Environment
Just like our race track and the level we decide to do will affect how our go kart performs.Then your environment can have a major impact on how your skin and beard will perform together. If Donkey and Yoshi are competing in a tropical environment with some great sunny days, where the track is near the ocean, then this race is going to be a bloody close one! They will be head to head the whole time and it will really depend on whose skills will get them over the finish line.
However ,if Donkey and Yoshi are competing in a cold wet environment for their race then Yoshi ( skin ) is going to throw Donkey ( beard) a few lightning bolts his way. As the skin can start to get dry in the Winter time due to cold winds , temperature drop , going from hot aircon to cold then the skin struggles to balance itself out. It dries up all the oil and moisture in the hair follicle leaving Donkey in a frozen situation.
If the roles were reversed and we are stepping into Donkey neck of the woods, Racing in his humid rainforest environment then Yoshi is going to be drawing in Donkey’s bananas a little too much. For example we will be hot and sweaty and our oil glands will be over stimulated.Faced with an environment like this we tend to get redness ,mixed with breakouts in our skin and beard ,or our beard sometimes can become irritating.
However the one environment that Donkey and Yoshi hate is Mario and Luigi neighbourhood. Living in the middle of Italy in one of the busiest cities, la roma ( ROME ) Mario and Luigi ‘hood is full of dirt , grime , heat, and sometimes unpredictable weather. When we have a combination of seasonal changes as well as perhaps helping Mario and Luigi work in places like a mine site or a pizzeria ( extremes in working temperature) this is where our lovely friend known as ingrown hair pops up and says G’day !!! he doesn’t just pop up alone. He can also come with the following two issues:
Products
The products we choose to put on our skin are like the ammunition from lighting bolts, bananas and shells to use against our opponents. They all do different things and have different ways of penetrating our skin. If we are using an amo that is stripping with a lot of harsh chemicals then we are going to dry out. But if the amo ( product) we are using has alot of active ingredients and our skin becomes compromised then it can do the opposite and cause us more harm than good. Less is more when using certain skincare ingredients and products on our skin. We just need to be nourishing our skin with the basics and with what our skin type needs.
Lifestyle
Just like a good game of Mario Kart involving different opponents, each has a different way of living and what they do. You ain’t going to find donkey and Yoshi making pizza with Mario and Luigi like you’re not going to find Peaches and Toads living in the rainforest. We all have different lifestyles , what we do for work and how we live our lives as individuals. If we have a more high stress lifestyle then this is going to have a major effect on how our skin and beard works together. If we live a more laid back chilled lifestyle then we tend to not have as many skin and beard issues.
