Acne happens; even the most skincare conscious people have acne breakouts. Anything from stress, allergies, to hormonal changes can cause for you pores to go haywire. As an avid skincare user, I’ve been suffering from continuous acne for the past month on my cheeks. I do a twelve-step skincare routine and I still got hit with acne. I panicked and did some things that were not good for my skin and made my acne worse, but over some time I figured out the things I was doing incorrectly and those acne spots are slowly starting to clear up.
1. Don’t touch the acne breakout.
I know how tempting it is to continuously touch the area, popping pimples, for instance, can cause some serious damage and even lead to acne scars. Touching the face continuously also transfers dirt and oil that have collected on your fingertips and palms onto the face and into the pores.
2. Wash your pillowcases and bedding.
You lay your face on these pieces of cloth every single night. Whatever oils and dirt are in your blankets, sheets, and pillowcases have consistent contact with your skin for long periods of time. Washing all these things gives your skin to rest against something that does not have a ton of dirt and oil on it.
3. Simplify your skincare routine to 3 to 4 steps (do morning and night).
Now if you’re not doing an excessively long routine, follow these steps:
1. Cleanse
Particularly with an acne cleanser and/or a gentle foaming cleanser.
2. Exfoliate (Optional)
Do this every other day, use a good sugar scrub that gives a moisturizing effect, exfoliating removes dead skin cells that can block oxygen to the skin and encourage pore blockage.
3. Tone
Find a good toner to go after you cleanse. This helps return moisture and balance your skin’s PH levels after stripping them in the cleansing process
4. Moisturize
Some people make the assumption that putting on moisturizer will clog your pores, but after the cleansing, exfoliating, and toning process, moisturizer helps bring hydration that your skin needs to stay healthy.
4. Take a break from the makeup.
Now, wearing makeup is totally fine in this process, but allowing your skin to breathe a little more can help speed up the process in removing the acne breakout. If you want to cover the blemish try going for concealer on the area.
These are just some tips that worked for me, but remember healing acne breakouts takes time, so be patient and if it continues to get worse talk to your dermatologist for advice.