So you do all the right things (regularly wash your face, exfoliate, moisturize, and even wear sunscreen!), but your skin still breaks out. We hear you. The unfortunate truth is that you can be diligent about your skincare routine, but if you're not addressing all of the possible acne causes, you'll still be Googling "why am I breaking out?!" every single night for the foreseeable.
Acne can occur at ANY time in ANYONE’S life - it affects both men and women, and can literally appear overnight with no rhyme nor reason. However, it is treatable and sufferers should not surrender to this silent skin assassin.
What is acne?
Firstly, it’s important to note the common misconception that acne is a result of dirty skin or under-cleansed skin - take this myth and throw it straight in the bin. It’s simply not true. So please don’t think that you can ‘fix’ or clear your acne by cleansing 3+ times a day or overusing your active products.
On a similar vein, how do you know if you are experienced acne or just a bog standard breakout?
Breakouts are generally a burst of acne-related bumps commonly caused by environmental factors, your skin reacting to a certain product that it doesn’t like or temporary changes in your hormone levels (around the time of your period). In contrast, acnaeic skin can be genetic and is characterised by thicker, stickier oil production and large, cystic plugs forming in the hair follicle.
So, what causes it?
Generally speaking, there are four main causes of acne - hormones, bacteria, inflammation and sensitivity. When it comes to hormones, a rise in androgens can trigger overproduction of oil, inflammation in the skin and colonisation of the hair follicles by a bacteria known as Propionobacterium Acnes. This rise in androgens, as well as inflammation and sensitivities in the skin can all be caused by various day-to-day factors such as certain foods, the body undergoing stress, illness and allergies.
If your acne is a direct result of the bacteria causing Propionobacterium Acnes, antibiotics tend to work well for treating it. However this is rare - the most common cause of acne is hormonal changes or other life factors.
In addition, it is important to remember that inflammation can be a problem for everyone - acne sufferers or not! So just because you may suffer from inflamed or red areas on the skin, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have acne. Inflammation is simply a result of your skin cells becoming irritated and tends to happen if you come into contact with something that you are allergic or sensitive to from skincare products to food items.
And how do you treat it?
When treating acnaeic skin, there are many ingredients that should be actively avoided. These include anything with mineral oils, drying alcohols, foaming products (this will be evident by the presence of Sodium Laureth Sulfate on the ingredients list), and anything too comedogenic.
It goes without saying, but don’t pick or squeeze any of your spots of bumps!
Also, don’t be tempted to strip your skin of all oils - this has a detrimental effect on your skin barrier meaning your skin can’t protect itself from bacteria as it usually would, and will end up causing you further soreness and irritation.
A key thing to remember is that you must be gentle - treat your skin with respect! Most people with acne have sensitivities in another area of their life such as IBS, asthma, hay fever or similar. Aggravating any of these issues will never result in positive change, so keep this in mind when treating your skin.
It is also recommended to avoid wearing heavy makeup everyday, so try to let your skin breathe as much as possible. For the same reason, products with shea butter should be skipped where possible - shea butter can be great for your body or to treat dry skin but due to its thick consistency, it should be avoided by those with acne.
What DOES work includes topical exfoliants, retinols, retinoics, retinoids - all of these products work to help the skin cells turn over quicker revealing the fresh and clean skin underneath! As previously mentioned, just be sure to go easy with these and start off slowly - once or twice a week to build up your tolerance.
In addition, ensure your skin is properly hydrated by choosing a lightweight, oil free moisturiser and spritzing your face throughout the day with a good quality facial mist (remember - no drying alcohols!).
Finally, when treating acne scarring left behind Vitamin C is always recommended - we love the Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum. You can also look into micro-needling, although we wouldn’t recommend trying this at home unless you have done adequate research! As an alternative, we offer a micro-current facial treatment in the studio, which you can find out more about and book by clicking the button at the bottom of this blog post.
If you have the skincare down and you see minimal improvement, it is worth considering what you’re putting into your body in terms of how your diet looks. However, it is important to remember that you should allow 12 weeks for products to begin working their magic!
Try to avoid eating too many white foods, fried foods and sugar. You may also want to consider supplements - taking a good quality fish oil capsule every day can make a huge difference. If you believe your acne is related to gut problems, prebiotics and/or probiotics may be something to consider - just make sure always to follow guidance from your doctor on this.
To summarise, regular and consistent routine is so important when it comes to treating skin with acne. Find and use products that actually work for YOUR skin, not just the ones in the pretty bottles!
Looking for an acne-friendly summer skincare routine? Try this:
1st cleanse - balm or oil cleanser (try Clinique Take The Day Off balm)
2nd cleanse - gel or milky cleanser (CeraVe Hydrating cleanser is budget friendly and works really well)
topical exfoliant/retinol (Paula’s Choice 2% BHA liquid exfoliant is a firm favourite!)
antiseptic toner (we love La Roche-Posay Serozinc)
serum - either a hyaluronic/hydrating serum OR a vitamin c serum (Drunk Elephant C-Firma day serum is always on our shelves)
moisturiser (try Murad Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate Moisture for a lightweight, oil-free option)
spf (we love La Roche-Posay Anthelios).
If you’d like further guidance and a full AM & PM skincare routine prescribed based on your individual skin needs, click the button below to book in for a Signature Facial and skincare consultation with one of our facialists.
Love,
33Dowanhill
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