Acne breakouts affect the skin of the majority of teenagers and some adults. Some people are lucky enough to have only occasional breakouts while those unlucky ones may experience ongoing acne breakouts. Other than the physical pain it brings to you, acne breakout can affect you emotionally and psychologically, causing anxiety and embarrassment to you.
To solve acne problem, you must first find out the reasons why you are having acne breakout. Other than hormonal influences and puberty, experts say that acne breakout is actually what your face is trying to tell you about the mistakes you made in your life and skincare routines which cause you acne problem. Hence, this article is going to help you to explore some common lifestyle and skincare mistake that can cause acne.
Inappropriate cleansing and exfoliating habits:
Experts say that you must at least cleanse your face twice a day with a gentle and hydrating cleanser. Insufficient cleansing means you are not washing all the dirt, oil and makeup on your face and this will clog the pores which results in irritation and acne. On the other hand, it has been agreed that exfoliating twice or thrice a week can remove dead skin cells on your skin surface. Although scrubbing can keep your face clean enough to avoid acne, over-scrubbing can scrub away healthy skin cells which protect your skin and this can lead to hypersensitivity that can cause breakout.
Filthy bedding:
Your bedding sheet and pillowcases can transfer dirt and oil to your skin and cause acne. When they are not laundered or changed frequently, dirt and oil will build-up from the environment. When your skin and hair have contact with these bedding sheet and pillowcases, the dirt and oil is transferred back to your skin, clogging pores and causing irritation.
Acne-causing substances in your skincare and cosmetic products and tools:
Your acne problem could be due to irritation-causing and pore-clogging ingredients like comedogenic mineral oil and silicones in your products. If you have acne problem and suspect that it is caused by your products, you should stop using them and see what happens. If acne problem do improve, then it is the problem of your products and you might want to consider changing other products. Besides, you should also make sure the hygiene of your skincare and makeup tools as the dirt and oil accumulated on those tools can irritate your skin and cause acne breakout.
Improper diet:
There is always a connection between what you eat and acne breakouts. Dairy products, sugar and spicy food are the common foods that cause you to have acne. Dairy products like milk and cheese are produced by pregnant cows and contain high levels of hormones that can send your oil glands into overdrive and aggravate acne whereas sugar is said to be able to aggravates the hormonal acne and promote inflammation. Besides, spicy food often contains tomatoes and peppers which contain acidic lycopene that can irritate the skin, causing imbalance in the skin pH levels and triggering breakouts.
Improper acne treatment:
Overusing acne-treating products that contain topical salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide or sulphur can worsen your acne problem. These ingredients can dry out your skin and cause it to produce more oil which leads to acne. Besides, these ingredients can burn your skin if used too frequent, making the acne appear redder and harder to heal.
Lack of protection against the sun:
Light sun exposure can benefit your skin but sun exposure can cause you acne if you are spending more time under the sun without putting on sunscreen. This is because the sun can cause your skin to dry out and trigger more sebum production which leads to acne. Besides, after getting sunburn, your skin becomes more sensitive and easier to get irritated.
Improper hair care products and routine:
Shampoos, conditioners and stylers contain sulfates (cleansing agents), heavy moisturizing agents and silicones that can seep into your pores, clogging them and causing acne. Not tilting your head over to the side when washing your hair worsens the problem because this makes it easy for the hair products’ residue to travel to your face. In addition, washing your hair less often can cause the oil and grease in your scalp and increase the chance of them travelling to your face.
Insufficient sleep:
Lack of sleep causes stress which leads to increase in the substance cortisol in the body. This cortisol will cause your skin to secrete more sebum which results in clogged pores and acne. Moreover, sleep deprivation can cause increase in insulin resistance which can make you to become acne-proned because insulin resistance increase glucose in your body.
So, after understanding a number of common lifestyle and skincare mistakes that can cause you acne, you might want to avoid these mistakes to improve your acne problem. On the other hand, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’, for those who do not face acne problem currently may also want to take precaution of these common mistakes.