I remember walking down the hallways when I was in high school, trying to hide my face every time I broke out in acne. It made me feel really self conscious. You try to hide it, keep your head down. I played with the idea of cover up to hide it but I just sucked it up and lived with it.
It wasn’t until later in life that I looked at the root causes of acne, As weird as it is, it’s interesting to understand why we get acne.
Acne occurs when hair follicles get clogged with dead skin cells and oil. It’s the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.
How Does It Happen?
Our bodies naturally secrete oil, known as sebum, to lubricate our hair and skin.(1) Our bodies also naturally shed skin. The issue arises when we have an excess amount of dead skin in our pores combined with an excessive amount of oil. It creates a plug and if the plug becomes infected with bacteria it will cause inflammation.
There are a number of factors that may worsen acne, which include diet, hormones and stress.
4 Easy Ways to Care For Acne Prone Skin
Avoid Greasy or Oily Substances
If you use moisturizers and are finding it causes you to break out, stop using them! If you work in a kitchen or areas that use large amounts of grease, you’ll notice that you may be more prone to break outs.
Diet
It’s no secret that inflammation causes chaos throughout the body. Are you a pop drinker or do you enjoy sugary drinks? If so, not only what you eat but what you drink can lead to inflammation in the body. There was a study done by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition which showed that inflammation levels in the body were increased by up to 105% by drinking 1 – 2 cans of soda per day.(2)
It’s a pretty shocking revelation, especially because of how many people normally drink 1 or 2 cans of pop or glasses of sugary drinks per day.
If you’re a pop drinker, switch to water. It’s recommended that you have at least 2.5 liters (10 glasses) per day, depending on your level of physical activity.
Gently Clean Your Face
If you have acne prone skin, you’ll want to ensure that you wash your face at least twice per day. Be careful not to scrub hard and always pat your face dry instead of rubbing dry. Use a gentle soap or cleanser, such as our bubbly and pH neutral soaps. The gentle blend of lavender/rosemary can help to gently wash excess oil from the skin while ensuring it doesn’t dry or damage it.
When washing, ensure that you use warm water!
Remove Makeup
Going to sleep with cosmetics on your face can clog your pores. If you wear makeup daily, try to give your face a break every now and then by limiting how much you use or going natural every now and then. Not only is it a huge time saver but your face will thank you for it too.
If you do use makeup and know that won’t change, ensure that you’re using oil free makeup and foundations. Some makeups are heavy, which can lead to an acne flare up.
Do you have a story or other ideas on how to help remove acne? Share your ideas below!
I used to drink pop all the time too. I used to feel tired all the time, was overweight and used to break out all the time.
Cutting out pop has made such a huge difference. Love using the plain soap and water trick.
Thanks for the great article,
Sarah
Thanks for sharing your story Sarah! It’s amazing what happens when we cut out things like sugary drinks and foods that are responsible for inflammation.