10 Easy Tips on How to Avoid Acne Breakouts

Plastic Surgeon & Skin Care Spa Serving Kansas City, Overland Park, Olathe, Lee's Summit & Nearby Areas of Kansas & Missouri

Posted: May 8, 2014

10 Easy Tips on How to Avoid Acne Breakouts

1. Keep your face clean:

Whether or not you have acne, it’s important to wash your face twice daily to remove blemishes, dead skin cells, and extra oil from your skin’s surface. Use warm water and a facial cleanser that accommodates your skin. Using a harsh soap (like body soap) can hurt the already inflamed skin and cause more irritation.

2. Watch what you put on your hair:

Avoid using fragrances, oils, pomades, or gels on your hair. If they get on your face, they can block your skin’s pores and irritate your skin. Use a gentle shampoo and conditioner. Oily hair can add to the oil on your face, so wash your hair often, especially if you’re breaking out. Got long hair? Keep it pulled away from your face.

 3. Exfoliate:

When our skin cells shed the dead cells do not fall away on their own. Dead skin cells stick to the skin, clogging pores and hair follicles. Dead cell debris causes the skin to produce excess follicle oils—which leads to blackheads and blemishes. Speeding up the skin renewal process and allowing new healthy cells to take their place.

4. Do not pick or squeeze your blackheads and pimples:

As tempting as it may be, do not squeeze, scratch, rub or touch your pimples and blackheads. Doing these actions actually increases the sebum production. Plus, when you squeeze, you are actually rupturing the membranes below your skin, causing infection and sebum to spread underneath your skin, the result is more pimples. Also the pressure that you apply may cause post acne hyperpigmentation.

5. Wash your pillow case every other day:

Your face lays on your pillow case every day. Your pillow case absorbs the oils from your skin and reapplies the dirt and oil. Thus causing breakouts. Keep your sheets and pillow cases clean.

6. Eat foods rich in zinc:

Zinc is an antibacterial agent and a necessary element in the oil-producing glands of the skin. A diet low in zinc can actually cause acne breakouts. Rich in Zinc foods include Beef, Lamb, Spinach, Pumpkin, Cashews, Baked Beans, Cooked White Mushrooms.

7. Clay Masks:

A weekly clay mask will help reduce sebum on those with oily skin, it can also help with the appearance of pores. Homemade clay masks can be low in cost and very effective, a great receipt that you can use is 1 Apricot, 1 tbsp. of Yogurt, and ½ tsp. of Clay Powder. Mix them all together, apply to the skin and leave on for at least 10 minutes. This mask can be done once or twice a week. If you want a pre-made mask the line Bioelements has a great mask called Restorative Clay. It helps with refining pores, improves skin’s texture and helps absorb excess oil and dirt.

8. Choose Acne-Friendly Makeup:

The makeup you use (and how much you use) has a big impact on the health of your skin. If you’re prone to breakouts, look for products that say “non-comedogenic” on the label. This means that the product is specifically designed not to clog your pores. Clogged pores are one of the leading causes of breakouts. Glo-minerals is a mineral make up line ideal for all skin types. Their formulations combine pharmaceutical-grade ingredients, natural high-pigment minerals and the power of antioxidants help achieve beautiful glowing skin. Glo-minerals can be found at Renue Aesthetic Surgery.

Another additional tip to keep in mind is making sure you are regularly cleaning and washing your make up brushes. Make up brushes are like sponges and tend to hold bacteria. Washing your powder and foundations brushes once a week is recommended with an antibacterial soap. So next time you experience a breakout this might be the blame!

9. Clean Your Phone:

Most of us spend countless hours on our cell phones every day. What you probably don’t know is that this little cellular device is one of the newest causes of acne breakouts. Why? Because all of the dirt from the face of your phone (the phone you’ve been touching with your filthy fingers all day long) seeps into your face every time you press your phone to your head. Your makeup rubs off on the face of the phone and is then transferred back onto your face the next time you use it. To prevent breakouts, clean the part of your phone that touches your face regularly and that will, in turn, keep your face clean as well.

10. Moisturize and Stay Out of the Sun:

 If you’ve turned to acne products to control your outbreaks (which most of you probably have), the importance of moisturizing becomes a key component in keeping your breakouts at bay. Most acne products contain ingredients that dry out the skin, thus, moisturizing immediately after is critical. Make sure you hydrate your skin with water before applying the moisturizer. A little bit of sun has been known to reduce breakouts but too much can cause damage to your skin and prompt a breakout. If you’re planning a weekend in the sun, be sure to load up on sunscreen. The ideal sunscreen is a broad-spectrum sunscreen, protecting against both UVA and UVB rays that has an SPF of 30 or higher and moisturizer – these will help keep your skin hydrated and protected from the sun which will equal fewer breakouts this summer.