If you’re one of the 85% of people who will have acne at some point in your life, you’ve probably tried everything to get rid of pesky breakouts. About 40 to 50 million Americans are discovering that finding the best acne treatment isn’t easy. Many home remedies boast the quickest solutions, but can mean disaster for your skin. (I’m talking major acne scars.) The best skin care treatments are really up to your dermatologist, but here are some things you need to avoid when trying to banish your breakouts.
Do not pop your zits – Squeezing or popping your pimples can cause serious scarring, but also may be one of the reasons why you still experience breakouts. Though it feels like a quick acne treatment solution, touching your face is one of the worst things you can do for blemish-prone skin, because your hands are covered with their own natural oils, as well as the oil and dirt from anything they’ve touched. Not only will popping your zits cause tissue trauma and unnecessary bleeding, but it also exposes that fresh wound to contaminants and other clogging oils.
Do not over-wash your skin – Sometimes it feels like the best acne treatment is to scrub your zits away. But too much cleaning can have the opposite effect. Washing your face too many times can be abrasive on your skin, causing inflammation, which leads to additional breakouts. Wash your face once in the morning and once at night, and channel all of your cleansing urges into keeping your hands oil-free and away from your face.
Do not eat greasy food – Lots of people think that a greasy diet is directly responsible for acne. The truth isn’t so far off, though. When you eat greasy food, you get that grease on your hands, and when you touch your face, that grease gets on your skin. Therefore, if you avoid touching greasy foods, you can avoid these extra oils getting trapped in your pores.
The moral of the story is: don’t touch your breakouts! It may be difficult not to pick and poke, but avoiding interaction with and contamination of your skin will be the difference between a beautiful complexion and a serious pain-in-the-face.
