Acne: Part 1

You've tried it all; Serums, acids, anti-acne facial washes, cremes, and lotions. Acne is something I get asked about the most. There are so many factors as to why someone is breaking out. I will be doing several parts to this topic because there is so much information it couldn't all go in one post!

First lets go over some of the things that can cause acne:

~Stress
~Hormones
~certain medications
~Going on or off birth control (it can take 6 months to a year for your skin to adjust to this)
~Poor diet (i.e. greasy foods, junk foods)
~poor hygiene (not washing pillow case often enough, poor skincare routine)
~puberty
~hot weather
~vitamin A or E deficiency
~make-up on a regular basis
~not taking off make-up at night
~menopause
~certain degrees of rosacia

Make-Up

Removal:
 It is extremely crucial to take all make-up off at the end of the day. Skin rejuvenates itself while you sleep so sleeping with make-up when you have acneic skin not only keeps pores clogged but prevents the skin from rejuvenating. Even if you're exhausted you should still try and wash your face every night.

Every Day:
 Another thing to make sure of with make-up is if you are having an active acneic break out, try to not even wear make-up. Eye make-up should be fine to continue using; mainly steer clear from using foundations, primers, or concealers. Trust me, I know its not ideal but most of the time the acne is still pretty noticeable even with concealer, so just let your face breathe!!

Applicators:
If you use the wedges, use a new wedge for each application. Wedges harbor bacteria and are not meant to be cleaned and reused. Its a lot more cost efficient to get a blender sponge because you can clean those properly. I buy a new one once a month and clean it every morning after application with a tea tree cleanser I have. Brushes should be cleaned once a week. You can use any facial cleanser to clean them. I wouldn't use dish soap because it could break down the brush.

What cover up looks like on acne.

Pillowcases:

 How often do you wash your pillowcase? Once a week? Once a month? Longer than that? Pillow cases are harboring not only your dead skin cells but if you have extremely oily/acneic skin its holding that oil and bacteria from your acne as well. Oh! I should also mention that if you sleep in make-up and never wash your pillowcase, there is also old make-up just sitting with dead skin cells, oil, and bacteria. I highly recommend you wash your pillowcase every 2-3 days and sheets once a week.

I will go further in detail about how to care for each acneic type over the next few weeks! Remember everyones skin is different so what works for your friends acne might not work for you. Its all about finding the right routine for you and getting into good habits!