It’s safe to say no one loves having acne — and dealing with it isn’t always a simple process.
Finding a treatment that works for your skin depends on a few variables, and sometimes the help of a dermatologist. But bad habits, like touching your face or not regularly washing your pillowcase, won’t help the situation.
Here are 7 things all acne-prone people should try to avoid.
1. Smoking
Besides lung cancer, heart disease and early aging of your skin (e.g. wrinkles), smoking causes the contraction of the small capillaries and blood vessels of the skin, thus depriving your skin from the essential oxygen I needs for the creation and maintenance of healthy cells.
2. Shaving with Four-In-One Razor blades
Never use these four-in-one razor blades when shaving especially if you have large bumps and painful cysts. The reason is that blades that guarantee the ?closest shave? will cause severe irritation and will damage your skin. Always use a single blade when having ?live? acne.
3. Using Topical Steroids
Over the counter or prescription cortisone based creams, especially the potent types, can eventually thin your skin and worsen your acne condition in the long run in addition to the irritation, redness and other side effects steroid creams can cause. Moreover, topicals by definition address the symptoms of acne (inflammation, itching, puss), they do not treat the root cause of the disease. Nevertheless, taking care of your skin externally is highly recommended but should be performed gently using pure natural ingredients such as diluted tea tree oil.
4. Picking Your Skin (popping and squeezing included)
Never, never and ever touch, pick or squeeze your blemishes, regardless of how temping and ?safe? it may seem. By doing this unprofessionally, you make your acne worse by aggravating your existing inflammation and pushing the puss deeper and wider into the skin. There are in fact very effective and safe ways of dealing with small whiteheads or blackheads but I would strongly recommend leaving that to the professionals if you care for your skin and wish to prevent further scarring.
5. Taking excessive amounts of Vitamin A
Vitamin A from natural sources (green leafy vegetables and beta carotene fruit and veggies) and in small quantities can significantly enhance the healing process of your skin but when taken excessively it can seriously damage your liver and cause severe health problems and side effects.
6. Taking Antibiotics
Antibiotic treatments like tetracycline aggravate your acne in the long run and also severely damage your internal system in the process. Antibiotics destroy all the bacteria in your system including the good, probiotic bacteria like acidophilus that have many essential qualities that promote clear skin. One of these qualities is the ability to protect your digestive tract from parasites and fungus (that constantly stress and damage your liver, one of the most important organs responsible for the healing process of your skin).
7. Use over the counters for your Rosacea
That one is a no-brainer. Taking over the counters that by definition make your skin red and irritating is definitely not something you want to do when surfeiting from rosacea. If you suffer from rosacea, always consult your dermatologist prior to applying over the counters on your already inflamed and highly sensitive skin.
