5 ways to prevent acne breakouts (from someone who has been there)
I’m no dermatologist, so don't take my advice as bible, but as someone that has suffered severe/cystic acne for almost seven years, I’m quite clued up on how to help reduce the effects of acne.
Acne can sometimes be a painful and embarrassing thing, but it is important to know how acne is caused in order to be able to treat it. A common misconception is that acne is caused by being unhygienic, not washing your face and eating too much of the wrong food. Although all of these can have a negative effect on your skin, the cause of acne is much different to what you might think.
Acne is caused when the hair follicles in your skin become blocked by an overproduction of a lubricating oil called sebum. The sebum then mixes with your dead skin cells and end up filling the follicle causing spots. If the follicle is close to the surface of the skin, it creates a whitehead and if the plugged follicle is open to the skin, it creates a blackhead. Blackheads are black because the sebum oxidises on the surface of the skin, and this reaction causing a colour change in the oil.
Acne is not easy to get rid of, take it from someone who knows, but there are many things that you can do to reduce the effects of acne and prevent breakouts.
1. Exfoliate your skin at least once a week. Exfoliating your skin will help get rid of those dead skin cells that are trapped inside your pores, therefore, reducing spots and breakouts. Don't overdo it though. It might also take a while to see effects, so stick with it. It can’t do you any harm.
2. Salicylic acid and benzyl peroxide. Salicylic acid will help to unclog your pores and benzyl peroxide will kill the bacteria created in your pores. When I was suffering from severe acne, I purchased proactiv which includes both of these ingredients. I had been on lots of medication for my skin. Amoxicillin, tetralysal, erythromycin stearate, differin, duac once daily (you name it, I’ve taken it) and found that Proactiv worked best for me. The antibiotics worked for a while, and then my body would adjust to it, but for my combination skin, this worked best.
3. Keeping hydrated with good ol’ h2o. it is important to remember that our skin is the largest organ in the body, and our body is made up of around 70% water. When you’re dehydrated, your skin will look dry and the amount of moisture in the skin will decrease. Keeping skin hydrated leads to less dry dead skin cells, thus decreasing the effects of acne.
4. Experiment with lowering your dairy consumption. It might not work for you, but it might also be the cause of your acne. As well as being a pro-inflammatory, a natural sugar and a natural hormone - dairy is also pretty bad for your complexion. I’m not saying completely cut dairy from your diet, but just watch how much you’re consuming. It could be the reason why you have acne. Intolerances to certain food groups can cause inflammation in the gut and many different symptoms can come about as a result of this. Acne may well be one of these.
5. Moisturise, but with the right kind of moisturiser. Moisturiser that you use for your body should not go anywhere near your face, but finding a moisturiser for your acne prone skin can be a difficult one. Natural, oil-free moisturisers are usually best, preferably one with SPF15 or higher. A great example of a moisturiser like this is Clean and Clear dual action moisturiser.