5 Suspects Causing You To Break Out | Acne Tips

Have you ever wondered why you are still prone to breakout, even though you have been extra diligent in choosing your skincare/makeup products?

Last week, I mentioned about the external and internal factors could be the reasons that lead to your breakouts — "Clear Acne From The Inside Out". Apart from that, there are things we come in contact with on a daily basis could also be the culprits behind your breakouts. I have nabbed a few suspects, so let's start the investigation!

Suspect 1: Your Pillowcase

Crime: Causing breakouts on your face and/or the sides of your face

Your pillowcase is a nasty cesspool of bacteria! Why? Your hair and face secrete sebum naturally. And when you press them against your pillow, the sebum get rubbed off and absorbed by your pillowcase; not to mention, some of you drool and sweat when you are asleep eh? As a result, your pillow become a breeding ground for bacteria. When your face comes in contact with your pillow, the grime and bacteria re-contaminate your skin and BAM! BREAKOUTS!

Fix It: Change and wash your pillowcase (and bed sheets) every few days or weekly.

Suspect 2: Your Makeup Tools (sponges, brushes etc.)
Crime: Causing breakouts on your face

Much like Suspect 1 — Each time you use your makeup tools, they collect and trap leftover makeup, sebum, dirts and sweat, which make a perfect flourishing surroundings for bacteria to build their colony. If you continue using the tools, you are transferring the grime and bacteria to your face thus, increasing the chances of getting breakouts.

Fix It: Sanitize and wash your makeup tools after every use or at least once a week.

Suspect 3:  Your Cell Phone

Crime: Causing breakouts on your jawline and/or the sides of your face

Think about what your cell phone goes through a day. Your hands are full of germs and with all the texting, snapping, scrolling on your cell phone, plus you put your phone on the public table, toss it in your bag etc. ... all of these actions transfer a lot of bacteria onto your device, which can then get transferred to your face when you are making or answering a call.

Fix It: Clean your cell phone by wiping the screen with anti-bacterial wipe regularly. (I personally use Anti-Bacterial Wet Wipes from Dettol.) Alternatively, you can consider using a head/ear-phones to reduce the chances of your cell phone touching your face.

Suspect 4: Your Diet
Crime: Causing breakouts on your face

As I've mentioned before in "Clear Acne From The Inside Out", some types of foods increase oil and hormone production, heat and toxic in the body, which can cause you to breakout.

Fix It: Avoid oily, spicy, junk foods and/or dairy products. Consider keeping a food diary and monitoring your skin can help you find out if a certain food is constantly causing you to breakout.

Suspect 5: Your Eyeglasses (Sunglasses/Spectacles etc.)
Crime: Causing breakouts on your temples and the sides of your nose

Your makeup can get stained on the frame. In addition, sebum, dead skin cells, dirt and sweat get trapped easily on and under the frame too. The build-up can cause clogged pores and the growth of bacteria, leading to breakouts.

Fix It: Keep your eyeglasses free from grime by washing under water or wiping them with anti-bacterial wet wipes. If you wear makeup, make sure you thoroughly wipe the areas that touch your skin with a makeup remover wipe.

Well, it is more than just choosing the right skincare/makeup products when it comes to battling acne. There are many "small" things that we use or do everyday might be to blame for the crime of causing breakouts — be vigilant!

Check out my other articles:
- "My Acne Story"
- "Understanding The Types Of Acne — Whitehead, Blackhead, Papule, Pustule, Cyst, Nodule"
- "Understanding The Acne Fighters — Salicylic Acid, Benzoyl Peroxide, Tea Tree oil"
- "5 Acne Spot Treatments Recommendations"

Suspects Causing You To Break Out | Acne Tips

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Clear Acne From The Inside Out + The Rules! | Acne Tips

Check out my personal experience with acne — "My Acne Story".

A pimple outbreak can be caused by internal and external factors, and the key to clear complexion is to take steps both internally and externally. Here are some rules that I abide by which helped me in getting rid of my acne.

Rule 1: A Good Skin Care Routine For Day and Night (external)
Clear skin starts from clean skin; and having a good skin care routine is an important step in achieving clear and clean skin.

A good skin care routine for acne skin doesn't require many products. A 3-4 step routine, consisting of *cleanser, toner [optional], moisturizer, spot treatment, for day and night is sufficient to treat acne.

*Side information:
- Cleanser removes the grime collected on your face, preventing the grime from clogging your pores; thus, prevents existing pimples from getting worse and keep breakouts at bay.

- Toner helps to clean off left over grime that has not been washed off by the cleanser. It also helps to restore the skin's natural pH level.

- Moisturizer hydrates the skin. Each time you cleanse your face, it strips skin of its natural oils. So by applying a moisturizer helps to replenish the loss. Always remember that a well-hydrated skin helps to slow down the rate of oil production and keep skin problems away.

- Zit zapper helps to soothe and speed up the healing process of a pimple, and a scar topical treatment helps to lighten post acne marks/scars. Check out my "5 Acne Spot Treatments Recommendations".

Make sure you choose products that are made specially for acne skin/problems. These usually contain ingredient like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide or tea tree oil that fight acne and keep them at bay. Check out more information on the active acne ingredients: "Understanding The Acne Fighters — Salicylic Acid, Benzoyl Peroxide, Tea Tree oil".

Rule 2: Stick To A Fixed Bedtime Schedule; Beauty Sleep~ (internal)
DO NOT mess with your natural sleeping schedule! Sleeping late or getting not enough sleep affects your hormone production and immune system, which can lead to an acne outbreak. You need to get 8 hours of sleep each night as your immune system requires energy to expel toxins built up in your body. Take note that your body "recharges" itself and dispels toxins, and your skin heals while you are asleep. So for the sake of a good and clear complexion, avoid being a night owl! Go to bed before 11pm everyday and get enough rest!

Rule 3: Watch Your Diet (internal)
Believe it or not, certain types of food may trigger acne! From my personal experience, I get breakout when I consume dairy products, seafoods (that are high in iodine: shellfish, shrimps, squids) or oily and spicy foods. These foods increase oil and hormone production, heat and toxic in the body, which can lead to breakout. You may want to stay away from these foods or cut down the intake.

P.S: I recommend to observe your diet and monitor your skin (acne) condition. This way it can help you uncover if a certain food is constantly causing you to breakout.

Rule 4: Drink, Drink, Drink! (internal)
Water works wonders for your skin. It helps to cool you down, transport nutrients and expel waste products. To flush the toxic substances from your body and maintain your skin's beauty, drink at least 8 glasses of fluids a day.

Rule 5: Pop Your Zits PROPERLY (external)
I have warned you readers many times not to pop your zits because if you do it in the wrong way, it may cause further damage to your skin, and may even lead to permanent scarring. But I know, it is hard to resist the temptation to pop them. So if you want to pop them, at least do it properly!

So, how to pop a pimple in the right way? This is my way of doing it~ :
Take action only if your pimple has come to a head at the tip. You can use a pimple extractor tool to pop the zit, but if you don't own one, you can use your fingertips (not fingernails).

Before you start popping your pimple, make sure your face and hands are clean. Wrap both of your index fingers with clean tissues and gently apply pressure on the edges of the pimple. Note: Avoid popping the pimple using your fingernails as it can cause skin injury! Once the head and excess pus pop out, clean it off with a tissue. Stop the squeezing once you see blood!

Next, paste a Nexcare Acne Patch over the open wound.

↑ This patch helps to absorb all the remaining pus embedded deep inside the pimple and prevents the pimple from reappearing.

Replace a new patch when the patch turns white (covered with pus). Keep using the patch until there is no sign of pus residue on the patch — that means the pus has been fully cleared up. I highly recommend to use the Nexcare Acne Patch instead of continue to squeeze the zit using your fingers because the patch is less damaging to the skin, yet it does an excellent job in drawing out the pus and clearing pimple!

P.S: Always make sure all the pus has come out, otherwise the zit might reappear.

So that's all for the rules! Start healing your acne from the inside out today! Do let me know if my tips work for you, yeah? Acne sufferers, press on, fighting~!♥

Any questions ask me at http://ask.fm/bitsdiaries. Shhh...I'm planning a live chat with you readers~ Stay tuned for that. 

Check out my other articles:

- "The DOs and DON'T For Acne Prone Skin".

- "5 Common Acne Treatment Mistakes + The Solutions"
- "5 Suspects Causing You To Break Out"

Clear Acne From The Inside Out

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5 Common Acne Treatment Mistakes + The Solutions

Common Acne Treatment Mistakes Here are the FIVE common acne treatment mistakes that are making your acne worse and FIVE solutions to correct them.

Mistake 1: Popping Zits
Yikes! There's a pimple on your chin! What should you do? Pop it? Tempting huh? But noooooooo~! Popping pimples actually pushes the infection further into your skin, causing more redness, swelling and scarring (more prone to indented scars).

The Solution:
Instead of popping the pimple, apply spot treatment formulated with active acne ingredient on the zit and let it dry naturally by itself. If you pop a pimple by accident, I recommend to stick a Nexcare Acne Patch over the zit. This acne patch helps to absorb all the pus embedded in the pimple, without needing to squeeze with your fingers, thereby reducing the damage done to your skin.

Mistake 2: Over-Cleansing Your Face
Cleansing your face several times a day does not cure your acne. In fact, you are ruining your skin and inviting acne. When you over-cleanse your skin, you are over-stripping away the skin oil that acts as a function to keep skin moisturized and balanced. Deep down, your skin naturally pumps out oil to the surface to keep it moisturized so if your skin is too dry, it will produce even more oil to compensate for the dryness. This could lead to excess oil production, causing more congestion along with possibly dryness and irritation.

Mistake 3: Skipping Moisturizer
So now you know each time you cleanse your face, you are not only removing excess sebum, but also stripping skin of its natural oils hence, we need moisturizer to replenish the loss.

The Solutions for 2 & 3:
Wash your face twice a day is sufficient. Don't forget to apply moisturizer afterwards. Use a cleanser and moisturizer that is made specifically for acne skin. These usually contain active acne ingredients like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide or tea tree oil. Remember that a well-hydrated skin helps to slow down the rate of oil production.

Mistake 4: Exfoliating
Yes, buffing away dead skin cells is beneficial to the skin. It helps to prevent clogged pores, keeping pimples from forming. It is okay to exfoliate if you have very mild acne issues (non-inflamed whiteheads, flesh color bumps or blackheads). But it is not okay to exfoliate if your skin is flooded with red, inflamed pimples as it may further aggravate them and make them worse.

The Solution:
It's best to avoid exfoliating your skin if you have lots of inflamed pimples. As I've said, it may further aggravate them.

Mistake 5: Skin Itches Is A Sign Of Healing
Well, I do agree that itching is a sign of healing, but this applies to an injury, a wound. This does not apply to facial skin. Itching is certainly NOT a sign that your acne is healing! When your facial skin itches, it is an indication that your skin is dry. It can also be a sign of skin allergy/irritation. Therefore, do not ignore the itching issues! Take action quickly, otherwise your acne may get worse.

The Solution:
All you have to do is to moisturize your skin! Once your skin is well hydrated, the itching sensation will stop. If the itching is caused by an allergic reaction with visible redness, you have to find out what causes it and stop using that product immediately.

The reason why I'm sharing this topic is because these are the mistakes I have made in the past which resulted my bad acne (refer to "My Acne Story"). The solutions provided have helped me to solve the problems, so hopefully these bits of advice can help you as well. Keep fighting acne! :)

"Bear in mind that treating acne doesn't need aggressive treatments.
Gently does it!"

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