10 Things That May Be Causing Your Acne And How To Avoid Them (Day 18)

#30dayglowup - Day 18

Things that may be triggering acne which are relatively easy to avoid? Let's look into it...

As someone who suffered with acne persistent acne throughout my teenage years which was only finally eradicated after an 8-month round of 80 mg Accutane, trust me when I say I know how hard it is. Acne takes a huge toll on your mental health and self-confidence, and it’s frustrating when you compare yourself to people with genetically clear, flawless skin telling you to just ‘wash your face’. I remember feeling like I just wanted to rip my skin off and start over – I was scared to go on holiday with my friends or any kind of residentials where I’d be seen without makeup.

 

Now, aside from medication, a tailored skincare routine is one of the best things you can do for your acne or any skin concerns you have. But there may be other factors which are contributing to causing your acne which you can eliminate. In this article I’m going to be listing 10 things you can do beside skincare to get rid of acne or prevent breakouts, so if that’s something you’re interested in then just keep reading.

 

What causes acne

A lot of the tips I’m about to tell you involve in some way preventing oils and dirt from your environment getting onto your face. Most people’s skin is covered by a layer of bacteria called Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes for short) which doesn’t in itself cause acne. In fact, P. acnes actually secretes a substance which breaks down sebum but can cause inflammation when overproduced. When this inflammation is combined with debris, dead skin cells, sebum and other contamination within your pores it begins to form a bump in the skin aka a pimple.

 

These tips aim to stop the build up of this debris and bacteria within your skin by stopping contaminating substances which don’t normally touch your face from reaching it. This way you may be able to reduce the number of pimples forming and hopefully prevent otherwise avoidable breakouts.

 

10 things you can do to clear your skin

For most of these tips I consider facial acne but I am aware that a lot of people struggle with acne all over their different body parts as well, so try and take these tips into consideration in regards to how they affect the rest of your body or wherever you personally struggle with acne.

 

Frequently wash your pillowcase

If you consider the proportion of your time you spend with your face on your pillow, then it’s clear why a clean pillowcase is necessary to stop a build up of bacteria reaching your face. Wash your pillowcases regular and alternate which ones you use to keep a constant flow of clean surfaces for your face.

 

Use a separate face and body towel

If you have a regular skincare routine, it’s pretty likely that you wash your face twice a day and use the same towel each time. If you’re not already, consider using a separate towel for just your face and again, wash it regularly to reduce the amount of dirt and bacteria building up and coming into contact with your face – especially since bacteria thrive in damp conditions. Also consider using a microfiber towel to cause less irritation.

 

Avoid touching your face

This one is always a given when it comes to preventing acne. Your hands touch such a variety of surfaces throughout your day and by touching your face you pass all of that on. This extends to picking at your acne as well – if you struggle, I suggest trying out hydrocolloid spot patches to draw out moisture from a spot and stop you from picking at it at the same time.

 

Remove makeup before you sleep

Leaving on makeup longer than you need to in general isn’t going to help your skin, but especially when you’re sleeping. Letting product get deeper into your pores and adding to that acne-causing build up may trigger breakouts, so use a double-cleansing method to fully deep clean your skin and remove grime and pollution at the end of the day. Even a makeup wipe, whilst not great, is better than nothing in this instance.

 

Keep hair off your face (Especially when wet)

I always have my hair off my face when I’m not out, especially when it’s drying. I use a lot of product, including oils, in my haircare routine which I don’t want to end up on my face. If you have a fringe maybe wash it every day to stop a buildup of greasiness which could cause forehead breakouts. I’m not saying never wear your hair down, but by reducing the amount of contact between your hair and your face it could help to reduce breakouts caused by product build up.

 

Wash your face after a workout

Sweat in itself doesn’t cause breakouts, however dry sweat can contribute to the build up in your pores which eventually causes acne. Not wearing makeup during gym sessions would help with that, as well as having a minimalist post-workout skincare routine to prevent the sweat from staying on your face and mixing with bacteria and grime.

 

Keep glasses/ sunglasses/ goggles clean

On a ski trip in the past I noticed I was getting more and more breakouts around my forehead and temples which weren’t usually my problem areas, and realized it was from where the goggles were sitting on my face. If you wear anything that’s in contact with your face for a long period of time e.g. glasses, sunglasses or goggles, you need to make sure they’re kept clean and they’re kept away from surfaces as much as possible. Something as little as an antiseptic wipe once a week will remove that bacteria, and when you’re putting them on be sure to only touch the parts which aren’t in contact with your face. This way, you’re only allowing the clean areas to touch your face and prevent your pores from getting clogged up.

 

Eliminate dairy from your diet

I was in denial about this one for a very long time because I do enjoy dairy products and was very reluctant to give them up. I haven’t fully eliminated them from my diet I now avoid them as much as I can, but unfortunately, I do see the negative effects on my skin from consuming dairy. The hormones in these products can contribute to causing breakouts so if you have the means to cut out dairy and are struggling with acne maybe give it a try, although it doesn’t negatively impact everyone so it may not be the cause for you.

 

Be aware of touching your phone to your face

This one doesn’t really apply to me because I barely ever call people if I want to talk to them, but if you do make sure you’re aware of if you’re touching your phone to your face. Think about all of the surfaces your phone comes into contact with on a day to day basis and how much bacteria you could transfer to your skin from that. If you’re able to try and keep a distance between the two during phone calls, and if not make sure you’re regularly cleaning your phone screen.

 

Check that your partner/ pets aren’t dirtying anything that touches your face

Now I’m not trying to insult neither your partner nor your pets here by implying that they’re dirty but think about all I’ve said about how much bacteria just you can transfer to your phone and now consider it for other people as well. If you have pets touching your pillow or if you rest your face on them, if your partner frequently touches your face in any way, these are all things to consider when you’re looking at what causes acne.

 

If you decide to make any changes obviously it’s up to you because you don’t want to be sacrificing physical affection if that negatively impacts your mental health, but in all of this we’re trying to find a balance because I know how difficult it was for me when my acne was at its absolute worst.

 

 

In conclusion

Trying to stop the ways of spreading bacteria to your face or acne prone areas might work wonders for your skin. If you take these steps, then at least then you’ll be able to eliminate them as potential triggers for your breakouts so you can continue to narrow it down. I would also strongly recommend speaking to a dermatologist if your acne is persistent and is negatively impacting your mental health and keep trying until you find what works for you – I went through so many different kinds of medication before managing to get on Accutane.

 

If you’re looking to heal acne scars, I would recommend checking out my skincare routine as I’ve spent time researching different products and ingredients to tailor it to reducing hyperpigmentation and texture. I hope you found this article helpful and please if you’re struggling with acne know that it doesn’t define you and it doesn’t reduce your worth as a person. Thank you for reading and as usual if you have any questions feel free to message me on any of my social medias or comment below, and subscribe with your email to get more information about my glow up journey.