9 Habits That Could Be Causing You To Breakout
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
We’re always told that acne is just a symptom of being a teenager, that once our hormones calm down and we’re fully cooked, our skin will come out on the other side glowing and radiant and lovely, finally blemish-free. We’re told this, and yet for some of us, this promise doesn’t come true, and we continue to be the victim of pesky breakouts past our teenage years.
Every sufferer of acne has heard it said that if we continue to get acne past the age of twenty-five, it’s considered adult acne — how inspiring for us; not only are we still plagued with the same bothersome, unsightly issue as when we were fifteen, but now, it gets a new name because of how long it’s held on.
So are we simply sentenced to a life with blemishes continuing to show their unwelcome faces, or are there unhealthy habits we’ve fallen into that are contributing to, or even creating, the problem? Below, find nine ways you might be causing your own breakouts.
01 | Neglecting to take off all of your makeup.
We’ve all heard that sleeping with our makeup on is one of the worst things we can do for the health of our skin. But even with this knowledge, we probably aren’t being meticulous enough with how we go about taking off a day’s makeup at night.
Even after washing our face with our normal wash, we’ll most likely have traces of makeup left. Using a cleanser that’s actually designed to remove makeup, and paying special attention to removing eye makeup with products like Curél’s Makeup Cleansing Oil.
02 | Washing your face too often or too vigorously.
We’ve all been here — just so fed up with our skin’s refusal to clear up, despite faithfully cleansing it everyday. So in hopes of getting it squeaky clean, we’ll wash it twice, or even three times in a row, making sure to scrub extra hard, to remove any traces of oil or dirt that could cause a new eruption.
But washing too often or vigorously will strip our skin of the healthy oils it actually needs, leaving it irritated and more susceptible to further breakouts. Still, if cleansing with our hands just won’t cut it, it’s best to use a cleansing brush to get a better clean, like Olay Regenerist’s Face Cleasning Brush.
03 | Never cleaning your cell phone.
Cell phones are covered with germs. And yet, they’re such an integral part of our life (it’s almost like an extension of our arm), that we never think twice about where it’s been before putting it up to our face.
Wiping it down everyday with a disinfectant wipe, and even keeping a spare pack of wipes in the car or a purse will help ensure our phone doesn’t create any further breakouts.
04 | Forgetting to clean your makeup brushes.
We might assume that since we only ever apply makeup to a clean face, our makeup brushes and sponges couldn’t be all that dirty — but unfortunately, this assumption has probably contributed to a blemish or two (or ten).
It’s recommended that we clean our makeup brushes around every two weeks, or when we begin to see excess makeup accumulating on them. And to make sure they’re nice and clean, we suggest investing in a makeup brush cleaning kit, like this one from Clean-n-Free — they’ll be fresh for future use, and stay nicer for much longer.
05 | Using the wrong products for your skin type.
Just like not every type of foundation will work for everyone’s skin, not just any cleanser that says ‘fights acne’ on the packaging will get the job done.
Finding a cleanser that’s designed for our skin’s unique nature is key in attaining the kind of complexion we so desire. And we’ve compiled a small list of the best cleansers out there for each skin type below!
For dry skin: La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser
For oily skin: La Roche-Posay Effaclar Deep Cleansing Foaming Cleanser
For combination skin: CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser
For mature skin: L’Oreal Paris Age Perfect Nourishing Cream Cleanser
06 | Not showering after a workout.
It’s tempting to take it easy after a workout; we’re exhausted, out of breath, and sweaty. The idea of sitting down with an icy cold beverage and treating ourselves to an episode of our favorite sitcom seems like a fair trade after spending an hour at the gym.
But as much as we just want to relax, it’s in our best interest to shower after a workout — especially if we’re prone to getting acne not just on our face, but anywhere on our body too. Leaving the buildup of excess sweat and oil on our skin is like leaving the front door to our skin’s health wide open for the acne goblins to come and attack. Shower after a workout with Bliss’ Clear Genius Clarifying Gel Cleanser to save acne prone skin from such a fate.
07 | Exfoliating too often.
We think of exfoliation as the ultimate reset for our skin. We scrub away the gunk for a clean, smooth, fresh face that’s silkier and softer than we’d ever imagined our skin could be. But it’s actually only recommended that we exfoliate once, possibly twice, a week depending on skin type, using facial scrubs like Kate Somerville’s ExlofiKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment.
As lovely as our skin feels after a good exfoliation session, and as much as we’d love for our skin to be this smooth every day, exfoliating too often has a similar downside to washing too often: it only leaves our skin irritated and in worse shape than if we’d just left it alone.
08 | Using dirty pillowcases or towels.
We rarely stop to think about the close contact our skin has every single day with towels and pillowcases. We absentmindedly pat our face dry with a towel that’s been in use a little too long, and sleep on a pillowcase that’s had oils from our hair and skin build up over time.
Keeping our pillowcases and towels clean by changing them out every few days is totally necessary in our quest to clear up our complexion and keep it coming in contact with germs that will make their presence known through a blemish.
09 | Eating too much of certain foods.
Yes, it’s true — as much as we’d all love the ability to eat whatever we want like we did as kids, the unfortunate truth is that with getting older comes an obligation to care about how our diet affects our physical health.
Carbohydrates, dairy, and sugar (so all the good stuff) are known to contribute to acne development if we partake in excess, so it’s essential that we take an honest look at our current diet and keep track of how often we’re eating these gloriously tasty foods.