Skin gone crazy. The suspects? Dirty brushes, the wrong face creams, hair product, dirty pillow cases, being rough and the wrong makeup removal process.
skincare*
You'll notice i'm using no acne treatments. My breakouts come from what I put ON my face. The best thing for my skin is if I do as little as possible so that it calms down. I need to go bare faced for a week and cause no irritation. If this sounds similar to you, try these tips. All that remains are red spots where the acne once was...
Change pillow cases every other day. Those things get dirty fast. The ingredients in hair care products, oil and other dirt all go on your pillow case and then end up on your face if you're not a back sleeper. I flip mine to the unslept-on side the next night of sleep.
Keep your hair off your face as much as possible.
This includes when you're sleeping. The silicones in conditioners and styling gels do transfer to your face and back. I notice they cause breakouts for myself. Oily/dirty hair touching your skin is a great way to give yourself pimples. Bangs tend to be the worst as they tend to be the greasiest and directly touch your forehead. As we know, the higher up up a strand of hair is, the more oily it gets. So avoid bangs, wash them often or keep them off your face.
Wash sponges and makeup brushes before use.
Bacteria multiples fast on those things. I know washing them is a huge pain, but it is worth it. You can spot clean your brushes when a brush cleanser if you want. Read the ingredients first to see if there's anything that might break you out. Synthetic brushes can also be sprayed with alcohol to disinfect them.
Use sponges to apply makeup instead of brushes.
A gentle pat is much better for an acne flare up that dragging and working tapered hairs covered in foundation into your skin and pores.
Treat your skin like it's a wound you're treating.
Be super gentle with everything you do to it. Ideally, sleep on your back. Apply makeup and skincare gently. Remove makeup and skincare gently.
Stop touching you face. Stop picking at it.
Hands are dirty... Easier said than done...
Ditch makeup removal cloths and heavy cleansing oils.
If you have super breakout prone skin, a micellar water is safest. It won't leave any oily residue on your skin like some oils do. Makeup removal clothes are too irritating. Dragging makeup off skin is a 'no-no' for acne prone skin. My highest recommendation is the Marcelle 3-in-1 Micellar Solution. That has been my holy grail cleanser for years. If dissolves makeup so easily that I need no pressure or scrubbing.
Make sure your cotton pad is soaked with your makeup remover.
This ensures the remover is doing the work and not you swiping a half dry cotton pad all over your face. The more solution is used, the easier it can dissolve the makeup on your skin and in your pores. This method is the most gentle on your skin. Remember, irritation = breakouts.
Wash your face after you removed your makeup with a micellar water.
I always rinse my face after using a micellar water. Micellar water is designed to not need to be rinsed BUT they can tamper with the skin. Some people have no issues but for us, rinsing it is best.
Use 1 or 2 gentle cleansers, never one harsh one.
If your cleanser is ph balanced and gentle, that's great. Some cleansers clean skin to be squeaky clean but are too high in ph and sulfates that they totally disrupt the skin barrier. We aren't using a cleanser to remove all our makeup. We are using it to get rid of any grime that is still in our pores and on our skin after we used our micellar water. I sometimes use 3 gentle cleansers. I use the Glo Skin Beauty Phyto-Active Cream Cleanser. It's been SO good to my skin. I go for creamy cleansers because they don't strip the skin as much as gel cleansers do. Paula's Choice and Mychelle Dermaceuticals also make my most loved cleansers.
Avoid manual exfoliation.
No face cleasning brushes. No salt scrubs. Your skin needs to be treated gently right now.
Use a thinner moisturizer, especially if you have a breakout.
Thicker mositurizers are generally what you want to avoid when you have a break out happening. Bare skin is not a bad idea either. To date, my highest recommendation is the Murad Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate Moisturizer. It's creamy but not heavy. It has a lot of slip to it. This is the best moisturizer i've used next to the Mychelle Supreme Polypeptide Cream.
Apply your moisturizer directly after you washed your face.
This is my preference. My skin tends to get 'hard' when it dries after a washing. I like to add my moisturizer asap so that it soaks in better.
Apply your moisturizer generously before makeup (and before bed).
The moisturizer you choose is going to be like a barrier from the nasties of the outside world. It's better if your skin has a barrier of protection before you fill your pores with foundation. You're less likely to break out this way.
Splash your face with warm water in the morning.
This tip is from Salma Hyek. You washed your face with a cleanser at night and it removed all your natural oils. While you slept, your skin started regenerating it's natural barriers and going 'back to normal'. Warm water will get rid of some of the old moisturizer you put on last night and the grime that went on your face during the night without stripping your skin. BE GENTLE. No harsh rubbing!
Reapply a fresh layer of moisturizer in the morning after your rinsed your face with water.
This seems to be working for me. I suspect during the night that what's left of my moisturizer is all dirty. The warm water kind of preps your skin for new moisturizer to 'soak' into it. Now that I think about it, I apply my moisturizer 2-3 a day.
Use a liquid or powder foundation that doesn't break you out or does the least possible.
Find it and stick to it. Everyone's skin is different, so I can't recommend specifics but stay away from heavy stick foundations. Those tend to be the worst for acne because of the fillers. Liquid and powder foundation is the best option but even those can break you out. For my skin, I have to stay away from things heavy in silicones. For that reason, I don't use primers really.
Limit foundation use and wear time.
Go without if possible. Take it off as soon as you can. The longer you wear foundation, the more time you give it to do it's evil pore-clogging deeds.
Don't pop pimples that haven't come to a head.
If they are at a head, wash the area with warm water and poke it with a pin. Cover your fingertips with a napkin and gentle push down around the outside edge of it. Avoid pimple popping tools. I have a kit, and it always causes my the blood vessels in my skin to break.
Apply an acid to deep pimples to help them come to a head.
Glycolic and salicylic acid are chemical exfoliants. They will slowly work away the top layers of skin, which will help a deep pimple come to the surface. I use the Murad Rapid Resurfacing Peel 10% Glycolic Acid or the Paula's Choice Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution 2% BHA. The Murad one is great. If your skin is sensitive, 10% might be too high for you.
Be dilligent.
If you slack even a bit, you won't see the results you want. All it takes is one night of sleeping in makeup or not removing every last bit for you too fall back a week. Give a regime time to work. If there is no improvement, start to tweak the products you're using. Just make sure you follow using the basics: gentle ph balanced cleanser(s), the best working makeup remover and a lighter moisturizer. .
*4 products recommended are pr samples. The rest I bought. No affiliate links posted.
Good Luck! Have any tips? Leave them below.
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