This is a guest post by Sonal Pandey from AcneMantra.com
If you are seeing breakouts in spite of using proven anti-acne treatments, it is possible there is something in your routine that is cancelling out or at least dampening the effects of those treatments.
See if you are making one or more of these 3 mistakes in your skincare regimen.
Switching Too Soon
Even the strongest acne treatments take time to show results. While you may start to see a slight clearing up of the skin within a week, you normally need to use a treatment for an extended period of time to achieve full clearance.
Switching products too soon also does not allow the skin to get used to any of them. As your skin continues to get accustomed to a product, you will start to see less redness, less peeling and calmer skin.
This applies to oral treatments as well. The Estroblock supplement, for example, shows best results when taken for two to three months, at least.
A valid reason to discontinue a product immediately is if it starts to cause more breakouts. Even then, there is something to consider. Some products cause what is infamously known as the “initial breakout”.
The problem with an initial breakout is that you don’t know if pimples are coming because the product is at fault or if it is simply unearthing the clogged pores that were hidden underneath the skin. So this is a tricky one. Still, once you choose a product, it is worth giving it an honest shot.
Too Many Products
You do not need to use a whole line of products all laced with anti-acne ingredients. For example, you do not need to use a tea tree oil cleanser, a tea tree moisturizer, a tea tree toner and a tea tree treatment product (plus a tea tree mask on weekends!) in order to derive tea tree oil benefits.
If each of these products contains only a pixie dusting of tea tree oil, you are probably never going to see much difference even from using the whole line. God forbid if each one does contain an adequate amount of tea tree oil, then the cumulative effect of using so much tea tree oil will be skin irritation.
Many brands sell whole anti-acne lines, but you do not need an active ingredient in every single product you use. Using too many anti-acne ingredients can cause severe skin irritation, resulting in more pimples. This can also lead to increased redness and peeling.
One way to keep things simple is to use neutral rest-of-the-products. Use a neutral cleanser, toner (if needed) and moisturizer, and only a single treatment product that contains adequate percentage of active ingredients.
Neutral products are ones that only do the job they are meant to do instead of taking the place of your acne treatment. So, a neutral cleanser would just clean thoroughly, a moisturizer would only moisturize and so on.
With this simplification, you will see calmer skin.
Wrong Accompanying Products
Even if you are using a top of the line treatment be it oral or topical, it is possible to jeopardize its working by continuing to use wrong skincare and makeup products on the side. You do that by using comedogenic or pore-clogging products.
Even though comedogenicity is a debatable topic, people across genders and nationalities continue to break out from comedogenic products, with alarming regularity.
Even if the cause of acne is purely hormonal, comedogenic products continue to put a damper on any benefits you might be getting from your treatment. Because of this interference, you continue to see new breakouts, and the skin never clears up entirely.
For example, jojoba oil, considered excellent for acne prone skin, may be comedogenic depending on the source. That is why you hear conflicting reviews of this oil.
Similarly aloe vera. While pure aloe vera gel soothes redness and inflammation, many of the packaged aloe vera products contain added oils, colouring, and fragrance that irritate the skin or clog pores. Checking the label is key when selecting products.
Whether you are using natural remedies or prescription treatment, make sure that every single product that touches your skin is largely non-comedogenic.
Author bio: Sonal and her team of acne warriors at AcneMantra.com take uncertainty out of acne through regimens, resources and technology.
One of their creations is Skingredients, a free online tool anyone can use to instantly find out if a skincare or makeup product is comedogenic (aka pore-clogging).
15 Responses
Tracy what is your opinion on Lerosett? I have been using in over the last 3 months and nothing has gotten me as clear as lerosett has. As long as I drink enough water my face looks great. My neck on the otherhand is still a battle field. What do you recommend?
Hi Jared,
I don’t have much of an opinion on Larosett as of yet. If it’s working for you, that’s fantastic 🙂 Keep doing it! I find their website kind of confusing – they have so many products and I couldn’t find a solid ingredient list. Which product(s) from them are you using?
Neck acne.. hmm.. hard to give any specifics about it.. sometimes it can be related to congested lymphatic system. I’ve heard fluoride in water being associated with it too
What’s an example of a neutral cleanser?
Hi Amanda, Simple Refreshing Facial Wash Gel is an example of a neutral cleanser. It doesn’t have any anti-acne ingredient in it as such and does only what a cleanser is supposed to do – clean. It is also non-comedogenic.
In response to Jared – oh, Lerosett. I recall coming across this but didn’t try it -note to those who are preggers – best not to use this system as the cleanser has salicylic acid and the supplement has milk thistle.
I had also researched bioskinclear which I was told is safe during pregnancy. I recall it having licorice root though so was still a bit uneasy. Honestly, I don’t think that a small amount of any ingredient will have a negative impact on a fetus. The skin is only semi permeable.. those on the holistic side will say avoid and most doctors will say skincare ingredients wont have a detrimental effect!
In my experience, having good serums and moisturizers is key for acne prone skin. I do what this article says – A mild cleanser for sensitive skin, a mild toner with witch hazel, serum, masks and moisturizer to increase hydration and reduce irritation. The only products I really have for acne would be a mask which I use once a week or less (ie. from eminence), my naturopathica moss blemish treatment with lactic acid as the active ingredient and my pca clearskin which i only use at night as it has retinyl. Ok actually – I do use a lot of products (some that I have not mentioned here) but it works for me. 😛 Would love if I could have a simplified routine like Tracy or Fran Ker but haven’t found the magic combo yet. Manuka honey seems to break me out and a little hesitant to use straight oils on my face.
In regard to comedogenic ratings – I have not found this to apply to me. There are some items that have a high comedogenic rating like octly palmitate (in my zuzu mineral powder) that don’t break me out and there are those with a low rating – like some oils, that do seem to break me out. That being said, not all of my products are oil free – Some oil doesn’t seem to be a problem.
Unfortunately no one size fits all solution!
Yes, unfortunately that’s right, no one size fits all!
Hi Mel, powders usually sit on top of the skin, their penetration into the pores is minimal. Because of this, your Zuzu mineral powder isn’t breaking you out although it can.
Oils on the other hand do seep into the pores. Also, your current retinyl and lactic acid skincare must be keeping your pores clear and preventing clogging from moderately comedogenic stuff.
Comedogenicity has its roots in science and individual ingredients have been shown to clog pores. Until one has achieved zero pimples, they should suspect everything. 🙂
The first one just happened for me 🙂 I transitioned to manuka honey with some oils about a month and a half ago. I went through major flaky skin on my acne prone areas until just this week. It’s perfectly moisturized and used to it now, I love it!
I am using the clay mask and aloe Vera moisturizer. All natural ingredients.
Hello tracie. Do you know how to get rid of hardened pus under the skin? I’ve had one on my right cheek for 5 to 6 months now and I’m afraid it’ll never go away! I wouldn’t be so obsessed with it if it didn’t discolour the skin on top a weird reddish purple as my skin tone is fair. Please help. Thank you in advance.
Hey guys! So i have acne that hasnt gone away for about a year now. It feels deep in my skin and when i rub my face i cant feel them? My skin feels clear but it looks like it has lots of red dot on it? Also im on tetralysal will this help?? Thanks 🙂
The biggest sabotage is using foundation and makeup on your sensitive,acne prone skin.These products contain all kinds of chemicals that clog pores.
Read the ingredients and see if they are on this list:
http://www.skinfitaustin.com/sites/skinfitaustin.com/files/Pore%20clogging%20ingredients%20Sheet1.pdf
Using these products on a clear,healed skin doesn’t matter because at the end of the day you use a cleanser and wash all that dirt away.But using them on a broken skin it’s too much even though at the end of the day you wash it away.When you have the flu (acne) do you treat yourself (let the skin breathe,use acne products) or do you stay outside in the cold (use makeup,foundation) and in the same time treat yourself (let the skin breathe,use acne products)?
Hey Sonal,
Great post! I’ve been helping people a lot with acne lately and a few other things cropped up. For example:
– people over wash their face thinking they can just wash acne off when in fact they just infect their face and make it worst
– people don’t moisturise enough because they have oily skin and think they shouldn’t add more moist.
Great tips anyway, any more specifics about what kind of makeup people should avoid?
PaulaM