Everyone loathes those pesky blackheads and annoying pimples that just happened to pop up the night before a big day. And let’s not mention those dark blemishes that acne tends to leave behind to remind you of their presence. Back in the day, acne was only thought to be for preteens entering puberty or teenagers whose hormones are all over the place. But adult acne can plague your face well into your 20s, 30s or even 40s.
There are many reasons one can break out as an adult. Stress, changes in your hormone levels, like your menstrual cycle or switching or stopping birth control pills, are two possibilities. Prescription medications, like lithium, anti-seizure drugs can cause acne. But just because a pimple wants to play house on your face, doesn’t mean it has to. Turn the page for some proven and budget-friendly remedies and preventative methods to combat those nasty breakouts.
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Wash Your Face: Washing your face daily may seem like a no-brainer, but many people don’t know you should refrain from washing your face more than twice a day. Turn off the hot water, too, and use cool or warm water. And when you’re done, it’s important to pat your skin dry, not scrub or rub.
Cleaners: Cleansers are an effective way to cleanse the skin of dirt, grime, makeup and pollution. A good cleanser will also let other skin products reach your skin and work better. Choose gentle cleaners that won’t strip your skin.
Home Remedies: Sometimes you can skip the drug-store run and check your medicine cabinet, instead. Use a dab of toothpaste overnight, a bit of contact solution, or a drop or two of tea tree oil which can help reduce redness dry out a blemish rather quickly.
High-Tech Solutions. For extreme cases, when crèmes or lotions just won’t do, the use of light therapy may be effective from a dermatologist. Some users may say it hurts and although high-tech solutions may come with a hefty cost, it provides lasting relief from acne.
Check Your Smartphone, Hair Products: Another way to treat acne, is to fight it before it begins. Everyday we touch numerous surfaces, then touch our phone, transferring bacteria and germs to a device we ultimately place against our face. Yuck. When your phone rubs against your jawline, it can irritate pores, creating inflammation, a cause of acne. Clean your phone with a disinfecting wipe a few times a week.
And don’t forget about those hair products, too. Acne along the hairline can pop up when heavy ingredients settle into the skin or on your forehead. Always rinse your face after washing out conditioner, and if you are breakout prone, apply a thin barrier of skin moisturizer along your forehead before styling your tresses.
Fine Tune Your Diet: After you fight the outside elements, acne can build up below the skin long before it rears it’s ugly head. Check your diet. The culprit may be chocolate, dairy or a salty snack food, and it’s different for everyone. Try keeping a food diary for six weeks and when you experience a breakout, look back at the foods you ate two days earlier. Once you’ve figured out the suspected acne trigger, eliminate that food from your diet. Oh, and drinks lots of water! Water is a natural resource to cleanse your skin from the inside out.