Don't you just hate it when your skin breaks out in another pimple fest? The worst thing is that it tends to happen before a major event. Like a big date, or a major party.
Pimples begin when the pores in your skin get clogged up with oil, dirt and skin debris. Bacteria happily breeds in that concoction, infecting that pore, leading to acne.
To treat acne, attack the root of problem. The bacteria.
That brings us to these 8 tips.
1. Avoid touching your face with your hands.
Throughout the day, your hands come in contact with the world around you. Your hands touch surfaces like the phone, the computer keyboards, your bag, the table and basically everything around you. Picking up germs as you go along. Touching your face with your hands before washing them is a big No No. The last thing you want is to introduce more bacteria to your skin, leading to more pimples.
2. Keep your hair off your face.
Oily skin usually means oily hair. You have enough natural oil on your face. You do not need to add more oil and hair care products to your skin, which is what happens when your hair covers any part of your face. If you notice more pimples on your forehead, beneath your fringe, or along the sides of your face where your hair might brush against, your hair could be the culprit. You could keep your hair off your face by wearing it in a pony tail, or using hair clips to hold it off your face.
3. Wash your face 3 times a day with a good acne cleanser.
That's what a doctor told me. Another doctor told me that the problem with many people that have pimples is that they use cleansers that are too rich for the face. That doctor recommended a soap and water regime. Another recommended an antibacterial cleanser that was meant for acne.
4. Stick to acne skin care
What works on your best friend may not necessarily work on you. Especially if her skin is dry and your is oily. The latest richest skincare products might make her look radiant but they could trigger a nasty acne outbreak in your skin. If you have a problem with acne, stick to Acne skin care products.
5. Relax
Stress tends to trigger acne outbreaks. Does your skin act up more before an exam or a stressful event? Learn to relax. Take a long bath with a few drops of lavender oil in the bath water. Watch a funny movie. Read a favourite magazine. Talk it out with a best pal. Do whatever works for you to ease the stress.
6. Sleep
Your body needs sleep. Without enough sleep, even your skin acts up. Try to stop all work a few hours before bed time. When I had insomnia, I resorted to melatonin sleeping pills to help me sleep. That is actually the last resort. Better ways would be to exercise in the day so you can sleep better at night.
7. Stay away from pressed powder compact.
My friend's friend used a pressed powder compact to hide her acne. Instead, the more she used it the worse it got. Just think. By mid day, your skin gets oily. You take out the powder compact, and use that powder puff to apply pressed powder on your face. Now, your face would already have dirt, bacteria and oil on it. Pat your face with that powder puff and now that puff picks up the dirt, bacteria and oil. You put it back into the compact. The bacteria happily breeds in there. Then you take out the compact again and pat more powder, mixed with oil, dirt and bacteria onto your face, picking up more gunk, putting in more gunk into your compact. The cycle goes on. A better bet would be to use blotting paper to blot off the excess oil instead. Then you can throw the paper away after use.
8. Do not let bacteria breed happily in your make up tools. Wash all your make up brushes regularly, with soap and water. Then dry them completely before you keep them.
Oily, acne prone skin needs a lot of care. The bright side is that oily skin is slower to show signs of aging than dry skin. Take care of your skin and you'll probably look younger than your peers as the decades go by.
Here are more beauty tips at skin care for teens
The writer is the webmaster of www.sisadvice.com which brings you advice on clothes, study tips, skin care and other concerns of teenagers.
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