5 Things you should never do if you have acne

olamide olarewaju

February 24, 2015 9:55 AM

Treating acne could be frustrating, treatments/over the counter medications/creams work but then there are things we do that make it worse!

Acne is an unpleasant skin condition that occurs when hair follicles get plugged with oils and dead skin cells. They occurs on different parts of the body including commonly the face, chest, back, neck and more.

They are characterized by blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, greasy skin and scarring constituting blemishes on the affected areas. While treating acne could be frustrating, treatments/over the counter medications/creams work but then there are things that makes it worse.

1. Picking at Your Skin

It is always tempting to see a pimple on the face and not pick at it for some reasons we all seem to think popping makes them go away. It actually requires discipline. While gently squeezing a pimple every once in a while probably won't do much harm, constant picking and forceful squeezing definitely will make them worse. A much as possible avoid picking at your skin if you don't want the skin to end up with blemishes/dark spots...

2. Don't keep testing different products

Use your prescribed treatments consistently. Don't jump from product to product,wait for products to take its course, its not easy to wait but for best results, it makes sense to.

If you want to see if a treatment really works, you have to wait it out. It is important to understand how your treatments should be used for instance should they be applied overnight? Away from the sun and so on...

If you got the prescription from your dermatologist, make sue you follow all directions.

3. Stop Over Cleansing.

Over-cleansing, overuse of harsh cleansers/cleansing pads and more actually harm the skin more than it protects it, be sure you are not stripping the skin of its moisture. While a clean face is important, don't wash your skin so much it becomes over-dry. Go easy cleansing the skin, remember to stay off cleansers containing alcohol.

4. Over Exfoliating/Scrubbing

Constantly using really abrasive scrubs can do harm the skin. Vigorous scrubbing in the end irritates the skin, aggravate inflammation and tear the tops off pimples which is not good at all. A good indicator is when your skin stings while applying your skin treatment after you are done exfoliating, it means it you've overdone it.

While exfoliation is needed for clearer, softer and noticeably greater skin gentle scrubs are enough.

5. Taking Antibiotics

Antibiotics like tetracycline aggravate your acne in the long run and also severely damage your internal system in the process.

Antibiotics usually destroy all the bacteria in your system including the good, pro biotic bacteria that have many essential qualities that promote clear skin. As much as possible reduce antibiotics to only when absolutely necessary.

Additional Information:

Mayo Clinic, Women's Health Magazine

olamide olarewaju