What's Touching Your Skin?: 13 Tips to Prevent Acne Breakouts

Acne is bad enough without our help. Be aware of what’s touching your skin that is triggering your breakouts. Here are a few tips that can help you control the avoidable symptoms of acne.

1.     Makeup: Although makeup will act as a temporary cover up for acne, it’s not very good for your skin. Makeup can trigger acne by impacting pores with foreign matter. In addition, it make can increase the signs of aging in adults. Choose brands that offer "noncomedogenic" or "nonacnegenic" makeup that will not clog pores. Don't wear any makeup when working out.

2.     Sunscreen: Applying sunscreen throughout the day will prevent premature signs of aging and protect against being over exposed to the sun, which can trigger acne.  But the wrong selection of sunscreen can also cause acne by filling your pores with contaminants and oils. Before heading out for the day apply a "noncomedogenic" or "nonacnegenic" broadband sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher. This type of sunscreen will not clog pores. Because sunscreen is recommended to be reapplied every 2 hours to maintain optimum coverage, we suggest applying a cream SPF broadband spectrum sunscreen in the morning then using a powder sunscreen throughout the day. This will protect your skin throughout the day, but wont leave you with a greasy feeling at the end of the day. 

3.     Clothing: For those prone to body acne, avoid wearing synthetic fabrics like lycra and nylon. These types of fabrics tend to trap heat and moisture against the skin, increasing the chances of bacteria production. Always wear lightweight, natural fabrics, like cotton, which will allow your skin to breathe. If you are able to get your heads on synthetic fabrics that wick moisture away from the body, those might even be a better option in certain situation.

4.     Exercise Equipment: When using or wearing exercise gear, there are 2 things to be aware of. The first is friction. Make sure that your swimming or bike suites are not rubbing against the skin, and if you wear a helmet make sure it is snug. Lining your helmet with a washable fabric, like a t-shirt, is ideal as it would create a clean protective barrier between you and the lingering bacteria resting inside the helmet. Secondly, be aware of surfaces harboring bacteria. Wear protective barriers that will not allow used equipment to touch your skin. Wash your exercise clothes after using them, and make sure that you clean your gear before and after your workouts.

5.     Cell Phone: They are one of the most bacteria infested items you own. Remember to keep it off your beautiful face at all costs. Hold your cell at an angle so that it only touches your ear but not your cheek to prevent the transfer of infectious bacteria from your phone to your face.

6.     Food: Food is meant to go in our mouths but sometimes it gets on our face too. After eating, remove oils and food particles from your face by washing around your mouth with soap and water.

7.     Pillow Case: When was the last time you washed your pillowcase? Over time it collects bacteria, oils, and little particles that can get into your pores. Change or wash your pillowcase once a week to prevent the grime from last week getting on your skin. Between washes, flip and turn the pillowcase inside out so that a different surface is touching your resting head every night.

8.     Hands: What have your hands touched and why are they touching your face? Touching your face with your hands, is just as bad as putting your face directly on everything your hands have touched. Wash your hands throughout the day to get off any dirt, germs, and viruses that you may have unknowingly picked up. And refrain from touching your face with them as much as possible.

9.     Sweat Rag / Towel: During the hot summer season, you may carry your sweat rag around with you everywhere. You also wipe yourself down with a bath towel after every bath. These useful cloths can harbor millions of bacteria and oils. Make sure the cloths you wipe yourself down with are clean by changing them - once a week for a bath towel and once a day for a sweat rag. In the bathroom, have a separate towel reserved only for your face so that you don’t get bacteria and oils from your body or hands on your freshly washed face.

10. Hair / Hair Products: Your hair looks amazing and everyone knows it, but there are little things that can help your skin look just as good. Make sure your bangs are always away from your forehead so that the natural hair oils and hair product don’t deposit themselves onto your face. After a night out with the friends, wash out the product that you put in your hair before you go to sleep. This will prevent grime from your hair product from being transferred from your pillowcase to your face.

11. Cooking: Cooking can be therapeutic and necessary. Unfortunately it can also put your face in contact with oil and foreign matter. Be sure to wash your face well after you cook to ensure that all the oils that have been deposited onto your skin will not keep up shop in your pores.

12. Loofah: This handy bath tool can be great for exfoliation and thoroughly cleaning your body but it can also hold millions of acne causing bacteria. Prevent this by storing your loofah in a dry space. Also, change your loofah every 2 months and give it a quick rinse with bleach every once in a while to kill lingering bacteria.

13. Razor: Razor burn can be a trigger for acne breakouts. Read “10 Steps to Preventing Razor Bumps” for information on how to prevent skin irritation caused by razors.

Final Tip:

Look at your skin and figure out where most of the breakouts are happening. Take note of everything that touches those areas. If what is touching your skin causes friction, harbors bacteria, or contains oils, then take actions to stop it from touching those problem areas. Now, this might be difficult and require a lot of thought, because it will be adding a new habit into the way you behave, but the results will be worth it.