Acne Awareness Month 2019

Why is Acne Awareness Month valuable? Because it helps remind everyone we are all subject to pimples and breakouts!

It’s well-known that most young teens go through several years of acne breakouts but they’re not alone! Significant numbers of adults continue to suffer from acne long after their teenage years are over!

Luckily, the treatment for acne is the same across all ages since the cause is the same! Acne is caused by the overproduction of sebum oil on the skin, and when the oil clogs pores, pimples/breakouts occur.

There are a few easy tips to keep acne clear this summer:

1. Protect your skin from the sun!

                Although your skin can look as though it cleared up after spending some time in the sun, this is just a short-term effect that will be quickly followed by acne.   How does this cycle work?  Spending time in the sun dries out your skin.  To compensate, sebum oil production increases to rehydrate your skin.  The oil, along with dead skin cells, becomes trapped in your pores leading to acne breakouts and oily skin. 

2. Hydrate

                This goes for the same reason as above, if you’re not hydrating your body then you’re also neglecting to hydrate your skin. Your body will react to this lack of hydration by trying to make up for it, causing an overproduction of sebum, which then leads to acne.

3. Wash your face

                Sweat, dirt and other external pollutants definitely don’t help avoid acne breakouts so it’s important to wash your face at least once a day. Avoid using soap, which can be very drying.  For every individual it’s different regarding how often they should be washing their face. For example, those that workout and sweat more should wash their face more frequently.  For people who find their skin drying out from washing their face, they should use a cleanser and an acne moisturizer that will work to both clear the skin of dirt, sweat and acne but also keep the skin hydrated.