Oh boy, is there really anything worse than waking up to a *very* unwelcome pimple - or three?
Boom - day ruined. Or is it? We want to give you some quick and effective ways to reduce and soothe that inflamed little so-and-so, and also provide some ways you can lower the likelihood of this happening again.
Acne is a skin condition that occurs when your hair follicles become plugged with oil and dead skin cells. Some types of skin bacteria may make pimples worse. Pimples can appear anywhere on the skin, but they most often occur on the face.
Four main factors cause acne:
Excess oil production - usually caused by fluctuations in hormones, or genetics.
Hair follicles clogged by oil and dead skin cells
Bacteria
Excess activity of a type of hormone (androgens)
We’re absolutely positive you’ve heard this one before, but please refrain from squeezing, popping or scratching a breakout or pimple. It will only inflame the area and we can almost guarantee it will make the pimple look much worse. That 2 second feeling of intense satisfaction of popping a pimple will immediately be replaced by long-lasting regret as you attempt to cover the now angry red spot with concealer.
When you’re dealing with a red, inflamed pimple, ice is going to be your friend. By applying ice directly to the blemish will help to decrease inflammation, reducing the size and visibility of the spot. Wrap an ice cube in a thin cloth and set it on the offending spot for three to four minutes.
Next, reach for an anti-inflammatory spot treatment - the focus is getting the inflammation down fast so the skin can heal. The Erase Spot Treatment Stick is perfect for this - it combines powerful anti-inflammatories with a formula of softening oils that are perfect to help aid skin recovery and minimize scarring.
If you do ONE thing to help manage your acne, make it this. Proper cleansing! If you have excessively oily skin, your first reaction may be to reach for the oil-free cleanser, or the cleanser promising to dry up your oil. But without getting too sciency on you, your skin naturally has its own defensive barrier called the acid mantle, which is going to be the best protection against bacteria, dirt build up and environmental factors when it comes to acne, so we need to focus on repairing and maintaining your acid mantle, not stripping it away with over-cleansing or harsh cleansers. When you strip away the natural oils on your skin, your skin is going to try to rebalance itself and restore the acid mantle, which it does by, you guessed it, producing more oil (called sebum).
So what can we do to help?
You’re thinking, dehydrated skin is not a problem I have, with all this excess oil, right? But by providing your skin with proper hydration, in the form of a serum and facial oil after cleansing, your acid mantle will be able to repair and maintain itself, allowing it to do its job of protecting your skin, retaining deep level moisture and bringing back balance to your skin!
Our Supercharged Trio is designed just for this type of routine, to provide a simple, 3-step routine that will help to manage oily skin and acne breakouts.
Now, we mentioned how acne is commonly caused by hair follicles getting all clogged up with a build up of dirt, dead skin cells and bacteria? This is where a regular exfoliation routine comes in. By using a gentle chemical and physical exfoliant 2-3 times a week, like Bright Skin Powder as part of our CLEAR Acne + Breakout Control Upgrade, you are able to dissolve and lift away that build up of dead skin cells and bacteria and keeping your pores clear. This exfoliation action will in turn promote the production of collagen in your fresh skin cells, which will help to heal any acne inflammation and scars.
Again this is probably something you have heard before, but it really can be a one way street to a breakout come morning. Makeup sitting in your pores overnight while your skin is producing sebum and trying to heal any damage from the day with cell turnover is going to cause pore blockages and eventually, dreaded pimples.
Take the time (about 1 minute) to cleanse with your oil cleanser and fall asleep knowing you have done all you could for your skin to be fresh in the morning.
Why is Kakadu Plum so beneficial in our skincare?
Because the human body does not produce its own Vitamin C, it relies on obtaining it through external sources.
Vitamin C benefits for skin include stimulating collagen production and neutralizing free radicals.