3 Reasons You Are Still Struggling With Acne and What You Can Do About It

Although acne affects each person differently, many acne breakouts occur for the same reasons.

So, even if you can have all the treatments for the various stages of acne in our previous article memorised, you might still struggle to prevent recurring acne breakouts.

Here are the 3 reasons you still struggling with acne:

1. Hormones
2. Hygiene
3. Humidity

Once you understand how these factors affect your skin, you will be able to manage your acne breakouts and alleviate those stubborn acne symptoms!

1 Torjesen, Ingrid, “Avoid antibiotics for acne treatment when possible” published July 2, 2018, Dermatology Times, July 2018 (Vol. 39, No. 07), accessed from https://www.dermatologytimes.com/view/avoid-antibiotics-acne-treatment-when-possible.

Acne is formed when an overproduction of sebum increases the amount of acne-causing bacteria, P.acnes, in your sebum.

Naturally, preventing acne means regulating P.acnes production. But when your hormone levels fluctuate, this affects your sebum production levels as well.

During puberty, your body generates hormones that increase sebum production and create more P.acnes bacteria. That’s why you get acne breakouts as if your skin is also trying to celebrate you becoming legal.

For women, the end of the menstrual cycle signals the body to increase sebum production, so you may notice breakouts occurring every month just before your period begins.

What to do about it:

1. Keep track of your acne breakouts so you can identify which ones are hormonal breakouts.
2. Drink 2 litres of water everyday. Dehydration is one of the reasons your hormones cause an increase of sebum during puberty and at the end of each menstrual cycle.
3. The week before you get your period, use a cleanser with salicylic acid to clear out your clogged pores.
4. Moisturise your skin, so your body knows you have enough oil on your skin and adjusts sebum production proportionally. 
5. Use EHA’s Hydra pH Cleansing Gel, which removes impurities and toxins that accumulate on your face over the course of the day while also hydrating and balancing your skin’s pH level .

The most overlooked reason for persistent acne is, surprisingly, poor personal hygiene.

And this means more than just washing your face twice a day and wiping it with a clean face towel. Since acne is formed due to the buildup of dirt and bacteria, keeping your living spaces clean plays a very important part.

Germs and bacteria cling to everything we touch and transfer from our hands to our face more easily than you realise.

Dirt also floats in the air. This can result in hostile germs and bacteria clogging up your pores. And before you know it, they’re building their homes on your face—as pimples.

What to do about it:

1. Avoid touching your face with your fingers and nails.
2. There is no need to continuously wash your face with a cleanser. Two times a day is perfectly adequate . Your skin cells regenerate every month and your sebum also serves an antibacterial function. Too much soap/cleanser will dry out your skin and trigger an overproduction of sebum.
3. Wipe down or rinse your skincare bottles weekly at least, and sterilize your makeup brushes and sponges regularly. EHA skincare products are designed to minimise contamination, check them out here.
4. Wear fewer layers of makeup and spend less time in it. Makeup, like dirt and bacteria, will seep into your skin over time, causing clogged pores which can worsen your acne condition.
5. When you do wear makeup, use a non-comedogenic moisturiser like EHA’s Restore Night Cream after removing it at the end of the day. Our water-based antioxidant gel-cream will cleanse, rehydrate and restore your tired skin while you sleep.

Last but not least, you might still be struggling with acne breakouts because of the weather.

Singapore is a hot and humid country. We find ourselves perspiring no matter what day of the year it is. Layers of perspiration lead to clogged pores and…acne.

But there are ways to prevent the weather from causing acne breakouts!

What to do about it:  

1. Gently dab away  perspiration (with a clean facial tissue) every chance you get, especially when stepping into an air-conditioned zone. Perspiration when it’s dried up contributes to clogged pores. 
2. Use a dehumidifier in your home to keep bacteria from multiplying.
3. Carry an umbrella to deflect the sun’s rays and keep your skin cool.
4. Sunblock is a potentially pore-clogging product when you don’t remove it properly. Make sure to wipe off all traces of sunblock as soon as you can.
5. Cleanse your face with EHA’s Hydra PH Cleansing Gel. It removes dirt and impurities that accumulate on your face over the course of the day while also hydrating it.

You can prevent acne breakouts and get clearer, healthy skin by improving your personal hygiene.

This means fine tuning your skincare routine to accomodate any  hormonal changes, keep your living space clean and take  steps to create a less humid environment for your skin to breathe.

Managing acne is more than just reacting to it. It means doing what you can to prevent breakouts from happening in the first place. Before diving head first into a treatment plan for your acne symptoms, make these simple lifestyle changes first.

It is these lifestyle changes that will make any acne treatment plan you choose to follow effective with long-lasting results.

Make your treatment count today!