Skin care routines, diets, and daily habits all matter when it comes to caring for your skin, but doing a 180 on every aspect of your life will likely overwhelm your skin. It may even cause you to miss the root cause of your acne in the first place. Think of this as a road map to clearing your skin. The quickest way to determine whether your skin is oily, dry, or somewhere in the middle is to wash your face and let it sit for about 30 minutes. If you begin to feel greasy or look shiny all over your face, you may have oily skin. If you look ashy or feel tight, that’s a surefire sign you have dry skin. If you feel oily only in the T-zone, you may have combination skin. You’ll then want to determine your skin goals apart from solely clearing acne. Do you want to address signs of skin aging? Brighten your complexion? Deeply hydrate dry skin? All together, knowing your skin type and concerns will help you choose the best products unique to what you need and what you want. In fact, as pro esthetician and acne expert Sofie Pavitt once told mbg, “Use really active ingredients placed within a really hydrating and barrier-supporting routine whether it’s a professional treatment or your home care.” Basically, buffer your active ingredients with more gentle, hydrating supporting ingredients. As for ingredients that address acne: You’ll want to use chemical exfoliants, specifically BHAs like salicylic acid, and some form of retinol in your routine. Don’t use them on the same evening (aka, cycle through your products), as they can be irritating when mixed. Cleansing, actives, moisturizer, and SPF are essential for clearing skin. The rest—like toners, face mists, etc.—are all extra. If you’re not sure where to spend your money, keep it on the must-haves for now. If you want more details on this step—here’s how to create an oily skin routine from derms and a trusty morning routine in order. Some people can handle daily exfoliation, while others with more sensitive skin maybe only choose to exfoliate twice a week. In the same vein, some people prefer physical exfoliation with gentle scrubs or a soft cloth, while others prefer a chemical exfoliating serum. If you’re new to exfoliating, try incorporating it once or twice a week and move your way up. If your skin begins to feel irritated, consider tapering back. It may be beneficial to keep a skin journal: Write down what you use on your skin every day and how your skin looks and feels. This will help you connect the dots should something go awry—i.e., your skin gets red, irritated, or blotchy. You don’t have to use a heavy night cream to keep your skin hydrated. In fact, those with oily skin may actually benefit more from a gel or gel-cream formula. Here are our favorite face creams for oily skin if you’re ready to press add to cart. In order to determine if these foods could be triggering your acne, you may consider keeping a food diary or writing down notable meals and snacks in your skin journal. Not everyone wants to track their food, and that’s totally understandable. If that method isn’t for you, then just try to be mindful of your intake of those foods, or experiment with limiting them in order to test it out. To substitute, consider plugging in some good-for-skin foods like those rich in omega-3s, pre- and probiotic-rich foods, and those packed with water for extra skin hydration from within. And finally—remember to drink lots of water. While drinking water won’t clear your acne, it will help improve the overall quality of your skin over time. On the topic of sleep, make sure you change out or clean your pillowcases regularly. (The same goes for anything that touches your face—think towels, makeup brushes, etc. There are lots of fabrics that could be contributing to breakouts, so be mindful of what you’re using.) Stress is another very important factor. Obviously, if you could choose to be less stressed, you would. It’s not that easy, and we know that. However, small habits can lead to big changes—so here are 10 science-backed ways to reduce stress in your day-to-day. To be frank—just don’t do it. While some pimples may be easy and painless to pop, that doesn’t mean you should. This goes for at-home extractions too—just avoid it. Scarring is just one of the risks, next to infection, making the pimple more inflamed and drawing out healing time. If you need a pimple gone ASAP, you should visit an esthetician or dermatologist to assist with the process, as their skills (and tools) are going to be needed in order to minimize those risks. We’d be remiss not to mention the power of antioxidants for photoprotection as well. Astaxanthin, for example, is able to enhance skin photoprotection from UV rays and promotes a healthy inflammatory response. Studies show astaxanthin delays the impacts of UV exposure2 too. This means internal and external antioxidant boosters are needed—here are our best antioxidant serums and supplements to shop now. Plus, sometimes your breakouts may get worse before they get better—commonly referred to as the retinol purge. This may be discouraging at the moment, but your skin will adjust as time goes on. If you want to, you can keep a virtual skin journal as well with dated photos to track your progress. For some people, taking weekly photos may help them see small (but exciting) progress even when it’s not the most obvious. These photos may be helpful to your dermatologist or esthetician as well should you decide to visit an expert. For others, taking photos of their skin when it’s breaking out may cause more self-consciousness or anxiety about clearing acne—so don’t feel pressure to do so. Your acne could be hormone-related, in which case many topical remedies and lifestyle changes alone won’t clear it. Not sure if your breakouts are linked to hormones? Check out this story to get an idea. Especially if your acne is affecting your mental health, it’s better to do so sooner than later. Research shows that having acne can even be a traumatic experience for some, directly affecting their relationships, self-esteem, work life, and more. So if you’re struggling with your mental health, visiting a psychologist could be a great addition to your clear skin plan—one that’s often overlooked yet life-changing for so many.
