magine struggling with acne, going from doctor to doctor and trying everything on the market with no results. So many people have problems with unbalanced skin, which can manifest through a combination of the following conditions: LIST uneven texture, dryness, excessive oiliness, irritation, redness, flakiness, clogged pores and whiteheads (closed comedones). A common issue is very dry, resistive blackheads (open comedones) caused by products that dry out skin and stop its natural purging process. This can also inflame and irritate the skin. A facial from an expert esthetician can yield positive results after a single treatment. And there are also things you can do to slowly correct the problem.
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Make sure there is a balance between exfoliation and hydration in the regimen. |  |
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Clear Up Skin Problems with Simple Steps
Follow these simple steps to help reverse your skin problems:
1. Don’t Touch Your Face
First and most importantly, stop touching your face! Each time you touch your face, you bring bacteria to the surface of your skin. This makes a sticky cocktail of dirt, oil, and dead skin cells. Most people don’t even realize that they touch their faces as often as they do. The same goes for picking at acne. Picking leaves post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, those horrible red spots on your face that take forever to disappear. Once you break yourself of habitual face-touching, it may take three months to see a difference, but your skin condition will improve up to 30 percent.
2. Adopt a Healthy Diet
Nutrition plays an important role in having clear skin, so keep a diet journal. This may indicate what nutritional habits are negatively affecting your skin. Eating greasy foods, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, and consuming large amounts of sugar and salt can set off hormonal triggers that affect your skin. A poor diet robs your skin of oxygen, which acts as an antibacterial agent and promotes microcirculation. Your skin, like the rest of your body, occasionally needs to detoxify, so drink plenty of water and eat lots of colorful fruit and vegetables. There is nothing wrong with living it up, but do so in moderation.
3. Wear Sunscreen
A popular myth is that the sun is an acne cure-all. But the truth is that it’s just instant gratification that only damages your skin: sun exposure weakens elasticity, dries your skin, and makes you age in appearance faster. Use sunscreen every day, even if the sky is cloudy.
4. Get an Acne Clearing Facial
Now that we’ve covered what you can do on your own, let’s see how a professional can help. (If you have grade 3 or 4 acne, see a dermatologist for advice.) Find a qualified esthetician through word of mouth or reputation and commit to facials once or twice a month until your skin improves. After about six treatments, you should see and feel a dramatic difference. Follow up with monthly visits until the problem is under control. The facials not only help your skin, but also raise your confidence and self esteem.
Get an effective exfoliation that will not over exfoliate and leave your skin too dry or activate your sebaceous glands. Have your esthetician develop a targeted acne treatment that will deliver key ingredients to kill the bacteria and minimize bacteria spreading and provide a good moisturizer to hydrate and keep the skin soft and balanced.
5. Try LED Light Therapy
If you want to kick it up a notch, look to LED light therapy. The blue light acts as an antibacterial/anti-inflammatory healer and can be combined with any acne clearing facial. The therapy works within your cellular structure to heal and strengthen the skin. A series of LED therapy will produce quicker results.
7 Tips For Maintaining Clear Skin
- Don’t pick at your skin.
- Don’t touch your face after your morning cleansing ritual.
- Pay attention to your diet because certain foods can trigger hormonal imbalances causing acne breakouts.
- Find an esthetician to professionally take care of your skin.
- Make sure there is a balance between exfoliation and hydration in the regimen.
- Use a good cleanser that will not strip the skin.
- Apply sunscreen daily.
By Carlo DeCarlo, Nov 10, 2008
These were great helpful hints. I must touch my face 50 times a day. It's just habit. And who wasn't told as a teenager to lay in the sun to dry up that acne? I clean my face every night before bed, though I think I it's time I added some anti-wrinkle cream. Does anyone have a special ritual they follow every night?
By Elly G, Apr 07, 2009
o my.. i touch my face everyday... that's why my pimples love sitting on my face :(
thanks for the great article!
By Carolyn Schlicher, Apr 30, 2009
Jillian--do you recommend the LED therapy at a professional or are there at-home products people can buy?
By Holly C, May 01, 2009
At 38, I feel like my skin's exfoliation process is just slowing down- What are your best picks for a mid-range at home exfoliation regimen? How often should one exfoliate? My skin seems so much better able to absorb product when properly exfoliated.
By Rosa Lin, May 06, 2009
Having suffered from acne for about 4 years, having tried everything, and finally successfully "won my battle" against it, I must say that the two key active ingredients to use for effectively reducing acne and one lifestyle must.
The two actives are: niacinamide (at least 5% in aqueous solution) and mandelic acid (at least 10%, optimally 15%). These two ingredients work wonders on acneic skin, leaving every other acne-fighting ingredient in the dust as supportive ingredients at best.
The number one most important lifestyle habit to take on is perform deep cleansing and detox every day. This runs close to the danger of becoming "laxative dependent" but as long as you choose your deep cleansing formulas wisely, your daily cleansing efforts (involving bowel movements! a must!) will reflect positively on your skin.
The fastest and quickest way to stop acne breakouts immediately is taking ibuprofen at as high a dosage as your body can handle. i have found that the Advil liquid gel caps work faster and better than generic ibuprofen tablets. This also depends on your body weight and is NOT a long term solution.
By Laci Chiodo, May 07, 2009
I enjoy facials and I agree that going on a regular basis would probably help my skin, but unfortunately I can't afford to do that. Do you think an at-home-facial twice a month would be beneficial? Aside from the extractions, it seems like a simple facial could be performed at home without any damage. What do you think?
By Taniesha T, May 08, 2009
which facial cleanser won't harm the skin?
By Kristen, May 18, 2009
Hi Jillian!
Thank you so much for the great post! I'd love to start getting monthly facials (of course when my bank account allows it). I know you mentioned in your article that the best way to find a great facial is by referral... any other tips? Are there certain certifications I should be looking for? This is probably a whole other blog post, but I would love to compile a preferred list for the DFW area!
Thanks!
Kristen
By Kelly S, May 24, 2009
I have different color tones in my face. My cheeks alwasy seemed to be fushed, but if I get even a little overheated it looks like I have a sunburn. Ontop of this I have Acne. The acne is undercontrol and is getting better but do you know how make my overall complexion the same?
I have also tried your ideas and have seen a great improvemnt in my acne...just need the redness to go away now!!!
By Janee P, Jun 10, 2009
My skin is VERY sensitive. Often times, when I exfoliate, it causes me to break out even more. Exfoliating aggrevates my skin. - Any suggestions?
By Karyn Polewaczyk, Jun 16, 2009
I love, love, LOVE LED light therapy. I have a hand-held, personal device by ANSR www.ansr.com) that a public relations agency sent to me to review, and I've been loyal ever since. It emits the blue, bacteria-killing light for 5 minutes, then switches to the red, inflammation-battling light for 5 more minutes before it shuts off. My skin has drastically improved since I started using it and highly recommend LED to anyone with skin that doesn't react well to traditional, topical treatments.
By Elizabeth B, Jul 07, 2009
Thanks so much for all the great tips to help my skin. Not only is your article fabulous, but I love the time you take to answer all the members' questions. I wish I could visit your spa!
By cnyspagirl, Jul 08, 2009
This thread rocks! So much great information from the professionals and members.
I love that Jillian recommended products for every budget, including the St. Ives brand.
By Gift D, Oct 23, 2009
Hello
I have black heads on my cheeks and new acne once every month on my cheek and chin areas. This monthly process I will attribute to hormonal function at best even at my age. Though I am guilty for the hands on face thing, but every other dos and don'ts , I did my best. The problem I found with the hands over face thing is that, I had to wipe off the excess oil that my make up left on my face so my face does not look too s-h-i-n-y. I can see that my make up type/style is adding to my problems too. Are there better ways of handling this?
Thanks
By Felis S, Nov 07, 2009
Priceless post!!!
It made me realize that I touch my face constantly. As a matter of fact, I noticed that I was brushing my chin with my fingers as I was reading the post. Off with my hands!
By KRISTEN R, Nov 15, 2009
Hi Jillian... I suffer from adult acne primarily along my jawbone and chin area. Although my monthly micro-derm treatments help overall, none of the topical medicines prescribed by my dermatologist seem to make much of a difference. I usemthe Be Fine skin products and am religious about cleansing every morning and evening. And yet still...I have breakouts. Any suggestions to help?
By KRISTEN R, Nov 17, 2009
Thanks for the quick response, Jillian. I will definitely try the roducts you recommended. Extractions are a part of my microderm experience, but she does them before the actual microderm. Sometimes steam...sometimes no steam. Should I ask for the steam all the time?