| Hi
I had BAD skin for years and years. I read everything I could and tried everything I could. Only recently did I beat it. I'm sharing this so you don't have to go through what I did.
-------------------------------------------
Here are some tips for improving acne/spot prone skin. The general stuff I would recommend that you all try at the same time (lot of the stuff is fairly general and not expensive or inconvenient). With the other stuff (or anything you are unsure whether it will work or not) I would recommend
1. Trying some of the basic stuff and give that a week or two to see if you notice any difference
2. Once you an idea about your normal level of spots – try one new thing at a time
3. Give each new thing a week or two to see if it makes a difference (trouble is that a lot of this stuff takes a while for the health of your skin to improve)
4. Don’t be afraid of stopping doing something to see what effect it has (give it a week and see results)
But most off don’t worry about having one or two spots – not a big deal.
Remember: This stuff takes a little while to know if it works.
There are some generally accepted principles that are applicable to everyone and are all worth trying
Less stress is better
Reduce your caffeine intake (move to decaf)
Do some sport/go to the gym (sweating is good)
Get enough sleep
Improve your diet
Drink more water – drink throughout the day, will stop you become dehydrated and your skin drying out
Eat your 5 fruit/veg a day
Take a supplement for skin, can be helpful
Reduce sources of infection:
Clean your pillows cases, bed sheets and towels often – these come into contact with your face a lot (if you notice your skin clearing up when you go on holiday).
With towels try to make sure that they are not hanging around wet all day, as this just makes them a breeding ground for bacteria
With bed sheet and pillow, change at least once a week
Don’t touch your face all the time.If you have spots this can be a real hard habit to break, so…
Make sure your hands are clean and your nails short. (if you are drinking more water, just wash them when you go to the loo) – don’t get obsessed with this though as it’s not that bigger deal.
Keep your razor clean and change the blades often – some times if you get an outbreak and you haven’t changed your blade in a while change it.
Also store it so the sharp end is kept dry and clean – the package it came in usually does the trick
Avoid shaving rash and in growing hairs
Use an alum block – get them from old fashioned barber shop. Close pores, help stop any bleeding, and a mild disinfectant. Can sting though. Really can’t recommend this highly enough, amazing and they are so cheap and last for ages (about 8 months)
Shave in direction of hair growth
There are also a number of factors which are specific to individuals and may or may not work for you.
Try one by one, give each idea about a week and see if you notice a difference.
If you are over 20 and still have bad skin you may have allergies to some products. Use products for sensitive skin (I’ll look up the exact chemical that supposed to irate skin and add it later)
Exfoliate – gently do this twice a week. Choose a product suitable for sensitive skin. Removes dead-skin cells, as these can block pores, and helps reduce in-growing hairs. This isn’t designed to clear pores so don’t try and sandpaper your skin off. Doing this isn’t going to make your spots stop over night, so it’s hard to know if it is having an effect – try it for a few weeks.
Products that contain salicylic acid (can cause irritation in some people) such as toners help reduce pore size and are supposed to help with in-growing hairs. They seem to work well for me.
Clay mask – the idea here is that it draws out oil from deep inside the skin. There are products on the market that are designed for acne – they work for me. I use just after exfoliating (twice a week)
Moisturise – dry skin can cause problems. Many spot SPAM can cause dryness (like Oxy) – whilst they may reduce spots in the short term they can be over done.
Fake Tan – doesn’t stop spots but makes your skin look better and can hide some of the redness.
Benzoyl peroxide products like oxy10 – these really do work. For best results they need to get into the spot. The only way to do this is to use an ice pack on the area to reduce the swelling, apply the product, then use the ice pack for another 10 mins. Got this from a book and know people who’s dermatologist recommended this – really does work, but time consuming.
Tea tree oil less harsh than oxy, so I use it.
Avoid sun damage – sun damage weakens the skin and can make you prone to spots, some moisturisers contain SPF. You will some sunlight to stay healthy, just avoid getting a sun tan on you face all the time (fake it instead)
Use shaving cream or shaving gel – instead of shaving foam (which is crap).
Use a post shave healer (for sensitive skin) if you get razor burn (red bumps and little spots where you shave)
Avoid going to the sauna too much (I've read that too much heat causes problems) I have the odd steam at the gym, so not sure on this one
I use Anthony Logistic: total spot SPAM – cost a ****ing fortune but really works for me – try the cheap stuff first before forking over your life saving on high priced stuff.
----------------
Please ask if you have any questions - I've probably tried it, or been there too
|
CHAT