13 Skin Sins – Could your Daily Habits be Keeping You from Achieving Clear Skin?

Sometimes, we don’t notice the small aspects in our daily routine that could be negatively impacting our skin. Furthermore, these behaviors can be detrimental to our skin’s health.  For instance, how often do you touch your face throughout the day without even realizing it? And when was the last time you washed your pillowcase or cosmetic brushes? All of these factors play an important role in keeping skin healthy and acne free.

1. Touching your face: Our hands come into contact with bacteria and germs all day long via doorknobs, smartphones and more. When you touch your face throughout the day, you are transferring all that bacteria onto your skin which could result in breakouts.
2. Not changing your pillowcase and face towel often: Bacteria and sweat build up over time so it is VERY important to make sure to change your face towel and pillowcase often.
3. Sleeping with makeup still on:  Skin repairs itself while you sleep so it is important that your skin is fresh and clean before hitting the sack. Read our blog post about the importance of cleansing your skin before bedtime HERE.
4. Picking at your breakouts: If you have a breakout that has a visible white head, you can read how to correctly perform an extraction HERE. Otherwise, leave your breakouts alone! The bacteria on your fingers and underneath your fingernails will only make the breakout worse. Not only does picking worsen breakouts, it could cause scarring as well.
5. Overzealous cleansing and exfoliating your skin (over-treating):  Yes, it is important to exfoliate and get rid of those dead skin cells but this should only be done once per week. Also, cleansing your skin too often will rid your skin of all the protective natural oils that your skin needs. Limit cleansing your face to twice a day.
6. Not washing your cosmetic brushes and tools regularly: Tons of bacteria and dead skin cells reside in those dirty makeup brushes and tools too.  Try to make a habit of cleaning them at least once a week.
7. Only treating your skin topically: Clear skin should not only be treated from the outside. Important vitamins and minerals can also assist in clearing your breakouts. For instance, our ClearPoint® supplements are a great option to treat acne from the inside out! Read more about ClearPoint® HERE.
8. Not cleaning your phone screen: This day in age we are constantly on our phones and we take it EVERYWHERE with us. Just like our hands and cosmetic brushes, our phones also have tons of germs and bacteria residing on them. Make sure to cleanse your phone with a small bit of rubbing alcohol daily to make sure none of those germs are transferred onto your face.
9. Using products/cosmetics with comedogenic (pore-clogging) ingredients: This day in age, we are becoming more aware of the ingredients residing in our skin care as well as our cosmetic products. Make sure your products are non- comedogenic and will not clog your pores! (Side note: Just because a product says it is non-comedogenic doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. Make sure to check ingredients and do your research!)
10. Sun Tanning (indoor or outdoor): Sun tanning can cause dry skin thus making acne worse. Having overly dry skin can also cause your skin to produce even more oil.
11. Not drinking enough water: Water helps flush out toxins from your body and contributes to healthier, clearer skin. Drinking enough water throughout the day aids in overall health, as it assists with blood circulation, digestion, absorption of nutrients,  and excretion of waste. Water also helps transport nutrients to all parts of your body.
12. Having an unhealthy diet: Studies have shown that reducing intake of white bread, pasta, and refined sugars can lower the stress hormone cortisol and could minimize breakouts. Switch these foods out for healthy whole grains and lean meats to help build the body’s levels of antioxidants, zinc, and protein.
13. Not washing your face after exercising/sweating: Sweat will clog pores so it is important to wash your face after exercising or after any activity that causes you to sweat.

Check out this related article by ThankYourSkin about The 92 Sneaky Causes of Acne No One’s Telling You About.