How do you get rid of break outs and blemishes?
posted in Teens |Question by Sandy: How do you get rid of break outs and blemishes?
I am breaking out like super badly. I use to have clear skin and now acne is all over my forehead. I think I may stressing out. Can anybody please give me some really good tips/methods of getting rid of acne using home remedies and such.. I use Skin ID and I don’t think it’s really working for me. Please and thank you.
Best answer:
Answer by Lucia
I’ve suffered from acne most of my life, starting with my teens. A lot of times it’s a combination of hormones and genetics (ie. your family members also had/have acne). These are not things you can do a lot about. As you probably know, breakouts are more common in teens because of hormonal inbalances at that age, so if you are in this age group hopefully yours will eventually go away, as it does for most people.
You probably know there is no magic way to ‘cure’ your breakouts. There are ways to keep the breakouts from happening or getting worse, though. Sometimes over-the-counter stuff (like benzoyl peroxide or salycilic acid creams) can help mild cases, but there is no magic cream that works for everyone. Meanwhile here are some things you can do at home, to help lessen the chance of new blemishes:
– wash your face with an acne-preventing cleanser twice a day If you want you can follow with a benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid gel made for mild acne. (See the ‘acne’ skin care section at your drugstore).
– you can also use a mild face scrub, or face mask (for acne-prone skin) once a week to unclog pores.
– don’t wash your face a lot more than twice a day, unless dirty; don’t overscrub your skin or anything like that. A lot of times irritating your skin just makes breakouts worse.
– for the same reason, use an oil-free sunblock. A lot of times people think suntanning will make acne better – not true. Yes, the first few days suntanned skin may look better, but then it usually breaks out even worse. Suntanned skin is irritated skin.
– try changing your pillowcase every 2-3 days.
– try keeping your hair off your face, especially if you have oily hair or use styling products in it.
– if you wear make-up on your face (i.e. foundation, face powder etc.), try not to wear it too often. When you do, use oil-free/non-comedogenic (non-pore-blocking) make-up, made for acne-prone skin. Eye and lip products (ie eye makeup, lipstick) are generally ok, unless they happen to get smeared on your face. And never sleep with your makeup on, that’s a guaranteed breakout!
– try not to touch your face when you know your hands are sweaty, dirty etc. this can clog your pores.
– for the same reason try to avoid things being stuck against your face i.e. cellphone, baseball hat rim, leaning your face on your hands, whatever. If your skin can’t breathe then it gets sweaty – and sweat, as well as the bacteria on most things, can clog your pores.
– NEVER, ever, pop your blemishes, because you end up with scars. A little bit of patience now will save you a lot of trouble later on. Because even if your acne goes away, scars are forever (unless you can afford thousands of $ $ $ in laser surgery!) Trust me I am speaking from very personal experience here 
A lot of times there are things you just can’t avoid though, like stress, heat/sweat (if you play sports or are out in the sun a lot), and as I said hormones and genetics. If you find that your breakouts persist or get worse, and the over-the-counter stuff doesn’t help, ask your doctor to send you to a dermatologist.
Good luck…just remember, it usually goes away eventually…and even if not, it is never a hopeless case. Worst comes to worst, you may need prescription stuff to treat it, and you may have to try different things first, but I can almost guarantee that something WILL work. This is such a common problem that there are lots of medications and treatments for it – you just have to find what works for you.
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posted on August 2nd, 2013 at 3:29 am