Breakouts: how to beat them

Everyone suffers from spots at some point in their lives. Spots don’t just affect how you look, they can really zap your confidence. Fortunately, with the right skin care there’s a lot you can do to prevent them.

Almost everyone gets spots

Teenagers aren’t the only ones battling breakouts, spots can happen at any stage of life – with adult acne on the rise. If you suffer from blemish-prone skin, it is important to use mild skin care products that are formulated for your skin type. There are different types of spots and knowing what type you have makes it easier to treat them effectively:

• Papules: these are subcutaneous papules with a pink or red glow. These can feel painful and do not have a white head.
• Pustules: these are small, superficial spots filled with pus (a mixture of dead skin cells and bacteria).
• Nodular acne: these are inflammations deep under the skin. Spots are not small and red, but large and painful. If you suffer from nodular acne, a dermatologist can offer professional treatments such as special peels.

There are two ingredients that significantly improve blemish-prone skin and help prevent breakouts: benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid (BHA). These ingredients help reduce symptoms such as spots, redness and clogged pores.

Treating and preventing blemishes.

Some skin care products can cause more breakouts, despite the promises on the packaging. It’s also important to look at what you’re feeding your skin on the inside too and eat a healthy diet. Here are 10 tips to help prevent blemishes.

• Avoid thick creams or lotions if you suffer from oilier skin. Ingredients in these products can clog pores and form the perfect environment for spots to grow.
• Skin care products should feel light on your skin. Look for products in a gel form or lightweight liquid lotions.
• Be careful with oil-based products. By adding more oils to greasy skin you could end up with more spots.
• Don’t use products with irritating ingredients such as alcohol, menthol, peppermint, eucalyptus and citrus extracts. Natural or synthetic fragrances can also irritate the skin and make it dry, red and scaly.
• Stop using harsh abrasive scrubs and hard cleansing brushes, these will only damage the skin and reduce the skin's ability to protect itself.
• Home remedies such as toothpaste are not a good spot treatment! Actually they will only irritate and cause redness.
• Remove your make-up from your face every night to prevent clogged pores and make your skin care products work better.
• Try cutting out foods with dairy and gluten for a short time to see if it makes a difference to your skin, these foods have been linked with acne.
• Consume sugar and processed food in moderation, instead fill up on lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Some products with SPF can actually make blemishes worse. But it is important to use a well-formulated, broad-spectrum sun filter in your daily skin care regime to prevent sun damage and premature ageing. Look for lightweight, non-greasy textures such as Clear Ultra-Light Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 30.