10 Simple Rules to Reduce Acne

By: Seval

1. Don’t touch your face

This is like an old school rule, mostly because personally my father always yelled at me to stop touching my face. As tempting as it is to pick at those red spots on your face, guess what? Your hands touch a million things throughout the day and unless you're soaking your hands in pure alcohol you would be disgusted to know how much bacteria is actually harbored under your nails. Enough said! Just stop!

2. Wash your face twice a day

I say twice a day because there is such a thing as too much. The most you wash, the drier your skin gets, and therefore the more oil it will produce which will result in acne in most cases. So stop at 2 and call it a day. Or if you must, water is ok, but don’t use cleansers on your face more than twice daily.

3. Apply a mild benzoyl peroxide

2.5% does the trick. Sometimes less is more. Cliché, I know! But it’s true especially when it comes to harsh chemicals. I don’t want to slap BP with the negative name of being harsh because I personally swear by it. But it does have the tendency to dry out skin and even irritate it. Use it smart. Only use a low dose if you’re using it daily and build yourself up. Start with using it every second day just to build up that tolerance.

4. Use a salicylic acid face wash

We have to wash our faces, so why not also fight acne at the same time. SA is not an overly harsh acne treatment therefore as a daily cleanser I personally believe it does wonders. I can’t speak for my face because I use other products on my face as well, but for my back, I only use a SA body wash and it pretty much leaves my body acne free with the rare red bump here or there, but I’ll gladly take that!

5. Don’t pot those zits

Personally, I struggle with this. In my opinion, popping them gets the process going a lot faster. With just getting the puss out and BAM now it’s ready to heal and disappear. But we are basically causing a more long term damage with hyperpigmentation and scarring. You know that “non-smooth no-acne” face? That is mostly from popping pimples.

6. Change bedding often

Simple and self-explanatory if you ask me. The thing you’re resting your face on every night (or day). Not to mention, our skin sheds and we can’t necessarily see it. Therefore, all we are doing is rubbing our faces on dead skin all night long! It’s almost like marinating in your own juices. Gross! Change those pillow cases once a week people!

7. Be patient 

I know this isn’t easy. I too would not have taken this advice 1 year ago. But the truth is, the thing that we see in the mirror and the thing that bothers us the most is all built up in our heads. So chill. Relax. Let it run its course (while you help yourself internally). This comes with time and wisdom but you’ll get there!

8. Eat a balanced diet

I can’t stress this enough. We are what we eat. Acne is a red flag for a much deeper underlying problem within our body. It does not, however, need to be treated with drugs! We need food! Good, healthy, nutritional food. Do yourself a favor, as well as your body, go pick up a celery stick, slather some organic natural peanut butter on it and enjoy!

9. Get active

Physical activity makes us happy. Our bodies release hormones known as endorphins A.K.A “happy hormones”. This coupled with the fact that our digestive system works better with physical activity, it’s like a double whammy!

10. Sleep!

Our body needs rest. The best thing we can do is give ourselves the minimum rest that it needs so that it can use that time to recover. It is also important to get yourself in a routine because our bodies have an internal clock and it will just get everything else in sync. Therefore, in the overall scheme of things, it will help regulate our bodies which in term will have a positive effect on our little pimple friends.