Breaking out again? After months of having clear skin, acne decides to come back uninvited into your life. We know, annoying. But we’re here today to help guide you on that frustrating journey. When acne suddenly flares up, we tend to fall back on bad habits and mistakes that can worsen it! So let’s take a look at some of these bad habits and see how we can fix them.

Common Mistakes with Acne

1. Picking Pimples

It’s temping, we know. But you must resist picking at those bumps and blemishes. Just by simply touching your breakouts, it can lead to re-infection and potentially worsen acne scarring! So keep your hands off.

2. Pilling on the Products

When your skin is going through a new wave of breakouts, give it some rest. Especially from any possibly irritating ingredients. Less is always more in this case. Your skin is going through a lot at that moment, so last thing you want to do is overwhelm it with a bunch of different products! And definitely don’t introduce new products if you’re unsure of the reaction it could have on your skin. This will make it harder to pinpoint the culprit and aggravate your acne all the more!

3. Stressing Out

Staring at pimples in the mirror won’t magically make them go away. So don’t waste your time looking and stressing over every blemish and bump you see because it could actually make it worse! Stress can induce the release of hormones which promotes sebum production. And we all know sebum production is an ally of acne.

4. Blaming Your Skincare

This can be tricky. If you’re using your regular products that have never caused issues before, but suddenly you’re breaking out, then maybe the product isn’t to blame. Acne is multi-factorial, meaning there are a multitude of factors that can contribute to break outs occurring! Stress level, general health, food, weather changes, environmental factors, etc. the list goes on and on.

So instead of tossing out your products and blaming them, try tracing back your habits and surrounding environment to see the real cause. How has your diet been? Lifestyle changes? Environmental stimulants? You might find a more reasonable cause and can adjust to fix that rather than trash your skincare!

5. Covering Acne with Makeup

Makeup won’t make it better. Makeup products or makeup applicators can actually increase the likelihood of clogged pores. So instead of covering those pimples up, just be confident and let them breath for a while. Concentrate on healing rather than hiding. Most likely you’re the only one that notices it!

6. Spot Treatment like No Tomorrow

A little goes a long way with spot treatments. Meaning that more does not equal better! Spot treatment like benzoyl peroxide and tea tree oil have a drying side effect, so don’t overdo it. Instead of increasing their effect, your actually doubling up on the side effects. Which again, can make those break outs worse!

Be Stress-free About Acne

Next time you’re dealing with some pimples, remember these tips! Don’t fall into bad habits and let your skin heal from breakouts without too much interference. And just like any bad day, your breakout will pass. So don’t get too worked up over such a small thing! Acne comes and goes, it doesn’t define who you are.

Speaking of acne-free, the Picky app has an “Acne-Free” filter you can use when searching for products! Find products that have less potential to break you out. But even if you do get acne, just know it’s not the end of the world! Don’t forget to also follow us on Instagram and check our blog for more