By Stephanie Rae
Everyone wants a clear and glowing complexion but there are a few common pitfalls that can cause even the most well behaved skin to rebel with a blemish or two. Typically, blemishes take up to 90-days to develop into the inflamed lesions that we all loath. Did you know that common everyday routines, food choices, and even laundry detergents can cause undesirable inflammation and skin care regret?
Trifecta of Practical Acne Treatments
1. Drop It Like It’s Hot!
Drop dyes & perfumes that is! Those heavily scented laundry items are not doing your skin any good. Detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, and even those fun little beads of scented goodness can cause issues with the skin. These items adhere a waxy residue to the skin that can prohibit products from penetrating effectively and prohibit dead skin cells from shedding off appropriately.
Expert Tip
Instead of these acne causing products, look for fragrance and dye free detergents and try wool balls or dryer balls instead of fabric softeners. Your skin will thank you and you will save money in the long run by skipping on the fabric softeners and dryer sheets.
2. You Are What You Eat
We have all heard that there are certain foods that can aggravate acne, but what most people don’t understand is how big of an impact they have on the skin or what foods to avoid. Pizza and chocolate have awful reputations when it comes how they impact your skin. I am going to push the myths aside and give you my top three food groups to avoid.
Iodine Is A No No!
Excess iodine secretes through the sebaceous glands which can cause irritation and acne. High iodine foods such as iodized salt, seafood, shellfish and seaweed should be avoided.
Expert Tip
Switch to sea salt and freshwater fish instead.
Pesky Peanuts
Peanuts and peanut based products create an androgen response within the body which can result in an increase of sebum production, not to mention inflammation. Peanuts and peanut based products; we’re looking at you peanut butter!
Expert Tip
Ditch the peanuts and reach for literally any other nut based snacks instead.
Darn You Dairy!
Dairy, whey and soy are highly inflammatory and can cause acne prone skin to erupt in severely inflamed acne lesions.
Expert Tip
Substitute with almond milk, coconut milk, nut based cheese, pea protein or egg white protein instead to avoid these inflamed breakouts from occurring.
3. Take A “Hands-Off” Approach
Lay off the picking and squeezing which gives bacteria the chance to spread to surrounding pores and can leave post inflammatory hyperpigmentation long after the blemish is gone.
Expert Tip
Instead remember to ice ice baby! Simply use an ice cube or ice roller to calm those pesky blemishes by massaging over the top of inflamed blemishes. The ice helps to calm acne causing bacteria and tame inflammation at lightning speed. For best results, ice two times daily for one to two minutes.
With these small but powerful changes, even the most challenged skin will start to show swift improvements.
Check Out Our Acne Product Recommendations.
Stephanie Rae, Award Winning Esthetician
Stephanie is, “just a small town girl, livin’ in a skin care world,” from Winona, MN. She has been an Aesthetician for ten years and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience into her treatment room to obtain transformational skin care results on her clients. She looks beyond the physical appearance of the skin to treat her clients as a whole. Working with the client’s lifestyle, dietary choices, professional treatments and professional home care products help to gain the stunning transformations that have resulted in winning numerous International Awards including Aesthetitian of the year…Read More.