The severity of acne is influenced by several factors, including improper skincare use, diet, hair care habits, stress, lack of sleep, and hormonal changes.

For effective acne treatment, it’s important to evaluate and identify the potential causes affecting your skin.

Habits That Can Worsen Acne

Daily routines that seem insignificant can have a big impact on skin health, especially when it comes to aggravating acne. To restore healthy skin and treat acne, it's essential to break habits that may worsen acne, such as:

Frequently Switching Skin Care Products

Frequently changing skincare products is one habit that can exacerbate acne. Each product contains different active ingredients.

Constantly changing products can damage the skin's natural protective barrier, which functions to maintain skin balance and moisture and protect against bacteria or irritation. If this barrier is compromised, skin becomes more prone to acne and other issues.

Sudden shifts in your skincare routine may also prevent your skin from adjusting properly, potentially causing redness, dryness, and more breakouts.

Only Treating Visible Acne

Acne often stems from clogged pores or hidden inflammation under the skin's surface, meaning it's not always visible right away. Focusing only on treating the acne that is already noticeable won’t address the underlying cause, which could result in new breakouts.

Applying treatments across the entire affected area can be more effective in preventing and treating acne, even in areas where it’s not visible yet.

Using Products That Trigger Acne

It's important to be selective when choosing skincare, makeup, and hair care products. Avoid making choices based solely on popularity, price, fragrance, or packaging appearance.

For those with oily, sensitive, or acne-prone skin, select products labeled as non-comedogenic, which means they won’t clog pores and will help reduce acne risks.

Also, check the ingredients in these products. Water-based options tend to be gentler on sensitive skin, less irritating, and better at preventing acne.

Going to Bed Without Cleaning Your Face

Sleeping without cleansing your face or removing makeup can worsen acne. If your face isn’t cleaned of makeup, dust, and dirt before bed, these substances can accumulate in your pores overnight, clogging them and blocking oil flow. This can result in blackheads and acne.

During sleep, your skin undergoes regeneration and repair. Leaving makeup and dirt on your face disrupts this process and prevents the skin from absorbing the beneficial ingredients in your skincare products.

Squeezing Pimples

Squeezing pimples can spread bacteria to other parts of your skin, leading to new breakouts and potential infections.

Since your hands may not be entirely clean, squeezing pimples can transfer germs and dirt onto the skin, worsening acne issues.

If you’re dealing with large, painful, and inflamed acne that doesn’t respond to over-the-counter treatments, it’s best to consult a doctor or dermatologist. They can suggest more effective solutions to address the problem.

You can also seek advice from our doctors through the Ai Care health consultation service, available for download via the App Store or Play Store.

Looking for more health tips, first aid advice, and home remedies? Click here!