Acne Skin Care – 7 Deadly Sins Of Face Washing

Yes I know you know how to clean your face.

But there are some deadly sins when it comes to washing acne prone skin or skin that have acne eruptions already.

Below are 7 deadly tips on how to wash your face properly so that you can rid of your acne, not aggravate it.

1) Use a mild soap. A lot of people think that if they use a stronger soap, it will help get rid of acne quicker. Much like if you drink stronger coffee, you will stay awake longer. It could not be more false. Irritating your already sensitive skin with strong detergent like soap will not only make the problem worse, it will dry your skin out so much you will look as if you have dandruff on your face. Ugh!

So steer clear of these super strong soap, and use something mild, with a PH balance of 5.5, and that is proven to be gentle on the skin.

2) Go easy when you wash. Again, scrubbing with a face cloth or a brush, or worse yet using exfoliates will only make your skin break out more. Basically what you are doing is breaking the skin where the pimples are and spreading the infection. The broken skin gets infected, the pimple gets worse and well… you know the rest.

3) Do not use a towel to dry your face. This was a tip I got from my dermatologist and it really helped. He told me to use dispoable kitchen towels, the type that you wipe spills with and throw the towel away each time. More germs are found on cloth towels and if you do not change them everyday, you are harboring bacteria in the same towel you use to dry your freshly washed face. It’s a bit like drying yourself with a filthy towel after a shower. Defeats the whole purpose, doesn’t it?

4) Do not forget to wash places like your hairline. Yup, you wash your face, all the main bits and you forget the parts where the pimples like most : the hair line, the jawline, and the side of your face right by your ears. The neck is also super important so don’t forget it either.

By the way, keep your hair off your face no matter how trendy the look. Bits of hair (especially unclean hair) brushing constantly against your skin could irritate it.

5) No strong astringents. You know the type, you can smell the alcohol a mile away. You may think you are disinfecting your face and killing off all the acne germs, but it is false thinking. Again this is too strong and will dry up all the natural oils your skin produces, which your skin will compensate by producing more oils to try and balance out the lack of natural oils on your face. Result? More oil, more blockages, more pimples. Need I say more?

6) Acne is not a problem on the outside only. Acne is a problem on the inside just as much as on the outside of your body. If you eat crap, your skin will look like crap plain and simple. Drinking not enough water, smoking, eating too much processed foods, constipation, lack of sleep – all these things will contribute to more acne problems. So do the right thing on the outside, but do yourself a favor and take care of your insides too. Your skin is your ‘third kidney’ and toxins will come out this way if you are too loaded up with toxins. Think about it.

7) Use natural products to treat various problems. Witch hazel, lavender and tea tree oils are great to treat problem areas. Use pure aloe vera to condition your skin. For more information on natural treatments, go here.