A good skin care routine for acne prone skin is so important when you are prone to breakouts. Your daily skincare routine helps remove excess oil, keeps pores clear, and can help speed the healing of existing blemishes.
With so many products available on the market, creating an acne skincare routine can seem overwhelming. But your daily skincare routine doesn’t have to be complex to be effective.
In fact, you will only need a few minutes twice a day. Follow the 4 easy steps below to help you keep your skin fresh and clean.
Step 1: Cleansing Your Skin Gently
Using only your fingertips or a soft cotton swab (no rough scouring cotton, please), thoroughly clean your face, including your jaw, neck, front and behind the ears.
Make sure you are using the right face wash for your skin. Over-the-counter acne treatment is a good choice if you have mild breakouts. Choose best face washes that contains salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide.
If you’re using acne treatment, you’ll need a mild, non-medicated cleanser instead. Cetaphil, or the old-school Neutrogena bar are all the best choices.
If you wear makeup on your face, or if your skin is very dirty or sweaty during the day (if you play in a sports team or after a workout), do a double wash at night: cleanse, rinse well and repeat the operation. This ensures that you clean all traces of makeup, sweat, and dirt every night.
Just remember, don’t use hard bar soaps, antibacterial hand washes, or something like that on your face. Harsh soaps won’t clean your acne, but it will irritate your skin.
Step 2: Using Toner or astringent.
Depending on the ingredients they contain, astringents or toners can help remove excess oil, tone and moisturize, or help fight blackheads and blemishes.
Apply toner cotton ball and gently apply to face and neck to help remove makeup remnants, cleanser residue, and sebum.
Astringents are designed to remove excess oil from the skin, so it’s obvious that they’re better suited for oily skin. If your skin tends to be dry, either naturally or from using acne-drying treatments, a moisturizing toner is a better choice for you.
In addition, pay attention to the alcohol content of the product as alcohol can be drying and irritating, especially for sensitive skin.
Alcohol-free products are the best choice if your skin is dry or irritated from acne treatments. Be aware that even if your skin is not incredibly dry or sensitive, alcohol-based tonics can sting open pimples.
Either way, if the tonics or astringents seem to over-dry or irritate your skin, don’t use them. The same goes if you are using prescription acne medications that are super-drying (like isotretinoin or retinoids). You are not going to damage your skin by not using a tonic.
Step 3: Applying Acne Treatment
After your tonic has dried completely, or after you’ve washed and completely dried your face, apply your acne treatment as directed. This could be a medication prescribed by your doctor or an over-the-counter acne gel or cream.
Allow the medicine to absorb and dry completely before proceeding to the next step.
If you need help in choosing a drug for acne treatment? Call your dermatologist or family doctor.
Step 4: Hydrating Your Skin
It may seem counterintuitive to hydrate your already oily skin, but don’t skip this important step.
Many acne medications over-dry your skin, leaving the skin thirsty for moisture. To reduce dry, flaky skin, apply a light moisturizer twice a day.
Your moisturizer doesn’t have to leave you feeling greasy. There are plenty of moisturizers for oily skin types available today that absorb completely and won’t make acne worse.
Moisturizing gels and lotions are generally lighter in weight than creams. Either way, choose one that is labeled oil-free.
You really don’t need the most expensive products on the market to get good results for your skincare routine. The most important step in your skincare routine is consistency – the more consistent you are with your regimen, the better the results you will get.
Conversely, if you only apply your acne treatments once in a while, and rarely wash your face before bed, you will never be able to get past breakouts. Just like skipping a day here and there isn’t going to irreparably harm your skin, but you should stay as regular as possible with your daily skincare regimen. Make a commitment to take care of your skin.
If you need help controlling acne breakouts, or if you just need some advice on choosing the best skincare products for you, don’t hesitate to call your dermatologist.