Fifteen Factors That Aggravate Acne

There are fifteen factors which researchers have identified over the past 60 years which, although they do not cause acne, they will absolutely, positively aggravate your acne and make it worse. If you ignore these fifteen factors, your acne will still improve, but you will never reach your goal of perfectly clear skin.

Stress

The number one aggravating factor for every person with acne, especially women, is stress. That’s the main reason why your face is clear one day, and then the next day you experience a flare up. Stress comes from a host of different things: relationships, financial difficulties, sports competition, academic competition, social pressure, employment, and of course from having acne. The biochemical stress reaction in the body is so powerful that no acne medication ever invented can overcome it. You must find a way to Avoid Stress!

Iodine

The American diet is tough on acne because we eat so much processed food that is laced with chemicals that aggravate acne. One of the worst is iodine found in iodized salt. Iodine is found in lunch meats and chips. Dairy products are loaded with iodine because American cows lick salt blocks full or iodized salt. Therefore, switch to soy milk, rice milk or organic milk and the corresponding ice cream, cheese and yogurt products made from soy, rice or organic mild. Coffee aggravates acne. Soft drinks can play havoc with acne. Avoid all products with iodized salt and cook with non-iodized salt. Then you will be safe.

Cosmetics

It is estimated that thirty percent (30%) of American women suffer from a skin disorder called acne cosmetica. This is acne aggravated from bad lotions and creams, especially bad makeup that clogs the pores of the skin. Unfortunately just about every makeup out there contains pore clogging chemicals. Before you start your acne treatment program, the first thing you want to do is go to a local mall and get free samples of “safe” makeups. Then go home, try them out and switch to the one you like best. So what, if any, makeups are safe? There are only eight which are commercially available which appear to be relatively safe: Almay Pure Beauty Foundation for Oily Skin, Almay Fresh Look Oil Free, Clinique Pore Minimizer, Elizabeth Arden Oil Free Make-up, Flori Roberts Dermablend, Lancome Magique, Youngblood loose powder and Cinema Secrets.

Picking

Stop picking, scratching and skin tampering! Picking pushes lesions deeper into the pore, slows down the healing process, invites secondary infection by introducing airborne bacteria, causes thick, dark dead skin build-up and scarring, and turns ordinary breakouts and razor bumps into much larger and darker black, brown, purple or red blemishes that take forever to heal and go away. If you can’t stop picking, then learn how to do it right. Click HERE to learn how.

Ice

The ice cubes in your refrigerator freezer represent, next to the products themselves, the second greatest tool you have for the treatment of acne. And it's free! The cold helps to exfoliate the top layers of the skin which greatly increases the penetration of the products into the skin. It also creates an anti-inflammatory effect to help reduce inflammation.

To avoid freezing your hands, wear plastic gloves or wrap the bottom of the cube in a washcloth. The best way to ice is fill a styrofoam cup with water and freeze it to create your own ice applicator. Then as you use it, peel down the styrofoam to expose more of the top. Rub the ice all over your face for 3-5 minutes, twice a day.

Products

Skin Connection’s acne treatment system will clear up and control your acne, but it is not a cure. The only cure for acne is time. Therefore, if you stop using your products, within one or two days your acne will come right back again. Remember: Acne Never Takes A Vacation.

Peels

Most people who suffer with acne are struggling with serious self-esteem issues, and they will do anything to clear up their skin as fast as possible. If that’s you, be sure to take advantage of an incredible technology from Skin Connection called The Skin Connection Peel. This is a solution that is applied to the surface of the skin which causes a slight peeling of the skin. The results are absolutely amazing. You acne will clear up twice as fast, if not faster, by using the Skin Connection peel. You can see a video demonstration of the Skin Connection Peel by clicking HERE.

Birth Control Pill

The advent of birth-control pills created acne havoc in some women. In others, they miraculously cleared up their acne. Thanks to the pioneering work of acne researchers, we can now predict and explain the acne effects of contraceptive pills with some accuracy. Simply put, male hormone-dominant pills usually worsen acne, and female hormone (estrogen) pills usually clear acne.

Pillow Cases

The bacteria that live in the pores of your skin are a BIG part of the acne problem. They easily find their way into your pillow case and can re-infect your skin. Therefore, you must take preventative meansures. Sleep on one side of your pillow case one night. Flip it over the next night. Then change the pillow case. To reduce the hassle, put three pillow cases on your pillow at the beginning of the week and pull them off one by one as you use them.

Humidity

Acne is more severe in hot and humid climates. If damp heat in the environment has such an effect, an artificial source of steam could be expected to do the same thing. Some women with acne report flare-ups after prolonged daily facial sauna treatments. Many people who use facial sauna devices, relax in saunas or steam rooms at health clubs, or soak for long periods of time in hot tubs, believe they are “opening their pores.” Actually, if anything, they are swelling them shut. For acne prone people, prolonged or excessive steaming may place undue pressure on weak pores.

Sunlight

Almost every acne sufferer thinks that sunlight helps their condition, especially during the summer. This is not true. The sun damages and prematurely ages the skin. The damage won’t show until you get older and suddenly the collagen layer loses its elasticity. Sun exposure also carries the risk of skin cancer. Practice safe suncare.

Pressure and Friction

Many acne sufferers find that anything that constricts, rubs, exerts prolonged pressure, overheats, or keeps skin sweaty and moist, is likely to cause problems. Doctors call it acne mechanica. The most obvious example is “chin acne” which shows up on people who frequently sit with their chin propped in their hands perhaps while watching TV or studying. Violinists who spend long hours with their instruments tucked under the chin may develop the same problem. The same is true for athletes who wear a helmet. Someone who breaks out on only one side of the face may be sleeping on that side. Some students, when engrossed in studying, will rub or stroke a certain area of their face totally unaware of the nervous habit. If there is any particular area that constantly erupts and refuses to clear, check out what might be touching or rubbing against that spot.

Laundry Detergent and Fabric Softeners

Laundry detergents and fabric softeners can leave harmful residues that can irritate sensitive skin, cause a severe case of contact dermatitis, and/or exacerbate an acne or eczema condition. The following is a list of laundry detergents that are free of perfumes, dyes, bleach, phosphates and enzymes that are especially gentle for most skin types: Cheer Free, Woolite Hypo-Allergenic, Tide Free, Arm & Hammer Free and All Free and Clear. All are tested. Avoid fabric softeners, especially those scented "sheets" thrown into the dryer. Avoid Spray and Wash and Febreeze.

Rubbing

Do not rub or scrub off dead skin. Do not use a washcloth or buffing pad. Do not rub your face with a towel. These “mechanical” exfoliation methods can over-exfoliate your skin, cause excessive irritation, and can make your active acne products sting and irritate, causing even more flaking and darkening.

Drugs

Marijuana aggravates acne. Pot smokers who give up the weed notice a dramatic improvement in their complexion.

Industrial Chemicals and Oils

Various industrial chemicals are potent substances that cause acne. The most potent of all these chemicals is dioxin, an ingredient found in various herbicides, now also being linked to cancer. Various coal tars and pitches used by road workers and roofers are comedogenic. Working over a french fryer or greasy grill can spell trouble for some fry cooks. Daily contact with cutting oils or various mixtures of paraffin oils can bring on devastating acne. Oilfield and refinery workers can contract acne from their exposure to petroleum oil. Some auto mechanics experience difficulties. In many such cases, oil and grease saturated clothing continually rubbing against the skin is a potent source of aggravation. Years ago, it was popular in the United States to rub babies with oil to soften and shine their skin, which lead to outbreaks in some babies. Various oils can be pure poison to skin with susceptible pores. The answer, of course, is to avoid comedogenic chemicals and oils.