7 Sinful Skin Care Mistakes That Cause Breakouts ...

Allow me to elaborate on why scrubbing is one of the worst skin care mistakes. Using a face or body scrub is good as long as it’s done gently, but scrubbing your face with a washcloth or a face brush is not. Scrubbing your face can do more harm than good as you can irritate your skin and worsen breakouts. Many times, people with oily or acne-prone skin feel that scrubbing their skin vigorously is the only way to get a deep clean, but that’s just not so. No matter what your skin type, be thorough but gentle when you’re cleansing.

There are so many items that we use on the daily that can cause breakouts. Think about all the things that we put against our face like our sunnies, pillowcase, cell phone and makeup brushes. Our skin comes in contact with so many things that we don’t frequently sanitize that can collect oil, dirt and bacteria and we put these things on our faces! You don’t have to go crazy cleaning your things, but it’s good to pick a day or two to clean up your stuff to prevent future breakouts.

It’s tempting to want to run a few errands after you hit the gym, but if you’re not hitting the showers after your sweat sesh, pass on the errands. Sweating alone doesn’t cause breakouts, but staying in tight, sweaty workout clothes can. Friction from your clothes mixing with sweat and oil in your pores is a recipe for disaster. Get out of your sweaty workout clothes and shower ASAP after you’re done.

Not getting enough sleep is not only a big skin care mistake, it also has huge consequences for your health and well-being. If you frequently skimp on sleep, it can raise levels of the stress hormone cortisol which can cause breakouts. Go to bed early, take naps, sacrifice your Friday night and do what you must in order to get proper rest. You’ll look and feel better!

We all know that picking at our skin is wrong yet many of us continue to touch our faces with dirty fingers! Don’t feel bad, we all do it! It just feels so nice to rest our chin in our hand or touch our face once in awhile. It might seem harmless, but it’s sure way to introduce more oil, dirt and germs to our skin. Not only that, our hair care products can also get on our hairline or face which can block pores. Keep hair away from your face when possible and wipe down your face with salicylic acid to keep pimples away.

It’s so exciting to get a brand new skin care product and try it out. And while we’re aware it takes time for a new product to work, we often make the mistake of expecting miracles overnight and end up ditching the product before it gets a chance to do its thing. The next time you get a new skin care product, give it 4-6 weeks before you give up on it or it can irritate your skin and cause a breakout. According to dermatologist Paul Jarrod Frank, M.D., even anti-acne products can cause acne if you use too many of them!

Having hard water isn’t really a skin care mistake; you can’t help it. However, the fact is that hard water has a high concentration of minerals which doesn’t rinse away soap as effectively. It can leave behind residue which can clog up pores. The best fix for hard water is to get a shower filter or water softener, but you can also use skin care as well as hair care products that contain chelators to prevent residue from penetrating skin. In case you weren’t aware, hard water can also cause hair to be dry and brittle. Try Dr. Dennis Gross HyraPure Oil-Free Moisture with Chelating Complex or use a club soda or apple cider vinegar rinse on your hair.

If you’re experiencing breakouts, I hope some of these skin care mistakes can help you determine the cause and put a stop to them. Do you know of any other bad skin care habits that can cause breakouts? Let us know!

Sources: webmd.com, byrdie.com, lifescript.com, self.com shine.yahoo.com