Niamh Shackleton
There's a series of habits that people who suffer with acne are being urged not to do in a bid to improve their skin.
It's said that as many as 50 million Americans suffer with acne, and it's not just younger people who have the condition. 15 percent of adult women have acne as well, according to data from The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD).
There are different types of acne and it can appear on different parts of body. Most commonly people might get blackheads, whiteheads, or pimples on the face, forehead, chest, upper back and shoulders, says Mayo Clinic.
With acne – especially in teenagers – being so common, the AAD has shared some tips of what to do and what not to do.
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Top of the list is avoiding trying a new acne treatment every week as this can cause further irritation to your skin. Instead its advised that you give a product six to eight weeks to see if it helps improve your skin.
Applying acne treatment to blemishes only is also a no-no. "It makes sense to treat what you see, but this approach fails to prevent new breakouts," the AAD says.
To treat pimples and stop new breakouts from emerging, you should apply an thin, even layer of acne treatment over the acne-prone area of concern.
Some make-up products aren't great for pimple-prone skin – those being oil-based products. With this in mind, the AAD advises: "Use only makeup, sunscreen, skin, and hair-care products that are labeled 'non-comedogenic' or 'won’t clog pores'."
"These products don’t cause breakouts in most people," it adds.
Sleeping in make-up is also not advised (whether your an acne sufferer or not!). Even if you purchase non-comedogenic make-up, you can still end up breaking out if you sleep it in.
In contrast to this, you might be tempted to wash your face numerous times a day. While being clean is a nice feeling, doing this can further irritate your skin, leading to more breakouts.
It's advised that just simply wash your face twice a day: when you wake up and when you go to bed.
If you have oily skin, you might feel that you want to dry it out using astringent and acne treatments. But dry skin is irritated skin, and irritated skin means acne.
"Use acne treatments as directed. If your skin feels dry, apply a moisturizer made for acne-prone skin," the AAD states.
"You’ll want to apply the moisturizer twice a day, after washing your face. You also want to avoid using astringents, rubbing alcohol, and anything else that can dry out your skin."
Scrubbing your skin clean also isn't advised as, again, this can lead to your skin becoming irriated.
See the theme here?
Rubbing sweat into your skin isn't a good call either. If you've had a sweaty gym session, for example, use a clean towel to gently pat away the sweat.
Last, but not least: don't pop your pimples.
It's terribly tempting, especially if you're a Dr. Pimple Popper fan, don't squeeze your spots!
The AAD says: "Resist the temptation to pop or squeeze acne. You want to treat your acne with acne medication. If you have deep or painful acne, seeing a dermatologist is necessary to help clear your acne."