Coping with acne can be frustrating, especially if you routinely experiment with different skin care products to reduce its severity. To further your acne prevention efforts, avoid these common mistakes.

What Makes Acne Worse?

1. Forgetting to Remove Makeup

At the end of a long day, it’s easy to forget to remove your makeup and simply fall into bed. For people with acne, however, it’s doubly important to remove all cosmetics before falling asleep; otherwise, the day’s accumulation of oil and bacteria combined with makeup will clog your pores. Use a gentle skin care product to remove these contaminants, and don’t scrub too vigorously to prevent irritation. Cleaning your face in the evening also allows overnight acne treatments to penetrate and heal your skin more effectively.

2. Using the Wrong Products

Dealing with acne can be tricky when you consider the impact that treatments can have on your skin. While excess oil buildup is normal, areas that you treat with retinol or potent medical grade skin care products can cause dryness. For those spots, you need a lightweight, non-comedogenic moisturizer to soften skin without clogging your pores. Balance this with products designed specially to combat breakouts and tackle oiliness, such as mild, gel-based cleansers and treatments containing benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. You can ask a professional aesthetician to assess your skin’s condition and provide suggestions, such as targeted facials for acne.

3. Squeezing Zits

Unsightly, oversized blemishes can be very tempting to squeeze. Doing so, however, can leave your skin susceptible to infection and worsen scarring. If you want to minimize the size of a pimple, apply a warm compress to the affected area at least twice a day for several minutes at a time. This draws blood to the surface and may stimulate the pimple to pop on its own. At that stage, apply a mild cleanser before adding a dab of antibiotic cream to the spot to prevent infection.

Effective acne care begins with a regimen designed specifically for your skin type. Seek a professional evaluation and quality skin care products from Pure Skin by Maggie in Honolulu, HI. Licensed aesthetician Maggie Liu is proud to offer over 12 years of experience as well as a range of organic and medical grade skin care, including cleansers, moisturizers, and masks. Visit the spa to take advantage of healing services like facials for acne and brown spot treatments. Visit the website to learn more about their inventory, or call (808) 427-3012 to schedule a complimentary consultation.