You might’ve shed your driver’s permit and pile of homework with your teenage years, but, contrary to popular belief, acne can stick around long after you graduate from high school. (It would be too easy if it didn’t, right?) The number of people with adult acne is growing every year. It’s the most common skin issue out there—and it happens even if you think you’re doing everything right. That’s because a few habits could be unraveling even your best efforts. Here, how to fix them and get the clear, radiant skin of your dreams.
1. Skipping the sunscreen.
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: You. Must. Wear. Sunscreen. Besides the obvious skin cancer risk, going without sunscreen is like asking for bad skin, since outside of genes, UV rays are the biggest factor in accelerated skin aging. Plus, some acne-fighting products, like retinol, can actually make skin more sensitive to sunlight and increase your risk of burning. A recent study in the journal Dermatologic Surgery found that daily sunscreen use not only prevents skin aging, but can actually reverse it. Getting into the habit of a daily SPF pays out for you in the long run—acne-prone or not.
2. Picking at your skin—or popping zits.
Hands off! Picking at your skin won’t just worsen acne (or whatever it is you’re picking at) but it can also cause post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation—and, in some cases, acne scars. Breakouts usually come and go, but dark spots can linger for years. If you’re dying to pop a pimple that looks like it’s come to a head, use clean hands, if not a sterile zit-popping instrument, and be gentle.
3. Being inconsistent with your acne treatments
If you only treat your pimples when you have a visible pimple, you’ll be chasing those suckers forever. “If you’re only treating the blemishes you can see, you’re too late with your acne treatment,” says Dalia Stoddard, VP of Product Development at Rodan + Fields. “Acne is cyclical, so it can take up to two weeks for blemishes to show up on your skin.” If acne has plagued you and you know it’s not a one-off thing (like a stress pimple), try a steady regimen that fights breakouts on a daily basis. Try Rodan + Fields’ four-step Unblemish regimen, which teams up powerful, anti-acne ingredients like sulfur (to reduce oil), alpha hydroxy acids (to exfoliate dead skin cells that could potentially clog pores), and benzoyl peroxide (which zaps zit-causing bacteria).
4. Never cleaning your phone screen.
Unless you wander around with wireless headphones in your ears 24/7, you’re probably pressing your phone to your ear—and therefore your face—multiple times a day. And your phone screen is basically one big bacteria colony with a wifi connection. So when you’re pressing it against your skin, you’re essentially rubbing germs onto your face—which is a recipe for a breakout. Use an electronic screen cleaner at least once a week.
5. Skipping hydration.
Breakouts go hand-in-hand with oily skin, since it’s that excess oil and sebum that clogs pores and causes pimples in the first place. So it’s understandable to think that your skin has enough oil to moisturize well enough without the addition of another product—and therefore skip moisturizer. In a word: Nope. “Acne treatments are extremely drying, and when you strip too much oil from your skin, your glands overproduce oil to compensate,” explains Stoddard. That overproduction of oil will—you guessed it—lead to even more acne. No matter what your skin type, a moisturizer (and, ideally, one with SPF) is nonnegotiable.
6. Using rich face creams and moisturizers.
Moisturizing your skin is always a good thing, but the type of moisturizer can trip you up. If you’re trying to hydrate your skin with a heavy-duty face lotion, you could actually cause more harm than good. Rich formulas, like those formulated for anti-aging, are intended for older customers, who typically have drier skin. Their über-moisturizing ingredients can moisturize a little too well, clogging pores and leading to breakouts. (Of course they can.) Stick with a lightweight face lotion or hydrating serum with hyaluronic acid, both of which will hydrate skin without feeling occlusive.
