Waking up and looking like a teenager is never going to be on any person’s wish list. Unfortunately, while the likelihood of suffering from acne certainly diminishes as you age, there’s no guarantee that you are going to be blessed with completely clear skin.
In fact, every adult in the land is likely to suffer with at least one pimple through their lifetime. In some cases, it will be multiple ones, and this is naturally what tends to cause the most upset.
We’d love to gift you a magic solution for acne on a plate. Doctors have been trying to devise a one-fits-all solution for years but as of yet, nothing has come close to be a complete, fully working answer.
It means that you have to take matters into your own hands somewhat and adopt something of a trial-and-error approach. As we’ll now look at, some of the fixes for acne aren’t blatantly obvious and are actually linked to your day-to-day activities. Let’s investigate some of the biggest reasons why you might start to see pimples – and just what you can do to stop this.
Smartphones and bacteria
This is probably the most interesting reason behind your acne – hence its early position on our list.
While smartphones may come to our rescue on countless occasions, when it comes to our skin they’re not so favorable. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that just touching your phone transfers all sorts of bacteria to it – before this is then transferred to the side of your face when you make a call. 1
Of course, there’s no ultra-scientific method to tackle this problem. It’s all about being hygienic, and treating your phone with a little more care on a day-to-day basis. In other words, invest in some phone sanitizing wipes to clear the bacteria once and for all.
You rely too much on coffee
Coffee is great. We all know that. Unfortunately, from a health perspective, it can be questionable.
Even though you might be sticking to the official guidelines in relation to caffeine intake, don’t forget that every cup of coffee you have is going to increase your acidity. The upshot is that your pH balance will be all over the place, with a side effect of this being increased inflammation of the skin.
Well, the solution here is pretty simple. Instead of drinking coffee, switch to a “cleaner” refreshment like water (or even tea). If you can’t give up on your coffee just yet, some people find that adding pH drops to your cup will make it less acidic and ultimately ease the problem.
You need more shut-eye
On something of a similar basis, the acne problem might be exaggerated because of a lack of sleep. When your body isn’t rested sufficiently, it results in your immune system weakening. Suffice to say, this is asking for trouble – and acne can be one of the side effects.
Just like a lot of the issues we have spoken about, this one also has a very easy solution. Simply going to bed earlier can make life a lot more pleasant for your skin – although admittedly this might be easier said than done. If you are struggling to sleep, one of the big “modern” reasons is because of too much time in front of electrical devices. The electromagnetic waves emitted from these can wreak havoc with your circadian rhythm, and instantly cause sleeping problems.
You have a soft spot for sugar
Another one of life’s great wonders is sugar. Unfortunately, just like coffee, this is something else that doesn’t combine well with your skin. It’s an ingredient which will increase your body’s glycemic index to huge highs – with the upshot being that you will now produce more oil. As we all know, oil and skin isn’t a good combination – and tends to result in pimples. 2
There’s another scientific reason why sugar is frowned upon so much from a skin perspective as well. Sugary foods can cause the glycation process; with your skin cells being broken down and your collagen then suffering as a result.
The obvious solution here is to fine-tune your diet. It’s at this point that we should remind you that it’s not just the sugary classics which will put you at risk here – but also foods like breads and processed carbs which have the same effect on your glycemic index.
You are relying too much on acne products
This is probably going to be another suggestion that raises a few eyebrows – for the simple reason that most of us think that all acne products will automatically help us.
Well, this isn’t entirely true in a lot of cases. You might think that you have oily skin – but this isn’t necessarily permanent. In other words, if you start to use a lot of acne treatments, over time your skin will start to dry out. If it dries out too much, your skin’s barrier will break down – with the result being more bacteria entering through the gaping pores.
As such, you need to take every precaution to ensure that you don’t dry your skin out too much. Charcoal soaps can often help with this – they will remove bacteria from your skin, but won’t dry it out excessively.
You shower too much
Well, the sub-title might be a bit misleading, but some people might suffer from acne because of their water. If you reside in an area which has water which contains a lot of metals, you will immediately start to alter the pH levels of your skin. As we’ve already discussed, this is just asking for pimples as your protective layer of skin starts to become much more exposed.
This is one of those issues where the solution isn’t entirely easy. This time, you should be looking to wash your face with distilled water, and immediately eradicate those harmful metals from coming in contact with you.
Sources
- Mobile phones and bacteria (Daily Mail) Mobile phones have 18 times more bacteria than toilet handle
- Sugar and acne (WebMD.com) 10 Lifestyle Steps to Help Your Acne
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