Acne, blemishes, pimples or zits. Whatever you call them, the chances are that you never want to see them on your face again. Unfortunately, while many of us think that our skin will improve after puberty, that’s not always the case. Acne can stick around long after your high school days and wreak havoc on your skin. As such, arming yourself with the best products, tips, and tricks for beating blemishes and banishing zits is invaluable in the pursuit of a clear complexion. So, to help you get the skin of your dreams, we’ve created this handy guide to getting rid of acne and preventing it from coming back. Just read through, and you’ll soon be able to say goodbye to bad skin days for good.

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What Causes Acne

Acne is caused by the pores on your skin becoming blocked with oil, dead skin cells, dirt, and bacteria. As such, many internal and external factors can affect whether your skin develops acne or not. Some common triggers include an over production of oil, genetics, hormones, stress, and diet. Other causes can include but are not limited to touching your face, picking pimples, over exposure to the sun, sweat, not washing your face regularly, detergent chemicals on your clothes and pillow, over exfoliation, smoke, hair products, and pore-clogging beauty products. As all these factors can attribute to acne, it’s important to not only treat pimples when they pop up but also to work to prevent them.

Skin Products for Acne

When it comes to beating blemishes, using the right products is crucial. As such, purchasing specialised treatments, skincare products, and makeup for acne prone skin is necessary for achieving a clean and clear complexion. Start by replacing your regular daily facewash with one that is oil-free and contains salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is anti-bacterial and can help to exfoliate away pore-clogging dead skin cells. Likewise, also look out for oil-free moisturisers that will provide hydration while keeping excess oil and shine at bay.

Now that your daily skincare routine is attacking your acne and working to prevent its reappearance, you should look to invest in a quality spot treatment to tackle nasty pimples and blemishes as they pop up. Choose one that’s designed to draw out impurities, balance excess oil, and that contains anti-inflammatory ingredients. Doing so will ensure that your spot treatment is capable of killing even the scariest of zits.

Don’t forget about your beauty routine either. To keep your makeup from contributing to the creation of new pimples, you must be thoughtful about the products that you choose to wear. Luckily, there is plenty of quality makeup around today that can provide good coverage while helping treat acne. Start by looking for an oil-free foundation to keep your skin woes from exacerbating. If that foundation also contains salicylic acid, then you’re well on your way to achieving a clear complexion.

Natural Home Remedies

Store-bought products aren’t your only hope of saying goodbye to your pack of pimples. Natural home remedies can also help take care of nasty zits and cost next to nothing in the process. In fact, there are probably a few items in your kitchen right now that could be used on your face to fight blemishes. Cold soy milk can help to soothe red, irritated areas of skin and acne while lemon juice has natural astringent and anti-bacterial properties. Apply either to your skin, and you’ll see blemishes start to improve in no time at all.

Other natural blemish busters include apple cider vinegar, baking soda, manuka honey, papaya, corn starch, and garlic. Instead of consuming them in your diet as per usual, try applying them directly to your face to enhance their skin clearing properties. Apple cider vinegar, for instance, features antibacterial properties as well as antifungal benefits. As such, it can be used with some water to help clear acne. Likewise, baking soda can also be mixed with some warm water to form a paste that will exfoliate, reduce inflammation, and help keep skin clear. All you need to do is apply it to your face, leave it for up to an hour, and rinse to see great results.

If you’re in need of an immediate spot treatment, you can try egg whites or tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is particularly useful for tackling zits and preventing their reappearance by clearing clogged pores and removing dead skin cells. Just mix one part of the oil with eight parts water, apply it directly to your skin with a cotton ball, and leave for 30 minutes. If your fridge and pantry are looking a little empty, however, you can also use some white toothpaste as a straightforward and cheap spot treatment.

Lifestyle Change

When it comes to preventing acne, lifestyle changes can be invaluable. From your diet to your daily habits, some simple changes can dramatically improve the condition of your skin. To start with, try drinking at least eight glasses of water a day. Doing so will help clear toxins from your body that cause blemishes and inflammation. Drinking more water will also send more nutrients and oxygen to your skin for a hydrated, healthy and youthful complexion.

As well as consuming more water, eating more nuts can also be beneficial. Brazil nuts are rich in selenium which increases the skin’s elasticity while walnuts, which contain Omega 3 fatty acids, help to lower inflammation and fight breakouts. Macadamias also boast plenty of fatty acids and oils that aid skin repair and rejuvenation. Likewise, consuming foods that are rich in zinc will also help to heal acne breakouts. As for foods to avoid, try giving dairy a miss. Dairy products, including those that are organic, contain cow hormones that stimulate oil glands and pores, leading to acne.

If your diet and water consumption are already impeccable, you may need to change some of your behaviours to help beat your acne woes. Firstly, avoid touching your face and do not ever pick pimples. Whenever you press on a pimple, it causes inflammation and distresses the skin. It also pushes bacteria deeper inside the pore and causes oil glands to burst, which is traumatic for your skin and can cause more acne, discoloration, and scarring to occur. If you really want them popped, book an appointment for an extraction instead. Also, ensure that your makeup brushes are clean and that you remove your makeup before bed to help keep pores clean and your face breakout-free.

Alternative Skin Treatments

If you have particularly stubborn acne or acne scars, you may want to try an alternative skin treatment. Treatments, such a lasers and skin peels, can often be useful for tackling serious skin concerns but must be considered first. While laser skin treatments can be expensive and sometimes cause side effects, they may offer results that other methods cannot. Most work by killing the bacteria that causes acne and may also be able to reduce oil levels and inflammation for clearer skin. Lasers can also be effective at reducing the appearance of acne scarring by targeting red pigments. Chemical peels, on the other hand, are acids that cause the skin to peel, increasing skin turnover and preventing pores from becoming clogged. As such, these peels can be used to treat acne and scarring, but, like lasers, can sometimes cause side effects. As such, always check with a professional or doctor before undergoing either of these treatments.