9 Unsuspecting reasons for your breakouts

9 Unsuspecting reasons for your breakouts

1. Phone Case

This may come as a nasty shock, but did you know the average mobile phone carries 10 times MORE bacteria than the average toilet seat? Gross i know! When you’re chatting on your mobile device you’re putting that bacteria close to your mouth and cheeks which can cause acne!

Solution - Clean your phone over with some tea tree oil or sanitiser daily.

2. Pillow Case

Your pillowcase can be a feeding frenzy for bacteria, dirt and excess makeup.

Solution - Flip over your pillowcase every couple of days and wash weekly (at least)

3. Silicones

A very common ingredient used in the mainstream beauty world to create a smooth/silk like finish to the skin. Although silicone is effective at what it does, our skin is a living breathing organ and using an occlusive (air and water tight) ingredient like silicone on it, is like filling it with putty or wrapping it in cling wrap. Silicone is a synthetic ingredient and it WILL cause congestion and breakouts in all skin types.

Solution - Avoid it! Find a foundation that doesn’t contain it. You can see my favourites HERE Just like sugar can have different names to disguise itself so do many personal care ingredients – lookout for anything ending in “cone” on the label e.g dimethicone, phenyl trimethicone, silicone.

4. Too Many Products

Less is more when it comes to the skin. If one product can contain up to 40 ingredients, then times that number by the amount of products you are using on a daily basis. Using too many products can really confuse and irritate the skin.

Solution - Stick to the basics. In my opinion, all you need is a daily cleanser, serum/moisturiser and SPF. weekly all you need is an exfoliant and mask.

5. Over Exfoliating

Over exfoliating is a big issue I see people with problem skin doing. Exfoliating involves speeding up cellular turnover in the skin by removing dead cells from the top layer. Whilst exfoliating has loads of awesome benefits, such as brightening the skin, cleaning out pores, improving pigmentation and promoting healthy circulation. It can also do more harm than good if overdone.

Solution - If you are exfoliating more than once per week you could end up with over stripped, irritated, dry and blemish prone skin. Exfoliate once per week with a product that is right for your unique skin type.

6. Picking your Skin

As tempting as it is, touching your face or even worse “picking your acne” is actually the worst thing you can do for it! Fiddling with your blemishes will only result in them staying around longer, and nobody wants that! Popping or picking pimples will promote inflammatory changes, hyper-pigmentation and acne scarring.

Solution - I am not sure I have any tips that will not make you pick, other than just try really hard not too ;)

7. Stress

This is a BIG one! Believe it or not, stress is one of the leading causes of acne. Stress can disrupt digestion, sleep, eating patterns and hormones. These all contribute to the health of your skin.  Stress also releases inflammatory chemicals in the body and can create hormonal changes, leading to acne.

Solution - Awareness is key! Try to manage your stress levels as best you can by doing more things you love. Also deep breathing, yoga and daily walks in nature  really help!

8. Dairy / Inflammatory Foods

I am not going to go on and on about this one as I am super passionate about it and could talk forever. However, I will say this - Inflammatory and mucus causing foods cause inflammation in the body. Inflammation puts stress on the body, stress = dis ease. Internal inflammation will ALWAYS show on your skin. You are what you eat.

Tip - Cut out dairy and inflammatory foods and eat lots of greens, whole foods, and keep hydrated.

9. Fragrance

Did you know that the listing of “fragrance” or “parfum” on a beauty item can be hiding up to 200 chemical compounds? These are chemicals are protected by secret trade law, so you we as consumers have absolutely no idea what you are putting on your skin! Fragrance can cause serious irritation in the skin that can lead to sensitisation, redness, blemishes...the list goes on. Bare in mind, mainstream shampoo and conditioners can be riddled with fragrance, leading to bumps around the outside of the face and even on the back.


TIP - avoid using products that use synthetic fragrance.

Article by The Beauty Journal

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