Many people never give acne a second thought. However, if you happen to be one of the millions of people that suffer from chronic acne and the skin problems associated with it, chances are you think about it every day.
Whether you’re in your teens or older, and whether you have acne on your face or somewhere else, it’s likely to be top of your list of beauty and health concerns.
We’ve all read the research. You’ve probably seen many claims and promises from an endless list of product manufacturers. Some might have worked, some a little better than others. However, others might simply have been an expensive lesson that’s currently taking up shelf space in your bathroom.
If you’re tired of the conflicting information and empty sales pitches, read on. We’ve collected a list of the absolute truths about acne skincare, so you can finally get clear skin and find help with acne that actually works.
1. Most of the Traditional Approached Don’t Work
At least, they’re far from the universal solutions you’ve been told they are. We’ve all heard of treatments like retinol and Accutane, but they just don’t work for everyone. If you’re one of the people that don’t get great results on this treatment, you might wonder if you did something wrong. But it’s not you – it’s just that these treatments might not be suitable for your skin. 
2. You Might Be Doing Too Much…
It’s easy to get a little obsessed with the quest to get clear skin, but in our acne skin clinic, we found that as many as 95% of acne sufferers were using too much and doing too much to try to treat their skin. In going too far with their acne regimen, most actually made the problem worse, rather than better.
This really is a self-perpetuating cycle. The more breakouts you have, the more you try to do to stop them. Which in turn leads to more skin damage, and in turn, to more acne.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your skin is to just do nothing for a few days or even a week. This will give your skin some time to heal and start repairing itself and will allow you to see what the real problem looks like – without your interference making it worse.
3. … Or Drying Your Skin Out
Many acne skincare treatments are harsh and astringent, especially when they are overused. The result is that when you use them too often, you actually cause your skin to lose water. When that happens, your skin might become red, irritated, and inflamed. It might also briefly become too dry, which might also lead to excess oil production to compensate. The result? More acne!
The oils that can cause and trigger outbreaks are actually produced by our bodies to protect our skin. Acne results when we produce too much oil and bacteria enters the mix. But the more you scrub and try to wash and clean your skin with harsh products, the more you might be triggering more oil production.
Again, when it comes to getting clear skin, sometimes, doing less or even nothing is better than going too far.
4. Treat It Like First Aid
We’ve found that the best approach to successfully treating acne is often to treat it like first aid for a wound.
When you have a wound, you don’t pour harsh chemicals into it and hope for the best. Instead, you start with treatments that are gentle and soothing, and treat it with delicacy and care. You should do the same. All the rubbing, scrubbing, washing, and exfoliating is only making the problem worse. Think of it as the skincare equivalent of putting salt in a wound – and you probably wouldn’t want to do that!
When you start seeing your acne as trauma to your skin rather than a problem to be scrubbed away, you’re a lot closer to a lasting plan to get clear skin than you are with endless acne facials. Gentle care, soothing products, a little patience, and the healing power of oxygen are all most people need to get clear skin.
5. It’s Not About Hygiene
Way too often and for far too long, we’ve been told that acne exists because our skin is dirty, but that’s really not the case. Acne is not caused by not cleaning your skin properly. In fact, when you use harsh products and acne brushes, you’ll probably only cause the problem to spread, and damage your acne prone skin, making it appear even more red and damaged.
It’s worth noting that acne is also not about what you eat, in most cases. So, one chocolate bar or some fries won’t cause or worsen your acne. Don’t let traditional acne wisdom shame you – this is not something you did to yourself!
Acne is not caused by something you did or didn’t do. Some people are just naturally prone to get acne, while others might not be. Never allow anyone to make you feel guilty for having skin that’s a little more sensitive and delicate to care for.
6. Many Products Are Very Bad for Hormone Levels
There is some link between acne and hormones for many people. Which is why many women find that when they are on treatments like birth control, it affects their skin.
It also means that products that contain hormone interrupting ingredients like homosolate and avobenzone, like you find in many sunscreens, as well as parabens and microplastics can be absolutely detrimental to your skin health.
Be sure to read product ingredient lists carefully, and when you spot something, you can’t pronounce and don’t understand, find out what it is and what it does. Many products contain things that we really don’t recommend putting on your skin – and that applies to every product you use on your skin, whether it’s acne skincare or something else.
7. Reconsider Your Daily Multivitamins
The jury is out about whether multivitamins actually benefit us at all. In fact, unless you have a specific deficiency, most doctors don’t recommend them. However, when it comes to acne skincare, your multivitamin might actually be doing more harm than good.
Many doctors have started to warn about aggressive supplement routines, saying that even some seemingly harmless ingredients can trigger or worsen acne. Even things that we might think are beneficial, like iodine or vitamins B6 and B12 might be linked to worsening acne.
If you have any doubts about your multivitamin (in terms of benefit or potentially triggering or worsening your acne) you can always check with your doctor.
8. Add Oxygen
While we’ve all been preoccupied with complicated chemicals with unpronounceable names, most of us have been completely ignoring one of the most powerful skincare elements out there: oxygen.
Oxygen skin treatments are one of the best ways to treat acne, and you will be amazed how much they help with acne. Not only that, but oxygen is completely safe for our bodies and our skin!
We discovered, time and time again in our own research, that simply by giving your skin more life giving oxygen, you could treat reduce or even completely clear many forms of acne. It’s completely safe, and when it’s delivered in an easy to absorb formula, it goes right to the root of the problem, offering the most effective help for acne out there.
Who knew that when it comes to getting clear skin, all you really needed to do was breathe extra deep?
9. Remove Congestion and Blackheads
Once your skin is being treated with a concentrated, oxygen rich skincare formula, you will be able to prevent the formation of new outbreaks. But if you’re like most people, you’ve probably got a buildup of blackheads and skin congestion.
While these are not caused by a poor skincare routine, they can be a breeding ground for bacteria, which can spread to other parts of your skin if you don’t take steps to address it.
Since we already know that harsh chemicals and rough scrubbing won’t work (and will probably make things worse) the solution is often to remove them manually. You should never do this with your fingers though because they’ll only damage your skin more and might even introduce more bacteria into the mix!
Instead, invest in a professional grade device that cleans and clears your pores without spreading the
Gentle, Natural Care Is the First Step
As you can probably see from this list, many of the things we do to try to get clear skin might actually be making the problem worse.
The more we obsess about “cleaning” our skin, and the more we use harsh products and rough brushes and scrapers, the more we’re likely to experience breakouts.
As counterintuitive as it seems when you’re stuck in this cycle, the best thing you can do for your skin is less. Less harsh and astringent products. Less brushing and exfoliating. Less obsessing about dietary supplements we probably don’t need.
Invest in good, gentle, natural products. Be kind to your skin, and approach it with a light, soothing touch, and you might be surprised to find that less really is more.
