Every single day, you potentially face an onslaught of contributing factors that wreak havoc with your complexion and make your adult acne worse.
The four primary acne triggers to be aware of include hormonal imbalance, gut imbalance, stress, and diet.
And the other major contributing factor is this…
Misinformation.
Yep. Inaccurate information that trips up your adult acne care, from commercial skin care companies, dermatologists, Big Pharma, and other professionals. Faulty information concerning the 3 Biggest Skincare Mistakes that leads you down false paths of hope. Wastes your money and time. And perpetuates your acne.
The 3 Biggest Skincare Mistakes help explain WHY you keep breaking out, no matter what you try or how much money you throw at a remedy.
Before we dig in, let’s do a quick review of what acne ACTUALLY is.
Acne is a genetic condition called retention hyperkeratosis. Here’s how it works:
- Every day a layer of dead skin cells is shed inside the pore. Ordinarily, these dead skin cells are pushed from behind by newer cells rising to the skin’s surface, then flake off in a normal, healthy pore.
- This continuous shedding process goes haywire in people with acne. Acne-prone skin produces up to 5x more dead cells than normal, and the excess dead cells stay stuck on the skin’s surface and clog your pores.
- The resulting plug (known as a microcomedone), when mixed with oil, forms a blackhead. When infected with bacteria, forms a blemish.
TAKE NOTE: Acne forms under the skin for up to 90 days before you see it surface! So even if you started the BEST acne clearing skincare routine in the world TODAY, acne that already started forming today still has to work its way up and out through your skin.
Got it? Awesome.
Now you’re equipped to understand the impact and importance of the 3 Biggest Skincare Mistakes.
Big Skincare Mistake #1 ― Allowing your acne to adapt to your skincare regimen.
When it comes to clearing your skin, doggedly sticking to one skincare regimen or treatment can actually perpetuate your adult acne.
And, just like your muscles will adapt to a new fitness routine within a few weeks and then stop improving, your skin will adapt to a new acne-clearing regimen after 2 or 3 weeks and stop responding.
That’s why the one-size-fits-all remedies, antibiotics, and topical prescriptions you take seem to make a difference for a little while, then stop working. It’s not you, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just that your skin has adapted. It’s no longer challenged to react.
Instead, you need to change up your regimen so it improves your skin.
Here’s what this “regimen challenge” looks like.
- Increase concentrations of current beneficial acne treatments and skincare regimens, and/or…
- Vary the frequency of existing acne treatments and/or skincare regimens and/or…
- Introduce NEW products and/or skincare regimens.
Then keep up the regimen challenge for 90 days!
That way, you can (1) clear acne that’s already forming below the surface where you can’t see it, (2) prevent NEW acne from forming and (3) break the acne cycle.
This is how you challenge your skin to ensure your skin continues to stop the formation of new acne and heal what’s already there.
When it comes to successful acne treatment, this strategy is PIVOTAL. In fact, it’s the foundation of our proven 95% success rate with our clients.
It’s also, frankly, almost unheard of outside our doors.
The “experts” out there either ignore or are unaware of this truth—likely because it requires personalization for every individual—which helps explain why so many people continue to needlessly suffer the indignity and pain of acne.
Big Skincare Mistake #2 ― Spot-treating your adult acne after it’s erupted
Do you know the expression “tip of the iceberg”? When it comes to adult acne treatments, no truer words spoken!
So often people get hung up on trying to fix what they see in the mirror. Applying acne-drying topicals to pimples. Scrubbing blackheads. Extracting plugs. Injecting painful cysts. But, like the tip of an iceberg, what you see is only the end result of acne. There’s a much deeper issue to consider.
And while it’s understandable you’d want to speed-heal unsightly blemishes as fast as possible (and there’s a place for this in your acne care arsenal)…
By focusing on spot treatments, you’re failing to address the big problem hiding below your skin’s surface. The actual ROOT cause of your acne.
As you discovered earlier, acne is a genetic skin condition and it forms under the skin up to 90 days before you see it surface.
By only spot-treating what you see on your skin’s surface, you’re never going to prevent or control what’s going on underneath—where the trouble starts. And breakouts will continue to bloom, unchecked, along with your misery.
What to do instead?
If you want to FINALLY break the cycle of your never-ending adult acne, you need to:
- Continually treat and challenge your skin for at least 90 days. And…
- Use your acne products daily on your FULL FACE or LARGE AREAS (such as your forehead or chin) even when you’re NOT breaking out.
That way, pre-acne lurking deeper in the skin can be “dissolved” before it surfaces. And you can help prevent new acne from forming in the first place.
Big Skincare Mistake #3 ― Using pore-clogging ingredients in your products
Did you know? Pore-clogging ingredients lurk in your favorite topical skincare, haircare, makeup, laundry, and other beauty and health products.
They’re even in your topical acne care products.
In fact, almost ALL personal care products contain at least one (if not several) of the 125+ ingredients known to clog pores.
From seemingly harmless flower and fruit-derived ingredients found in nature, to synthetic chemicals found in industrial cleaners, the infiltration is so insidious, we keep a comprehensive list of the worst offenders to help defend our clients.
Here’s the problem.
When pore-clogging ingredients are in the makeup you apply, lotions you slather on, even in your laundry detergents, you’re blanketing your pores and allowing even MORE dead skin cells and bacteria to accumulate. No wonder your adult acne gets worse!
While some of these offending ingredients can be harmful and irritating, others are temptingly healthful.
For example, olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil are all highly nutritious and have wonderful moisturizing and hydration benefits. But they’re all highly pore-clogging.
Two other major pore-cloggers are Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) and its chemical cousin, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). Emulsifiers and foaming agents, they’re present in most shampoos, conditioners, soaps, body washes, toothpastes, and household and commercial cleaning products.
To protect your skin and help the healing process, check labels! Do your existing products contain these ingredients? Stop using them. And when you’re shopping, avoid these ingredients in any new products you buy. Our Clove Hill Balancing Lotion is completely free of pore-clogging ingredients, soothing and light weight.
Congrats! You’ve just discovered the 3 Biggest Skincare Mistakes that Aggravate and Perpetuate Your Adult Acne.
Apply the lessons you’ve learned and you’ll be on your way to healing your skin and creating a healthier, smoother complexion.