Breaking Out? Here Are 5 Reasons This May Be Happening

If you’re breaking out, you’re far from alone. Adult acne is the most common skin condition in the United States, with up to 50 million Americans suffering from it. You’re not the only dealing with acne and fighting wrinkles at the same time.

Whether youre dealing with the occasional pimple or chronic breakouts, it’s important to get to the root cause. Acne prone skin can be caused by a wide variety of things, and not only are you dealing with the active acne but if not treated correctly, you risk leaving behind acne scars. The good news is, we are here to help! We suggest starting with a consult so we can individualize your skincare regimen, assess what products you’re currently using, see what treatments you’ve tried and come up with a plan that best fits your lifestyle.

Here are the most common culprits that may be causing you to break out.

1. Bacteria

Bacteria from your beloved cell phone could be making its way onto your face. Holdng your dirty phone to your face transfers bacteria to your chin, cheek and jawline. It can also cause oil build up and the combination of the oil plus the bacteria could be causing your pimples. The good new is that its an easy fix. Make it a habit to either chat on speaker phone or use your earbuds and clean your phone with a disinfectant wipe regularly to mitigate the bacteria build up on the surface.

You can also transfer bacteria from your hands onto your face by simply touching it. You may not even realize how many times a day your are doing this. Think about all the surfaces we touch throughout the day and all the germs that build up on our hands by touching those surfaces. Make it a habit to wash your hands as often as possible but also, if you make it habit to simply not touch your face, you eliminate the risk of spreading the bacteria and causing a breakout.

A dirty pillowcase can also be a cause of your acne, if you arent going to sleep with a clean face and clean hair everynight. The oil and bacteria makes its way onto the pillowcase and is spread via direct contact. Make sure you’re washing your pillowcase on a regular basis, but more importantly make sure that you are following your skincare regimen morning and night. If you go to bed with a clean face and clean hair on a clean pillowcase, you’re lessening the risk of a break out.

2. Your Lifestyle

Perhaps you have been working out with make up on or going to sleep without washing your face. Its important that you cleanse your skin before AND after your workouts, even if you arent wearing any makeup.

Here’s the reason why: Your skin is exposed to environmental pollutants and bacteria during the day, even if you dont leave your house. Washing your face with a cleanser suited for your skin is the only way to cleanse these pollutants and bacteria off your face.

Are you stressed? Drinking enough water? Getting enough sleep? When you don’t get enough sleep, the hormone cortisol is released in high amounts. This hormone causes inflammation in the body and in the skin and can cause break outs. When life starts to feel unbalanced, it can have visible effects on your skin, so make sure you are listening to your body and your skin.

3. Your Diet

What you put in your body affects how your skin looks. Even if you dont have any allergies to foods, there are certain foods that can trigger acne. For example, there is some literature that suggest that dairy, glutenand refined carbohydrates cause break outs in some patients. These foods have been shown to cause a spike in blood sugar and insulin levels, which increases the amount of circulating androgens in your blood stream. Increased androgen levels cause an excess sebum production which clogs your pores, thus causing acne.

If you are concerned that what you’re eating may be causing your skin to react or if you suspect you might actually have a food allergy, talk to your doctor about ways to identify your triggers, such as an anti-inflammatory or elimination diet.

4. Products You’re Using

Any product that is coming into contact with your skin could be contributing to your breakouts. If you’re suddenly experiencing acne, think of anything that you have recently introduced into your regimen. If you have been breaking out on and off for a period of time, you may just need to introduce medical grade products into your routine with active ingrediants to target your skin’s specific concerns.

Something else to consider is how you are applying your make up and skin care to your face. If you are using makeup brushes, then you will want to make sure that these are clean. If you are using your hands, make sure that you are washing your hands right before touching your face to mitigate the risk of the bacteria making its way to your skin.

5. Your Hormones

Maybe you’re doing all of the above right. You follow your skincare regimen that we outlined for you, morning and night, but you’re still breaking out. You may be dealing with a hormonal imbalance that is causing you to break out.

Hormonal imblances are a major cause of acne, as you may remember from your adolescent years and there are a few other reasons it could be happening to you now. For instance, birth control pills, premenstrual hormonal fluctitaions, menopause or if you are pre or post partum. Whatever the reason, we can help.

Hormonal breakouts occur when excess testosterone builds up in the blood stream. Because testosterone increases sebum (or oil) production in the body, hormonal changes can also cause acne. This means that women are more prone to getting it at certain points in their life and cycle. If you suspect that this could be the reason you are breaking out, you can check your hormone levels with simple blood work.

Don’t Worry — Whatever the Cause, It’s Fixable!

Sometimes it might seem as if it’s impossible to get rid of acne.

If you’re sick of breaking out and can’t seem to get a handle on it, contact us today to talk about an aesthetic procedure to fix the issue.