You are probably familiar to scars, acne, pimples and such – painful when they become inflamed, causing us to lose self-confidence in our appearances.
They are more than just reddish spots or tiny baby volcanoes on our faces.
Scientifically, they are clogged pores with dead skin cells and natural skin oil.
Minor clogs at the top layer form blackheads and whiteheads whereas deeper clogs cause pimples and acne cysts.
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Here are three main reasons blemishes develop on your skin:
#1 – Bacterial Exposure
Experts revealed that one of the simplest daily habits we unconsciously practise have caused a great deal of pimple development.
Touching your face unnecessarily is giving bacteria a leeway to settle on our faces. If bacteria accumulate underneath the skin alongside oil and dead skin cells, they will cause breakouts.
If the internal wall of a pore begins trapping bacteria and oil, it may spread into the skin surfaces nearby, forming cysts.
Pimples and cysts are also known to appear red, a sign of inflammation in the blemish, due to the acne bacteria mixed with sebum and skin cells in the pores.
Our body’s immune reflexes will naturally try to cause a stop to these infections thus causing redness and swelling around them.
To avoid bacteria and external unclean substances making a home on your skin, you are encouraged to:
- Wash your hands regularly to cleanse off bacteria collected from your environment. You may use hand-sanitizers as an equivalent alternative.
- Refrain from exposing your face to harmful air-polluted atmosphere (e.g. smoke, haze)
- Always cleanse your face at the end of the day with facial wash, even on days you are not wearing make up.
- Start a regular skincare regimen. Apply facial gels that are naturally anti-bacterial (e.g. aloe Vera gel, tea tree oil)
- Cleanse
- Exfoliate (Optional)
- Spot Treat (Optional)
- Moisturize
- Sunscreen (Optional if your moisturizer already has SPF protection)
The absolute simplest skincare routine is to cleanse + moisturize.
Your skincare routine will become fined tuned over time as you adapt it to your skin type and personal preference.
Find products preferably with natural antibacterial active ingredients like e.g. aloe vera, tea tree and propolis.
#2 – Not Enough Nutrients
Formation of impurities on our faces can also be caused by the nutrients in our bodies. It may be the amount of nutrients inside us.
Or possibly, an imbalance of vitamin levels.
Vitamins are vital to our bodies as they help strengthen bones, quicken the healing process for injuries, boost the immune system and convert food into energy.
When we experience an imbalance of vitamin levels, it is harder to prevent acne and pimples from forming on our faces.
What’s more, it will also be difficult to get rid of them and their marks.
Vitamin C is designated to restore skin cells, assist collagen metabolism and overall cellular damage.
With an ideal amount of vitamin C in our body, it will help the elasticity of the skin, purify acne marks and smoothens complexion.
Some healthy foods rich in vitamin C to get you started:
- Strawberries
- Kiwi
- Guava
- Oranges, grapefruits, lemon and limes.
- Papayas
- Black currant
- Broccoli
- Tomatoes
- Cauliflower
- Capsicums
Cystic breakouts on the chin, jawline and neck area may indicate that your body is receiving more dairy than it can tolerate.
If your dairy intake is unusually more than your body can accept, digestion will become more difficult.
Subsequently, cystic blemishes appear on the lower parts of your face.
Extra oil can also accumulate after consuming foods that are highly oily or greasy. As per said, if bacteria are trapped with excess oil in pores, they will result in breakouts and blemishes.
Firstly, you might want to know why is it important to remove excessive oil on your skin, especially when you’re suffering from or expecting acne breakouts.
To get a clear understanding of this, let’s take a quick look at how acne develops:
- Right beneath the hair follicles on your skin, there are sebaceous glands that secrete an oily substance called sebum.
- Hair follicles routinely shed dead skin cells that migrate through your skin pores with sebum.
- And when there’s excessive sebum production and shedding of dead skin cells from your hair follicles, your skin pores become clogged – preparing ground for the development of acne.
Consumption-related strategies to prevent blemishes:
- Eat less dairy or consume dairy foods that are low in lactose (e.g. butter, cheese)
- Clean your face with a warm water/towel after eating oily and greasy meals
- Consume foods or supplements that can help tighten skin pores
- Eat/use foods containing natural enzymes that can tone the skin and lighten blemishes and scars (e.g. egg white)
- Egg White
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Aloe Vera
- Honey
- Papaya
- Tomato
- Garlic
- Potato Juice
- Lemon Juice
- Cocoa Butter
- Shea Butter
- Yogurt Mask
- Essential Oils
#3 – Hormone Imbalance
Hormones are essential secretion for the entire body, including the skin.
They influence both oil gland production and the maturation of skin cells.
One of the most common factors to why we develop blemishes and acne is due to hormonal imbalances. Incidents like such cause the glands to secrete extra oil thus making the skin appear oilier.
For women, hormonal fluctuations are usually caused by pregnancy, menopause, menstruation and the use of hormonal types of birth control.
These can worsen the condition of their skin.
For men, hormonal fluctuations often occur when he suffers from obesity, inflammation or general ageing process causing growth hormone and testosterone to decline.
In addition, many doctors have warned us about this – stress and its effects on acne development.
It does not only directly affect impurities on our faces but overall worsens our entire skin condition.
It has also been studied that cells producing sebum have receptors for stress hormones. In which, sebum is the oily substance that mixes with dead skin cells and bacteria to clog the follicles hence forming pimple and acne.
Effective methods to maintain hormonal balance:
- Cut the caffeine. Drinking caffeinated coffee can affect cortisol (stress hormones) levels.
- Get an adequate amount of sleep. Beauty sleep is real. Your body renews and repairs skin between 11 and midnight—that’s when it’s at its peak
- Go on a healthy diet for foods efficient in hormonal production and balance (e.g. egg yolks, beans, tomatoes)
- Exercise regularly. By increasing blood flow, exercise helps nourish skin cells and keep them vital.
- Take appropriate supplements to maximize hormone efficiency.
