I admit, acne is worst of all skin problems, but in an effort to keep them off, we often end up doing some common acne mistakes that make it even more horrible.

At any point of life, we all get acnes and it’s really frustrating when you see the face in a mirror the next morning with a new pimple.

The next thing you know is popping the zits or to invest in lots of best skincare (or the well-known myth of toothpaste on pimples) that promise acne treatments or prevention.

Though, despite the best intentions, a number of skincare mistakes you’re making as part of your skincare routine can actually promote breakouts and make your skin acne-prone.

Read on the article to know the 9 common acne mistakes you may be doing to exacerbate pimples:

Squeezing your pimples

The first thing you need to stop doing when get pimples is – don’t pop or squeeze them no matter how strong the urge is.

In fact, don’t even touch your face because your hands carry plenty of acne-promoting bacteria and impurities on them.

This is among the very common acne mistakes of people upon seeing acne thinking this will do the cure, in actual, it’s harmful and causing skin inflammation and scarring.

Acnes can be deep into the skin and picking them can lead to bacteria and infection more into the skin, leading to bigger blemishes and marks.

Furthermore, in doing so, you tear the top layer of the skin resulting in an open wound which further leads to skin damage and breakouts.

Instead of squeezing your pimples, you can try an acne spot treatment to heal it naturally without scars or a gentle face wash followed by a light moisturizer.

Not washing or over-washing the face

Cleansing the skin is an essential skincare routine to kick off the acne-causing bacteria and impurities you receive from everyday pollution and sweating.

Not washing your face enough means allowing those impurities to clog your pores and to prepare for blemishes.

On the other hand, over-washing the face can strip away the natural oil and make it dry, causing more oil production to repair and thus resulting in additional acnes.

Wash your face no more than twice a day and only after sweating heavily, suggested by American Academy of Dermatology.

Use gentle cleansers with salicylic acid as it has anti-inflammatory and acne-fighting properties and massage smoothly to ensure it has enough time to work.

Though, make sure you rinse the leftover cleanser thoroughly with water to avoid dryness and excess oil responsible for breakouts.

If you’ve dry skin, cleanse it once at night or for those who wear regular makeup, double cleanse is best, first to remove makeup and second to cleanse skin itself.

You take a long hot shower

Having hot showers are certainly relaxing and refreshing, although, know that they aren’t good for your skin.

A long hot shower tends to remove the skin’s basic moisture leaving it dry and dull. Which in turn, is a cause of acne and breakouts.

Limit your shower to max 15 minutes to keep acne at the bay. Moreover, you also need to take care of this to not wash face first in the shower which is one of the obvious acne mistakes people make.

At very first, do shampoo and conditioner, body wash and cleansing the face in this order to ensure that all excess residue is washed away.

And if possible, better off washing after a shower.

Using too many skincare products

Sometimes why the acne product you’re using is not giving its effect is you don’t give it enough chance to deal with your skin.

If you don’t see any difference in your skin after a few days, you quickly replace it with a new one.

For instance, when you apply a layer of new skincare product over the old one, it’s likely to mix up the ingredients with each other developing more skin damage.

Give your product a time to absorb into the skin and do its magic. For any new product, you bring home, try a patch test first before directly using it all over.

After a month, if your skin gets used to it and looks better than before, it’s the right one, or else, it’s time give different treatment to your skin.

Additionally, it’s also necessary to not overuse these products since the ingredients like salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide in it can cause skin irritation and you may actually suffer more breakouts.

In this case, apply the thin layer of an oil-free product once a day. Though it’s better to use it after consulting a dermatologist.

Exfoliating skin many times

Exfoliating skin is one of the good healthy skin habits to remove dead skin cells and unclog pores. However, overboard of any good thing is bad itself.

Even though it’s tempting to use exfoliator multiple times in a thought that it will reduce acne blemishes, in fact, it makes the matters worse.

Your breakouts are infected wounds and overdoing exfoliation can only spread it to the other parts of the face, thereby creating new pimples.

Rather than going for hard scrubs or exfoliator, try out the ones with most natural ingredients and fewer chemicals.

Be gentle to your face while exfoliating skin and wash it off properly with lukewarm water to get lucky enough fighting those zits.

Skipping moisturizer and sunscreen

Just because your skin is oily doesn’t mean you skip moisturizing. It’s important to understand that your skin still needs to be hydrated.

Washing the face can naturally take away the protecting oil of the skin and make it dry. To retain the lost moisture, it protects the skin by producing more oil at the surface which results in clogged pores and added zits.

Applying moisturizer is a required skin care tip to fulfill that hydration need, you just need to find the suitable for your skin type.

For oily/combination skin types, gel-based moisturizer will be best while dry skin types should go for cream moisturizers for quickly absorb in the skin.

Similarly, regardless of weather, sunscreen is necessary to protect our skin from the extreme damage and drying out by the harmful sun rays.

Always include sun protection of SPF 30 or higher in your skincare routine before stepping out.

Preferably, go for the sunscreen and moisturizers labeled as “noncomedogenic” that won’t clog your pores.

Eating unhealthy foods

Now you may wonder how unhealthy foods can contribute to my breakouts? Well, eating healthy is vital for your overall health, including your skin.

So, what we eat can either help or spoil our skin texture. Hence, even if weight loss is not your concern, to get clear and glowing skin, eating healthy is a must.

Stay away from the sugary and processed junks as well as a dairy since it can spike the blood sugar level and can trigger acne blemishes.

Instead of, consider eating healthy foods like leafy vegetables, fruits, green smoothies and many more for healthy skin. Or, drinking water to make your skin look smooth and hydrated can also do the trick!

Apart from foods, some drugs or supplements like vitamin B12 may also be suspicious of worsening acne.

It’s advisable to check your diet plan and visit a dermatologist for any drugs or supplements you’re taking.

Avoid cleaning the stuff

Are you the lazy person who often use stuff without cleaning? Perhaps the reason you got pimples.

With your skin, the stuff you’re using in contact with your skin should be clean too. For example, your pillowcase, phone, glasses and even your hands have germs from the sweat and other impurities to transfer them onto your skin.

Keep replacing your pillow after a few days and wiping out your makeup and phone screen every day.

Also, wash a makeup brush you use to apply makeup and despite using makeup wipes ensure to wash off your face to clear all sort of left residues.

As Bacteria can be received from anywhere, either from work, exercise, a night out or even home, a habit of cleaning the stuff will keep you germs-free, and so pimples-free!

Inconsistent with acne medications

Breakouts are a serious skin condition and a good skincare routine is essential to stop them coming back.

Most people with acne-prone skin opt for spot treatment when they notice any pimple or apply to the affected areas only.

Remember, everyone’s skin is different and take different healing process and time to recover.

Over-the-counter acne medications are an effective way to treat your zits, though, they might cause feel irritated, redness and peeling of skin if over-applied.

Once you choose any acne treatment, stick to it for several months to see any improvement. Some use little while others use over medications. Both are not helpful in improving your skin condition.

Go to a dermatologist to know the best skincare routine for you and get the prescribed medicines or therapies to help you out.

Consistency to anything can give result faster than being inconsistent.

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Freaky Thought’s upshot

Treating any kind of acne can be time-consuming and no external products can do wonders to fix all of them at once.

Also, medications are not the only way to fight acne. By little working on your lifestyle and acne mistakes, it’s possible to improve skin health and lessen the amount of acne as well.

Don’t stress if you have breakouts, visit your dermatologist and let them help you to figure out the issue for you. In the end, your attitude towards life and a good sense of humor makes the difference to the world, not your outlook.