Battling Breakouts

Everyone gets breakouts from time to time, but what should you do if you constantly have issues with acne?  Luckily there are many skin care brands out there with lines dedicated to treating all kinds of pimples.  I happen to like Mario Badescu products, but I think it's important to experiment and see what works best with your particular skin.  There are some great drugstore products out there that work just as well as the department store brands.  Some tips to keep in mind:

• Hormones have an impact on breakouts.  The reason some birth control pills help with acne is because they regulate hormone levels.  If you're on a "natural" cycle, you may notice that your skin gets super-oily right before and/or during your period.  You may want to use a different cleanser and a different routine during that time of the month.
• Determine your skin type.  While everyone can get pimples, you need to know what you're starting with.  An easy test is to determine skin type is to rip off pieces from a brown paper bag and press on your skin first thing in the morning.  If if you can see oil has absorbed into the paper, that area of your face is oily.  Do this on your forehead, nose, chin (T-zone) and on cheeks.  If all areas are oily, you have oily skin; if none are, your skin is normal or dry, and if the T-zone is oily, you have combination skin. The following are tips for treating breakouts for oily and combination skin:
• Wash your face morning and night (but not more than that - stripping your skin causes oil glands to work overtime, defeating the purpose).  Use a cleanser with salicylic acid, such as Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash, or Clean & Clear Oil-Free Continuous Control Acne Wash
• Make sure your skin is hydrated.  Hydrating skin and using a moisturizer are two different things.  Some skin may be oily enough that you don't need to use moisturizer, or perhaps not in the T-zone.  Dr. Perricone makes a good Skin Clear Hydrator, as part of his acne line.  Almost every skin care company makes an oil-free moisturizer if needed.
• Exfoliate.  The number of times per week to do this depends on the product you use.  Some can be used daily, but work your way up to see how skin reacts.  Make sure you are exfoliating clean skin so dirt and cells aren't driven further into pores, and follow up immediately with a hydrator or serum so clean pores are filled with "good" stuff.  This is a case when synthetic is better than natural - some natural exfoliators (those with apricot pieces for example) can actually damage skin instead of help it.  Microscopic jagged edges of natural exfoliants can cause microscopic tears in pores and skin.
  
• Use spot-treatments as needed.  Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion is my personal fave.  Again, just be careful not to overdo it, since the only thing worse than a pimple, is a pimple surrounded by dry, flaky skin.  For daytime, Almay, Revlon, Rimmel and more all make concealers containing salicylic acid to heal pimples while concealing.
• Prevent scarring.  Well all know we're not supposed to pop and pick, but it's SO tempting.  I don't know why.  However you get there, once the pimple is drying up, dab a bit of Neosporin on it.  It helps to moisturize the area, keep bacteria out, and prevent scarring all at once.