Daily Care
Follow a daily care routine to keep your skin clean, bacteria free and encourage the skin to shed dead cells. However, don't over do it because over zealous cleaning and scrubbing can aggravate acne and cause your skin to become more greasy and infected. Be gentle with your skin.
Cleansers
Avoid harsh astringent cleansers as these will strip the skin of oil and only encourage it to produce more to compensate. Look for cleansers that are gentle, ph neutral, perfume free, colour free and for sensitive skin. Don't forget to moisturise your skin after cleansing to seal in water. Look for oil free, non-pore blocking moisturisers.
Facial Scrubs And Clay Masks
If you mainly suffer from blackheads, use a mild facial scrub daily to exfoliate the skin. This will remove dead skin cells and dirt that can clog the pores. If you also suffer from spots, don't use harsh exfoliators with apricot, almond or walnut shell granules because these can spread infection. Instead, try those with softer grains such as oatmeal which are just as effective. Face masks that include clay will help draw out blocked pores. Use a clay mask once a week.
Steam Facial And Clay Mask Treatment
Once a week, steam your face using a kettle full of freshly boiled water in a basin with a few drops of tea tree oil. Steam your face over the basin for 5 minutes, covering your head with a towel. When the 5 minutes is up, pat your face dry and apply a clay based mask. Leave on for 10 minutes.
Toning
After cleansing, use a toner to treat the pores and remove any traces of cleanser.
Treatment Oils
Use a treatment oil afterwards on problem areas, such as tea tree. Use a natural blemish gel on existing spots and pimples.
Make Up
If you do wear make up, make sure any foundations and concealers are non-comedogenic and oil free so they won't block pores. Try not to apply make up if your face is sweating. Always remove your make up with a cleanser at the end of the day. Keep all your make up brushes and sponges clean. Wash them in mild shampoo once a month and let dry completely before using.
Shaving
For men who shave their facial hair, make sure you lather up well, stimulating blood supply to the area and shave in the direction of hair growth (usually downwards). Electric shavers are sometimes better as these don't get so close and irritate the skin. You could, of course, choose to have stubble or even a beard to both conceal your acne and remove the necessity of shaving every day and potentially aggravating the skin.
Skin Brushing
Skin brushing helps slough away dead skin cells, increase the blood flow to the skin and encourage lymphatic drainage. It helps release the toxins near the skin's surface into the blood stream and out of the body via the lymphatic and digestive systems and not through the skin. Buy a body brush and use it dry every day before you shower. Brush with long strokes towards the heart. Do not use on the face (the bristles are too harsh for the face). Brush gently over any areas of your body affected by acne.
