Every brand has a line devoted to acne-prone skin, but if you find these products aren’t working for you, maybe your breakouts are a symptom of sensitive skin. Try these tips meant for sensitive skin and your blemishes may disappear
Wash gently, wash less
Invest in a gentle, scent-free, soap-free, paraben-free, hypoallergenic cleanser such as Dermalogica’s Special Cleansing Gel with soothing lavender and mint oils. La Roche Posay’s Toleraine Dermo-Cleanser is formulated for sensitive skin and aims to maintain the natural sebum balance. A third choice is Aveeno‘s Ultra-Calming Foaming Cleanser which is soothing without stripping the skin of essential oils. You only really need to wash your skin at night, and in the morning you can skip the cleanser and just rinse with lukewarm (or cold) water.
Exfoliate, but gently
Exfoliating allows your skin to breathe, promotes cell turn over, and keeps pores clear. The main ingredient in most acne medication, Benzyol Peroxide, does the same but in a much more aggressive way. Dermalogica’s Daily Microfoliant is a gentle rice-based powder that works miracles on the skin. Mix a tiny amount with a few drops of water in the palms of your hands, and you activate the cell turn-over compounds such as Salicylic Acid and Papain, which naturally remove dead, pore-blocking, cells and encourage skin regeneration. It’s an investment piece with a higher-end price tag, but any skin type that splurges won’t have buyer’s remorse, and by using it only once or twice a week, a little goes a long way.
Moisturize
Acne sufferers are more likely to stay away from moisturizer because they are scared it will clog up their pores or contribute to oiliness. But this final step in skin maintenance is important and protects the skin by building a healthy barrier, and is a necessary step even for acne prone skin. La Roche Posay’s Rosaliac UV Light contains SPF15 (the minimum you should be applying!) and a redness reducing compound. While the product is marketed for those with rosacea, it works wonders on acne-prone and sensitve skin. Aveeno‘s Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer with SPF30 has the benefit of a higher SPF (never a bad thing) and nourishing emollients that protect the skin from environmental factors that may stress it out.
