Before learning about how to prevent acne and breakouts, it is very important for you to understand how and why these pimples are formed to begin with.
You have thousands of oil glands on your chest, face and back, the function of these oil glands is to lubricate the skin by producing oil, or sebum. The oil produced in the gland travels through your follicles, or tiny ducts to the surface of your skin.
In acne sufferers, the uneven shedding of dead skin cells clog the oil glands allowing bacteria into the area, as it feeds on the sebum it results in a blemish or also referred to as an internal lump. Our bodies respond to this infection by fighting the bacteria with white blood cells.
As the cells die off they form puss which builds up, causing swelling, then resulting in a pimple. The pimple can then likely develop further into nodules and cysts that go deep into the skin. These can be quite painful, last a long time and also lead to scars.
In order to prevent this from happening you first need to keep your hands away from your face as our hands are full of dirt and oils causing more breakouts. Second, limit sweat lingering on the skin, if you are doing a workout make sure to cleanse your skin with a non-irritating cleanser to rid of all the access sebum as soon as you finish. Third, do not squeeze or pick the lesions, this can cause bacteria to spread causing more swelling, redness and lead to scaring. And most important make sure you are using the right products at home to help treat your acne. Using the wrong products on your skin can be a trigger to worse acne breakouts and inflammation.
Contact our office at 707-577-8292 to set up a complimentary consultation with one of our medical Aestheticians and learn about the different treatments and products we offer so you can get your acne under control today! Feel free to bring your current skin care products in with you so the Aestheticians can help you better understand how to use them or if they are even right for you.
Danielle Lucchesi, Medical Aesthetician
