Could Your Favorite Products Be Breaking You Out?
If you were to picture the perfect day, breakouts certainly would not be a part of it, in any way, ever. In a way, breakouts feel like some sort of punishment, even though you’re trying your hardest to keep your skin looking its best. It’s almost like the skin gods are wreaking havoc on your complexion for trying to be pimple-free. But would it shock you to learn that the very products that you use day in and day out to look your best may actually be causing you to break out? All of a sudden it seems as though our holy grail products are turning against us, like some sort of beauty blackmail. Thankfully, this information can help eliminate the hidden culprits in your daily products that are causing the very problem you’re trying to prevent.
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Hair Care:
Certain ingredients in shampoos and conditioners can clog pores, causing those pesky pimples on your chest, arms, back, and even your face—just about anywhere that shampoo runs down while you’re in the shower. Oil-based ingredients like silicones, petroleum, jojoba oil, and shea butter all have the power to plug up your pores. Certain detergents such as sodium lauryl sulfate and ammonium lauryl sulfate can also irritate your skin, leading to breakouts on your body. Lastly, panthenol, an ingredient often found in conditioner, is a big culprit when it comes to product-induced acne. The thing is, when these heavy ingredients clog your pores, bacteria gets trapped in there, leading to a flare up. Steer clear of these ingredients when shopping for products to send breakouts packing. For an oil-free, silicone-free shampoo, try Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Shampoo.
Another culprit may be your pillowcase. This is a gathering place for hair products used that day, which then gets transferred to your face when you sleep. If you don’t shower at night to rinse out product residue, try wrapping hair in a silk scarf to avoid any pillow-to-face transfer.
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Moisturizer:
We hate to break it to you, but moisturizers can cause breakouts too. Washing your face properly and following up with a rich moisturizer to keep skin soft and clear, just to have those same products break you out is a vicious cycle. In order to break the cycle, avoid pore-clogging, oil-based products and products with lanolin (the element produced by sheep to keep their wool soft). Try Clinique’s classic Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel.
Natural products can also break you out, even if they claim to be the safest, best alternatives to skin care. Beware of ingredients like red seaweed and red algae as well as potassium chloride. These tricky ingredients can cause serious breakouts, so it’s best to really research the labels of natural products before swearing them off as safe.
Face Wash:
Like the above products, avoid pore-clogging ingredients (i.e. silicones, petroleum, sodium lauryl sulfate, etc.), and aim for more gentle cleansers like Kiehls Ultra Facial Oil-Free Cleanser.
But of course, with any beauty product, a lot of trial and error comes into play. As always, the above ingredients are a list that cause breakouts for some, and don’t harm others. If you’re having issues with your skin and use these products, try the elimination method: go cold turkey without the products for a few weeks to see if your skin calms down, and then slowly re-test the products (one at a time) to see which one causes a flare-up in your skin. That’s how you’ll be able to determine which ingredient (or product) is truly the culprit.
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