7 Ridiculously Easy Ways To Prevent Breakouts

We’ve all been there, staring into the mirror thinking “Why the hell am I breaking out?” The fact is that if you’re in your thirties (like me) and still breaking out, it could be because of a variety of reasons. But there are easy ways to minimise and prevent these breakouts. 1. Cleanse daily
It sounds like the most obvious thing to do, but you’d be surprised how many women think it’s OK to skip this all-important step. I cannot stress the importance of cleansing enough. Cleansing at the end of the day helps remove all makeup and impurities that have accumulated through the day. With these out of the way, your nightly skincare routine is better absorbed and your skin is able to heal and replenish itself while you sleep. Cleansing is the first step to preventing breakouts. Just make sure you pick the right cleanser for your skin type.

2. Keep your hands off your face
Stop for a moment and think about everything you’ve touched before your fingers reached your face: the steering wheel or the bus rail, your bag, your phone, the coffee machine, your desk and along the way they’ve picked up dirt, dust, bacteria and germs. Touching your face transfers all of these to your skin. Bacteria is one of the biggest causes of acne. It’s best to keep your hands off your face. Similarly, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before you start applying your skincare. You don’t want to transfer these germs to your creams or serums.

3. Change your pillow cover
Another often over-looked cause of breakouts. Sebum and styling product from your hair transfer to your pillow while you sleep and then come in contact with your skin when your face touches the pillow and can cause irritation and breakouts. You could try to sleep on your back the whole night, but it’s just easier to change pillowcases every week.

4. Go hand’s free
Did you know your phone is full of germs and bacteria? It’s picked up all of these from you bag, desk and even your own hands. Additionally the heat generated from the phone when you’re on a call can cause acne. Holding the phone against your cheek while chatting causes the perspiration to mix with your makeup and the germs from your device and block pores. Further more, the heat generated from your phone causes a spike in oil production creating the perfect conditions for a breakout.
Try holding it away from your face while you chat with the bestie or switch to earphones.

5. Pay attention to products
If you’re continuously breaking out around your hair line or where your hair touches your face, your styling product is probably to blame. Similarly, if you’ve got backne, it could be because you haven’t rinsed off your conditioner properly. Make sure to suds up after you’ve rinsed out your conditioner and switch your styling product.

6. Check your diet
When it comes to great skin, dairy can be a big saboteur. Milk comes from lactating cows, which means each glass you drink contains hormones from both the cow and the bull involved in the reproductive process. This can wreck havoc with you your skin. Not just milk, yoghurt too – I used to get the biggest, most painful pimples with no ‘head’ when I ate yoghurt. Similarly cheese can break you out too. Anything dairy. Switch to soy or almond milk and if you must eat cheese or yoghurt, make sure to have it only in small quantities.

7. Keep a skin diary
A skin diary will really help take the guesswork out of what’s breaking you out. The idea is to note every product – makeup or skincare – that you’ve used. You can also add in food you’ve eaten if you like (see above point). This you have a record of everything you’ve used and eaten and when you break out, you can go back and track the culprit and cut it immediately.

What are your tips to prevent breakouts? I’d love to know in the comments below.