Small (+easy) habits that can help your acne

If you’ve struggled with acne, you know how hard it can be, especially on your mental health. Acne brings on anxiety, stress, and brings down your confidence. As much as 50% of women in their 20s and 33% of women in their 30s are dealing with acne, it’s not just a teen problem.

In this blog post we’re going to talk about 3 small habits you can incorporate into your day to reduce the breakouts and the inflammation that comes with them. Having these tools on board can be helpful for those times a breakout comes on and all you want to do is hide away in your house.

Icing Your Skin

Once I started this I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner. I saw such a difference in my skin. Icing has so many benefits to helping your skin between helping reduce puffiness and reducing inflammation on the skin. This is great to do a few times a day when a breakout comes on to help reduce the inflammation in the area, reduce swelling, and the size of your pimple.

If you have painful cystic breakouts, this can help to temporarily ease the pain by reducing the nerve activity in the area.

You don’t need any fancy tools for this, just go grab an ice cube from the freezer and a washcloth/paper towel. Massage in circular motions for a minute or two.

Gua Sha and Lymphatic Massage

Gua Sha is an eastern Asian healing technique to help improve blood flow and reduce inflammation. The massage will also help to move lymphatic fluid because if this fluid is stagnant, it can contribute to acne.

Your lymphatic system is found throughout your whole body and carries all the waste from your cells, it’s basically like your neighborhood garbage man. The cells bring out the garbage (toxins and other cellular waste) and the lymphatic system picks it up.

The lymphatic system can become sluggish or stagnant, meaning it’s not moving like it should. At those times, we see more swelling, cellulite, a lowered immune system, and acne can even be a consequence.

You can help support your lymphatic system by making sure you’re drinking enough water, moving your body, and specific lymphatic massages including gua sha. You can find a great tutorial for a facial lymphatic massage here.

Washing Your Face

Think about the last time you washed your face, did you just lather up and wash off right away? If that’s you, don’t worry, it was me too. But you should be washing your face for at least 60 seconds. This gives the face wash enough time to get all the dirt and debris off. And if there are targeted ingredients in your face wash (like chemical exfoliants), it gives those ingredients enough time to do their job.

If you’re dealing with acne, give these tips a try, and if you’re looking for extra support around acne, set up a free discovery call with me so we can discuss what may be triggering your breakouts.

As a naturopathic doctor, I find that the cause of acne isn’t always something on the face, it’s usually deeper. Addressing those specific root causes can be helpful to clear up and heal your skin.

Talk soon,

xx Dr. Alyssa

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