Skincare for acne can be tricky, but finding the right product is not always the most challenging part. For someone without acne-prone skin, trying a new skincare routine or switching out parts of an existing one can feel like a fun and creative process. Skincare for those dealing with acne, on the other hand, can feel like the opposite of fun.
Taking care of your skin in the midst of acne can induce stress, nervousness, superstition, obsessive tendencies (or OCD), and actual fear. It’s important to recognize that this type of mental response to skincare can happen alongside how the skin responds to the products themselves.
When acne becomes the judge of what works and what doesn’t work, it’s not always a simple matter of: Hey, just apply this cream twice a day. Easy as pie. There can be a lot of anxious and discouraging thoughts that surface toward skincare before we ever apply the cream (or face wash, serum, gel, oil, topical treatment, etc.) Other times we may have practical questions about skincare instead that aren’t negative thoughts, but still give us pause before trying something new. Typical mental reactions to acne-focused skincare may include:
– Am I just going to make my acne worse?
– Will this work, and if so, how long will it take?
– I’m scared to try this.
– How will I know whether any worsening of acne is a purge from the product versus a bad reaction to it?
– Why do people with clear skin not have to take all these steps for their nice complexion?
– Really, what’s the use anyway? Nothing’s worked in the past.
– Maybe I picked the wrong product(s). I didn’t research skincare enough.
– It’s not fair that I have to deal with this in the first place.
– Will I have to rely on skincare products forever?
– I just want this acne fixed NOW. I don’t know how to be patient with this.
– Am I using this product correctly?
– I have no idea what I’m doing. Everyone else does.
– I feel so alone in this.
– My skincare has to work perfectly, otherwise there’s no hope for my acne.
– I’m going to have to spend my savings on skincare in order to look good.
Practical questions about skincare can help lead you in a good direction to get started. Excessive discouraging thoughts, however, can become involved in: # 1 A chronic stress response that can affect your skin, #2 Tendency to quickly ditch a plan before giving it a fair shot, #3 A mental block toward skincare that can also start leading to a self-fulfilling physical block, #4 An excessive fixation on acne products and skin blemishes, #5 Superstitions toward skincare, and #6 Yet another reason to dread the mirror and getting dressed for the day (other than having acne itself).
One thing that’s important to remember about skincare is that you’re not getting acne because of a lack of a specific product or ingredient. You weren’t born with a label that reads: Must use azaleic acid to get clear skin. Must buy high end products on face. Will break out without the perfect routine. Face cannot tolerate any ingredient that isn’t 100% pure and organic. Can only tolerate CeraVe or The Ordinary in order to survive.
Having said that, a simple and supportive skincare routine can be a nice tool for your complexion and the health of your skin if you want one. It can offer an opportunity to care for yourself and your skin, and help keep your goal in mind to treat acne — not just now, but for the long-term. But having a routine shouldn’t feel like a constant battle, a test that you could fail at, or a financial drain. Ideally, it also shouldn’t be a constant source of anxiety, stress, and disparaging thoughts about you and your skin.
If your headspace toward skincare doesn’t feel right or has become punishing, then you can start incorporating the mind-body connection into your routine alongside your products. Try and reframe skincare so that it becomes something you want to do, not “have to do–or else…” You can also practice making it a part of your “me time” or a point during your day that you can enjoy. Of course it’s not easy to do this at first, as acne seems to dictate how much skincare can be enjoyable or not. So, try and rebel against acne and do it your way.
Here are 12 mind-body skincare tips to help you take charge of your routine mentally and physically, rather than letting acne call the shots and make you feel like giving up on having a routine:
1. Approach skincare as care for your skin, not as a fix for acne.
If you picture skincare as a fix for acne, the routine can bring on more stress, anxiety, superstition, fear, disappointment, false hope, you name it. If it’s seen as care for your skin, you’ll approach it less harshly on a mental level and probably choose less harsh and fewer “quick fix” products too. Gentler or more balanced ingredients help keep your skin’s protective moisture barrier intact, which is beneficial for acne-prone skin. And of course less pressure to find “the fix” lets you adopt a more laid back style for skincare.
2. Try and separate the practical skincare questions from the discouraging questions.
For the practical ones, come up with a plan on how you want to experiment with products that will cause the least stress. For example, start products one at a time, or try something new just 2-3 times a week or every other night at first. Patch test in the beginning if you’re very concerned about how your skin will react. That means apply a product on only a small area of skin the first few times to see how your skin responds.
3. Consider skipping morning cleansing and possibly an AM routine altogether (except for SPF if you use one).
After a night’s rest, your skin develops a renewed and protective layer that is like natural skincare in and of itself. If possible, it’s best not to strip away this natural moisture barrier with a cleanser and layer on skincare that you may not really need. Test this out if you’re interested. If you want an AM routine, you could keep it simple and wash with lukewarm water, following up with a light moisturizer (or SPF with a moisturizer built in).
4. Leave superstitions at the door.
First, it’s important to be aware whether you have superstitions about skincare or not. If so, try and hear what they’re telling you, which are most likely fear-based messages about how things won’t work out because it’s YOUR skin. From now on, aim to do whatever you want in the face of these messages. If it helps, create an affirmation that you use during your skincare routine that is like counter-superstition. It’s like an encouraging message that will mentally start to override self-defeating thoughts over time. For example: “Pay as little attention as possible.” Both to these thoughts and to acne. Or, “Acne won’t control my life. I won’t let it.”
5. Limit acne product searches.
It may feel like it’s helpful to research everything that’s out there (along with product reviews), but after a while the info you find can start to feel dizzying, stressful, confusing, contradictory, and almost like you’re heading back to square 1 rather than gaining any ground in starting a personalized routine for yourself. It’s frustrating to endlessly wonder what you may be missing out on or what you might be getting wrong in your search. That’s why we talked earlier about not searching for a miracle product. Check yourself if your frustration’s ramping up and limit how much time you’re spending on these searches.
6. Remember that if you’re breaking out on a skincare regimen, it’s not necessarily because of the skincare itself.
There are other factors like stress, hormonal shifts, and fatigue that can bring on acne. It can also take around 6-8 weeks to see the full effects of new skincare that contains active (therapeutic) ingredients and around 2-4 weeks to test out a new moisturizer or other product that doesn’t contain actives. During this time, it’s fairly common for people to experience some type of purge (temporary worsening of symptoms) as they’re taking better care of their skin. It may seem counterintuitive, but things can get worse before they get better. Gauge how you’re doing on your new routine and don’t necessarily stick with products a full 6-8 weeks if it’s just not feeling like the right fit and you’re fed up with excessive scarring. But also try not to prematurely ditch everything the moment you see any acne, because a new routine can take time, patience, and tweaking before it does what its meant to do.
7. Lean toward skincare that’s relatively within your budget.
You don’t want the stress of having to worry about money on top of your skin. If the products don’t work and you’ve shelled out more than you’re comfortable with for them, you may end up very disappointed. If they do work out for you, that’s great but you may be concerned about how you can continue the routine down the road with a more limited budget than these products allow. And that equals stress. You don’t want to feel reliant on products you can’t comfortably invest in if you can help it. And most likely, your skin doesn’t need incredibly pricey products in order to feel well cared for. It’s possible to find quality products that are also affordable.
8. Don’t just do what everyone else is doing.
Talk to your skin and find out what’s best for you. It’s totally fine to sift through skincare opinions from blogs, estheticians, dermatologists, social media influencers, your friends, or your family. At the end of the day though, everyone’s different and your skin is very unique to you. The latest brands people rave about for acne-prone skin include CeraVe, The Ordinary (TO), Paula’s Choice, La Roche-Posay (LRP), The INKEY List, and Curology. But what if what everyone talks about doesn’t work for you or doesn’t seem right in the first place? You have to listen to yourself and feel out your own skin. If you’re patient, your skin will eventually talk back and show you what it likes the best.
9. Try not to let skincare become everything.
It’s one tool you have in your toolbox that can help your skin feel strong, protected, and resilient in the face of acne. But it doesn’t have to be the only tool upon which all hope lies. The skin is the surface level of the symptoms you’re seeing, but acne isn’t just an isolated or superficial condition. Even though you see it on the outside, there are internal factors at play too that contribute to acne. These factors can include stress, adrenal fatigue, hormone imbalance, an overburdened immune system, sluggish digestion, and anxiety among others. Each person has a unique health profile with a related cluster of symptoms that surrounds acne. Because organs in the body, including the skin, are interconnected, it’s most helpful to treat acne from a whole body perspective with skincare as just one complementary tool in your toolbox (rather than putting all your eggs in the skincare basket).
10. Avoid letting skincare become an open door to over-fixation on acne or to skin picking habits.
Paying more attention to taking care of your skin is a completely different practice than picking apart your skin mentally (and possibly physically) for every flaw that you see on it. Resist the urge to tie these two things together, because it will work against your skincare efforts and potentially impair your skin and leave it vulnerable.
11. Harsher is not better.
There’s a saying about acne that goes “dry it out.” But that’s not the best approach at all. When you dry out acne, you also dry out your skin and its important lipid moisture barrier (the layer that keeps your skin hydrated and protected, and limits water loss from it). The skin may start to feel irritated, inflamed, and angry as a result. It may overcompensate by producing more oil. Mentally, harsh products make your skin (and you) feel attacked on some level. So acne is ultimately not the only target of harsh skincare. Gentle, protective, yet effective is the best approach.
12. Keep it simple.
Ideally, focus your routine on just a few quality products at a time, knowing that less is often more. And usually you don’t have to dispense much of the product either. A thin layer works great, and some products in a smaller amount absorb especially well on slightly damp skin that’s been lightly patted dry with a towel.
Down the road, our blog will explore specific skincare products and ingredients for their ability to be both gentle and effective for acne-prone skincare. For now, you can work on creating a mind-body approach for your skincare routine so that you feel more in charge and less inclined to let skincare psych you out about acne care. Skincare can turn less scary and nerve-racking—even fun—as long as you give yourself the time and space to practice it that way.