Numerous factors play a key part in causing acne on skin, excess oil production, pollution, hormonal changes are among the important and common ones. Even though acne is most common among teenagers with a reported prevalence of 80 per cent, however, it is not limited to teenagers, shows a systematic review paper published in Springer Nature Journal, 2021. Did you know lifestyle habits have a key role to play? Here are 5 habits that can worsen your acne.

 

Constantly Squeezing and Popping Pimples

The urge to pop a pimple is strong, we agree. But we suggest you stop yourself from touching it. Because whenever you pop a pimple, you tend to push some of the contents (dead cells, pus, or even worse bacteria) inside the skin causing a bigger problem. When this happens, you increase the inflammation that sometimes leads to scarring. A paper published in the Freeman Research Journal, 2021 shows that squeezing a pimple will result in painful acne and infection. It is suggested to apply acne medication or consult a dermatologist when the acne gets troublesome.

 

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Washing your Face Constantly

It is a common misconception that washing your face frequently is good for your skin. It's a myth, infact, this habit does more harm than good to your skin. It is essential to keep our skin clean, however, overdoing it causes skin irritation. Further, this irritation will result in more breakouts. Instead it is advisable to wash your face just twice a day. The Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology shows that it is very effective to wash your face twice a day. Also, if you have applied make-up, clean it completely before sleeping.

 

Keep your Smartphones Clean

Without a doubt unclean phone screens have a lot of bacteria on them. When you press the same unclean surface on your face, it is most likely to worsen your acne. Your skin (tiny glands called sebaceous gland) produces oil and sweat owing to our body’s mechanisms to stop skin from drying out that gets stuck to the phone screen during a call. When you do this a lot of time, the back and forth between the phone and face will result in transfer of a lot of bacteria that will cause breakouts. Pay a little more attention to what is on the screen before pressing it against your cheek. Instead, wipe the screen clean after a phone call. Or you can even use headphones to avoid it altogether.

 

Related Story: The Real Reason Behind your Acne

 

Dirty Pillows can Worsen Acne

We spend over 7 hours on the bed with our faces touching the pillow. Often not changing the pillow covers frequently will lead to accumulation of dead cells, bacteria, and oil. This will lead to more acne and breakouts. Apart from that, sleeping on dirty pillows will cause eyelash mites. It is ideal to change pillow cases every 7-10 days to avoid causing damage to skin, shows a study published in 2019 in the Journal of Sensory Studies.