Skincare Tips: How to Stop & Prevent Breakouts

As the seasons change, so do our daily routines and our skin's needs. Whether your skin tends to be more on the dry side or very oily and breakout prone, these skincare tips will help your skin stay clear, glowing and smooth all year round.

Tip #1 : Avoid High-Foaming Cleansers

Most foaming agents are created with harsh sulfates and other chemicals that really dry out the skin and can also be irritating. Dry skin results in a lot of dead cells building up, clogging pores, leading to breakouts and worsening acne. That's why you'll notice that our cleansers don't foam very much- natural ingredients like our organic castile soap, oats and apple amino acids can create a fine, soft foam, but not the high suds you'll find in commercial cleansers. And we're fine with that.

The purpose of cleansing our skin is to remove makeup, dirt and excess oil, without stripping our skin completely of its vital moisture barrier. High-foaming cleansers can strip away the skin's acid mantle, damaging the moisture barrier and leaving the skin vulnerable to irritation, abnormal reactions to products and serious dehydration issues - which makes the skin create even more sebum (oil) and exacerbating the acne-breakout cycle. Choose a facial cleanser that's designed for oily skin, but still protects your moisture barrier, like our Verbena & Sage Cleanser or Apple Chamomile Cleansing Gel.

Unsure which cleanser is right for you? Take our Skin Quiz to find your perfect cleanser.

Tip #2: Change Your Pillowcase Nightly

This may seem trivial, but your nighttime moisturizer, natural skin oils, dead skin cells and bacteria all build up on your pillowcase. Yuck! And the next night, you press your beautifully clean, moisturized skin right back into that. I recommend keeping a nice stack of clean pillowcases handy (mine are in my nightstand) so you can quickly and easily change them out.

Tip #3: Avoid Toners With Alcohol

All of our facial toners are alcohol free for a reason: alcohol dries your skin out. While your skin may feel "fresh" after using a toner with alcohol in it (that's why most companies add it), the alcohol is intensely dehydrating. Dehydrated skin creates more oil and, once again, more dead skin cells build up clogging your pores. We prefer to use witch hazel extract in our toners. It's astringent and anti-bacterial, but doesn't harm the skin. I don't recommend using straight witch hazel extract (which you can buy in the store) because it's too intense for almost all skin. We blend it with healing and hydrating ingredients like organic plant hydrosols (steam distillates) to temper it.

Tip #4: Exfoliate Regularly to Avoid Dead Skin Buildup

This is so important! I can't tell you how many times I've seen acneic skin improve by adding this one simple step. Dead skin cells build up as our bodies make fresh new cells. Dead skin not only clogs our pores, it prevents those important active ingredients in your skincare from penetrating the skin and working. Use a chemical peel (natural sugar based lactic acid is gentle enough for sensitive skin) and / or a manual scrub.

Once or twice a week is all you need- and don't get excited and overdo it. Exfoliating is one of those things you can do too much of, so resist the temptation to do it more often then once every few days. We make a few different exfoliators: the Seaweed & Mint Exfoliating Scrub with ground bamboo for oily - acneic skin that responds well to a little more aggressive scrub (but don't worry, it's still pretty gentle). The Cucumber Face Polish has round jojoba wax beads that are perfect for more sensitive and dry skin. I recommend the Coconut Lactic Peel for just about everyone.

When not to exfoliate: If your moisture barrier is compromised enough that your skin feels raw, sensitive or reactive, give it time to heal. Same goes for breakouts that cause the skin to be red and painful- you don't want to further inflame it. Wait until your skin is calm before exfoliating.

Tip #5: Avoid Harsh Ingredients like Benzoyl Peroxide and synthetic Salicylic Acid.

While they work temporarily to clear pores, these can be really rough on your skin, causing it to flake, dry out and become red and inflamed. We've helped countless people rebalance their skin after they damaged it with harsh acne products. My go-to is Willow Bark extract for clearing pores. It's naturally high in salicylic acid, with the added benefit of being a potent anti-inflammatory, so it also calms redness and swelling associated with acne and breakouts.

Tip #6: Get at Least 8 Hours Sleep

Life gets busy and I know it can be difficult to get as much sleep as you should. I survived for years on an average of 6 hours a night. Once I started prioritizing my sleep, my health improved dramatically. We all know that sleep deprivation has all sorts of negative effects on our health and metabolism, so be sure to allow yourself as much sleep as possible on a regular basis. Our bodies, skin included, process and eliminate toxins during the sleep cycle. Plenty of sleep decreases our ambient anxiety and stress levels and since stress is a known factor in acne flareups, you can sleep your way to clearer skin!

Tip #7: Moisturize Every Morning With the Right Moisturizer for Your Skin Type

Even oily skin needs moisture and applying it every morning ensures that your skin won't get dehydrated and start producing too much oil. A good moisturizer contains hydrating ingredients that won't clog your pores. We even make an oil-free moisturizing gel that treats breakouts. Finding the right moisturizer for your unique skin can be challenging, so be sure to take our Skin Quiz first. If you still want more advice, we're here for you. Reach out for a free skin consultation. We're happy to help!

Tip #8: Get a Professional Facial

This is one of the most effective things you can do. Find an excellent esthetician who specializes in breakout prone and acneic skin and who uses natural products. While at-home products are essential for keeping your skin clear and healthy, estheticians have machines like hydrodermabrasion, microdermabrasion and professional strength peels that remove more dead skin and really deep clean those pores. If you can afford it, I recommend getting a facial about once every five weeks. Since we no longer have our lovely spa to offer you facials, we recently reopened our wholesale program and we already have a few estheticians offering aos Skincare facials. You can find the list here.

Ready to learn your Skin Type? Take the Skin Quiz.

Product Resources

Step 1: Cleanse

Step 2: Exfoliate + Scrub

 

Step 3: Tone + Restore pH

Step 4: Treat

Step 5: Moisturize & Protect