The best time-tested and true breakout tips I've learned from my dermatologist over the last five years
Every stage of life brings new skincare challenges, and breakouts are, unfortunately, not just something that you experience exclusively in your teenage years. It happens to all of us, everywhere, sometimes at every age.
I’ve never suffered from terrible acne. But I have gone through several phases over the years - going on and off birth control, struggling with high cortisol levels, and so on - where my skin has been more prone to breakouts than usual.
But thanks to the help of my Dermatologist, Christie Kidd, I’ve always been able to keep whatever breakouts I do get relatively manageable. Of course, her treatments (chemical peels and laser genesis are two of my favorites when they’re needed) and some combination of her products are helpful, but it is her approach and philosophy towards caring for the skin that have really helped me maintain clear skin more than anything.
And it is what I’ve learned from her that I want to share with you in this post. Specifically, her time-tested and true tips and tricks that have allowed me to enjoy clear skin most of the time.
Before I get into it, I want to just say that this post isn’t paid for or sponsored. It’s simple advice that I’ve received that has guided and helped me so much that I just want to share it because I know there is no shortage of women or men out there who are looking for clarity (no pun intended) on how to care for their skin and prevent breakouts from getting worse.
I also want to say that if you are expecting to read about a natural, clean or organic approach to skincare, that’s not what this post is about. To me, wellness isn’t always about finding the cleanest approach or products; it is about feeling your best. And it is hard to feel good in your own skin when you suffer from acne or random flare ups. While I would love for everything in my life to be non-toxic and clean, if that approach doesn’t solve a skincare problem in the fastest and most effective way then I will almost always opt for whatever product or treatment makes me feel good and protects my confidence - because feeling good matters to me more than anything else.
That being said, there is a lot of advice in here that is ‘all natural’ and just simple common sense.
So without further delay, here are the best time-tested and true breakout tips I’ve learned from my beloved Dermatologist over the last five years.
Don’t Touch Your Face
Anyone who has ever had a pimple before has most definitely been told ‘don’t pick at it’. And as annoying as that is to hear, you know there’s a lot of truth to that simple piece of advice. No pimple has ever been made smaller or disappeared from picking at it. In fact, picking your skin only makes that pimple or breakout much, much worse off than it was before you touched it.
Yes, picking the skin is bad but my Dermatologist advocates for not touching your face with your hands at all. Because your hands carry a ton of bacteria. Simply touching your face, even if you’re only grazing the skin, will aggravate your breakouts, cause them to linger longer, and sometimes even cause new pimples to form because it’s like throwing dirt into your pores. You can’t expect to throw dirt at your skin and not clog your pores or inflame already reactive pimples. So keep your dirty hands off of your face at all costs - don’t touch your skin with your hands, don’t rest your face on your hands while you’re working or conversing with someone, wash your hands before applying make up, etc. Your hands don’t need to be on your face, for any reason, period. End of story.
Less Is More
One of the first questions my dermatologist asks whenever I go in to see her with a problem is ‘what are you using on your skin right now’. Beauty and skincare is a multi-billion dollar industry, and multi-step skincare routines have been all the rage for the several years now. While I mostly use her products, every now and then, I fall off the wagon and head to Sephora to buy a moisturizer or serum because of someone, with what is likely a completely different skin type than mine, has sold me on something that will solve a problem I probably don’t understand or even have.
Whenever I go in to see her with an angry pimple (or several) or some form of dermatitis, she always reminds me that less is more when it comes to skincare. And this applies to the number of products you’re using and the ingredients in them. Generally, when it comes to how many products you actually need, she recommends a cleanser, a toner with some ingredient that also kills bacteria on the surface of your skin, an exfoliant 1-2 times a week, and a moisturizer that is also an SPF. She also recommends products that are fragrance-free and to stay away from face oils (which I will get to later). Simply put: less is always more when it comes to skincare.
Avoid Physical Exfoliants
It was through my dermatologist that I was first introduced to chemical exfoliation. Prior to this, I was either not exfoliating or was using physical, grainy scrubs. One of the first things I learned from her was physical exfoliants aggravate the skin, because if you have an active breakout, physical scrubs will only make your skin more red and inflamed. And that removing dead skin and unclogging pores can be achieved, without causing more damage to the skin, using chemical exfoliants. She always reminds me that skin is a delicate thing and that you can never be too gentle with it. She even advises to avoiding using wash cloths on the face to get out of the habit of rubbing your skin. Instead, she recommends that you gently splash water on your skin to wet or rinse it and apply light pressure with your hands when applying products. Rubbing your skin aggressively with scrubs or wash cloths at any point in your routine will just lead to more redness and inflammation, which is the exact opposite of what you want when you have breakouts.
Wash Your Face With Tepid Water
On a similar note, you want to only use tepid (i.e. lukewarm) water on your skin, which again, helps prevent redness and inflammation on the skin’s surface. At some point, when we started to learn to care for our skin, we were encouraged to wash it with hot water - to open our pores and allow the products to really get in there and work their magic. But hot water is a well known skin aggravator. Think about the last time you took a really hot bath or shower - apart from feeling nice and relaxed, you may have noticed that your skin right after became all sorts of red or might have even had a slightly purple hue. This is what happens to your face when you wash it with hot water - especially if you have sensitive skin or an active breakout. Again, hot water is one of those things that will only make your skin appear worse, which is not what you need when you’re trying to heal a breakout. So always wet and rinse with lukewarm water in order to avoid aggravating breakouts and making your skin appear worse than it is.
Apply Sunscreen, Rain or Shine
Ok, every dermatologist will make this recommendation to you. And for good reason since it provides necessary protection from the sun’s harmful rays and has anti-aging benefits as it helps prevents sun spots from forming and wrinkles from worsening. But from a breakout perspective, my dermatologist explains that the sun can make scarring (from current and past breakouts) much worse when the skin is not protected. It’s very hard to get rid of the appearance scars on the skin without laser treatments (which are quite a big investment), so the next best thing is to ensure that you are preventing scars from getting more red or purple by protecting them from the sun.
Invest In A Handheld Light Stim For Killing Bacteria and Reducing Inflammation
I end almost every visit to my dermatologist’s office with 15-25 minutes of Light Stim therapy, which among other things, kills bacteria on the surface of the skin and reduces inflammation quickly. I’m always so impressed by how it calms my skin immediately after extractions or a chemical peel. While the lamps and beds are usually exclusive to med spas or dermatology offices, you can buy a handheld Light Stim now at beauty retailers such as Sephora or Ulta Beauty. I invested in one myself, and any time I feel like I might be getting a pimple, I sit with it for 3 minutes at a time (or more, if you have multiple breakouts) for a few nights in a row, and I know it’s doing its job because the pimple basically shrivels up and goes away within a few days.
Don’t Mess With Oils
I know that this will be controversial and tough to digest for those of you who love your face oils. I did too, for a period. But most oils on the beauty market are laced with a host of things, including fragrances and certain essential oils, that are known skin irritants and ultimately cause more inflammation on the skin’s surface. The truth about a lot of skincare products out there is that not every ingredient included in the formula plays a vital function in it as it relates to improving the skin’s condition.
Even if your skin seems to react well to a face oil that contains fragrances or essential oils that are not so essential, she explains, it will probably be short-lived and eventually your skin woes will return. Sure, there are those creatures among us whose skin can handle just about any product well and aren’t very breakout prone. But you have to be honest with yourself and if you do have breakout prone skin, then you probably should stay away from face oils and stick to products that aren’t laced with ingredients that are only meant to improve the scent or add color to the overall formula. When you’re trying to solve a problem, you want to eliminate as many unnecessary ingredients as possible from your products. And when it comes to face oils, there are too many ingredients included that impart zero function in the formula as it relates to actually improving the condition of your skin.
Don’t Wait Until The Problem Gets Out Of Hand To See A Professional
I love going to see my dermatologist, especially because there is not a single problem that I’ve ever had that she hasn’t fixed almost immediately. However, there was a period of time early on, when I was having an issue with my skin, that I would wait before making an appointment to see her. I decided to hold off on going in, thinking that I would save money (visits to her aren’t cheap). But this logic only complicated things more in the end. Here’s why: when you wait until the issue you’re having gets out of hand or is no longer manageable without the help of a professional, you’re likely going to need more help to fix it than if you just went to see a professional sooner.
In the case of breakouts, a dermatologist can treat these using some combination of manual extractions (which should always been done by a professional, never yourself), a chemical peel, or a cortisone shot if necessary. In the case of my dermatologist, all of this can be done for under $200. And catching it early enough usually means that it won’t spread or get worse from all of the new products I’m so desperately trying or from picking at my skin.
When I would hold off and wait to go in, my needs were almost always more complicated because I was now not only trying to stop myself from getting active breakouts but also needed her help to get rid of any scars, for which lasers are required. While I love laser treatments (laser genesis is my favorite, since it has so many skin healing and anti-aging benefits), they are really expensive. And in many cases, aren’t necessary if you catch problems early and care for your skin appropriately.
As you can see, the common thread in the tools, tips and tricks that I’ve learned from Kidd over the years all focus on the same thing: killing bacteria and reducing the appearance of inflammation on the skin’s surface. While she tends to advise solely on treating the skin topically, she agrees that cutting both dairy and sugar help a lot too since they both wreak havoc on our hormones and adversely affect our skin’s health as a result.
Since I started seeing a dermatologist regularly (about 2-4 times a year, depending on my needs), I’ve been able to benefit from having clear skin most days. And in addition to the occasional maintenance treatment and a scaled back skin care routine using products that my Dermatologist either created herself or recommends, it is these simple things that have kept my skin clear or has prevented any issue I’ve had from getting worse.
What I love about her approach to skincare and conditioning is that so much of it is just common sense. Keeping your hands off your face, avoiding certain exfoliants, washing with tepid water, staying away from oils, and trying to cut down or eliminating dairy and sugar are things you can do right away that happen to cost absolutely nothing. And her advice to use sunscreen to prevent scarring, invest in Light Stim, or see a professional early on, are all preventative measures that will help you save money by helping you make sure that problems don’t get too out of hand.
If you want to learn more about Christie Kidd’s products and services, check out her page here. Also, please check out my posts on my favorite skincare treatments and lessons I’ve learned on caring for breakout-prone skin for even more great info to help you achieve skin that you can feel more comfortable in.
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