5 Myths About Acne

Acne Myths and Facts

There are so many myths about acne, causing women and men to feel unsure about the proper care, prevention, and treatment for acne. Who knows how they get started, but acne is a serious condition that many people deal with. It causes a plethora of self-confidence issues.

Effect of Acne

Associated with acne is typically fear or worry of how other people perceive the individual if they have noticeable or extreme acne breakouts, and this often affects that individual’s self-esteem greatly. Sometimes it can seem as if acne is one of the most misunderstood skin problems that exists.

Below are…

5 Acne Myths to Think About

*Myths about acne and the real truths behind it:

Acne Myth #1: Tanning will help my acne.

Truth: As far as tanning is concerned, the myth lies within the mask. What is the mask? If you tan a lot, then you know that when you tan, it temporarily masks skin irritation. Keep in mind that temporarily means it’s not permanent, which means it doesn’t last forever.

Many people get tan after tan, after tan. They don’t realize what they’re doing is creating more skin problems. Tanning also will only temporarily cover unevenness in skin but when the tan fades, the scarring is actually worsened.

Acne Myth #2: Eating greasy foods will cause my skin to break out.

Truth: This is yet another myth but there is some truth to it…sort of. Eating greasy foods will not in and of itself cause your skin to break out, however greasy foods tend to also be messy foods, leaving behind food residue around your mouth and possibly other areas of your face. This can cause bacteria to gather and for pores to clog, causing acne breakouts.

Further, greasy foods are not healthy, so you are definitely doing your body a disservice by consuming them.

Acne Myth #3: The more you wash your face, the less chances you will have a breakout.

Truth: This myth is very popular. It is a fact that the more you wash your face, the dryer and more irritated it will become, and this could actually lead to more breakouts. Washing your face removes oil, but when that happens your body will only think it needs to produce more oil as oil is a protection mechanism for your skin.

Cleansing your face more than twice daily could be doing more harm than good. For some, even just washing once a day might actually be sufficient.

Acne Myth #4: Popping pimples will help them disappear faster.

Truth: It’s true that popping a pimple could make it a little harder to notice, but these results are only temporary. Actually, doing this could make it stick around a lot longer, and you don’t want this to happen. It can cause your body to send fluid to the area as a protection mechanism, causing the area to appear more inflamed. It can also cause the bacteria in there to burrow deeper, causing the pimple to stick around longer.

Further, your immune system is now not only dealing with getting rid of a pimple, but an abrasion that you created from popping it. Overload!

Acne Myth #5: Dairy and chocolate cause breakouts.

Truth: This one has never been scientifically proven, however it has been scientifically proven that for some, there is a connection between dairy and acne where dairy can be a significant cause of acne. (To find out more: Dairy and Acne.)

Avoiding dairy-based chocolate may help some and may not others.  There are plenty of chocolates that do not have dairy ingredients.

Acne Tip:  Did you know that your makeup can harbor bacteria? Choosing a high-quality mineral-based makeup can seriously help many acne sufferers because the bacteria are not able to grow so rapidly or take up residence.