There’s more than one way to deal with skin saboteurs like blemishes, puffiness and redness. Check out our top tricks to neutralizing the most persistent problems plus how to prevent them from erupting in the first place.

Acne

Breakouts aren’t caused by dirt or too much chocolate,  not at all.

They may accelerate the appearance of pimples, but the real problem starts when pores become clogged with a combination of dead skin and oil.

Breakouts don’t always stop even after our school days, although adults are more likely to get red bumps rather than black or white heads, and these usually develop on the nose or cheeks.

Prevent:

Pimples radiate pain to the surface of your skin as they start rising. Here’s a trick you may already know, once you feel it, use Benzoyl Peroxide on it, but keep the concentration to 5% or less.

This helps stops bacteria from brewing and will reduce if not prevent, eruption. Keep it to 5% or less, reason being any more may irritate certain Skin Types.

Use a salicylic or glycolic cleanser, the exfoliating features will also go a long way in reducing eruption by reducing the amount of dead skin.

We also like to finish that off with a light, oil free moisturizer, this is the step that a lot of people with acne concerns, skip and what it does is to only cause  skin to pump out more oil, and more oil means happy days for acne bacteria.

Counter Strike: What to do when they erupt!

Hands off.

Don’t pick, poke or puncture, this only makes the marks more noticeable, last longer and leave scars. All scars are resulted in this manner and it is always very expensive to treat acne scars.

If you must pick, learn to do it the right way with a sterilized tool but such things are really best left to the professionals.

Use spot treatments with a high dose of salicylic acid, sulfur, or even my personal fav, Retinol. Be careful, though, you won’t want to be using Retinol after the pimple has erupted, this usually worsens the redness that comes with the eruption.

Watch for the next edition where we give counter strike tips for Ingrown Hairs, you won’t want to miss this if you/re waing, shaving or epilating at the moment.

Yes you read it right, there is something that can do all three just by washing your face. What is it?

Salicylic acid.

The proper concentration of this key ingredient is proven to clean out pores (hence reducing the appearance of enlarged pores), fight acne and reduce skin sensitivity. I recommend 2% salicylic acid and we regularly sell out of this stuff which is found in the Peter Thomas Roth BHA Cleansers that we retail on our location.

Insiders’ Tip: The trick here is to avoid choosing from a lot of products of there with 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% since these are not going to be able to do the proper job.

If you are one who shy away from products which contain the word ‘acid’, look again as you could probably benefit a great deal from using it, especially if you have the above mentioned concerns.

I like to have our clients do salicylic peels and have this in their treatment plan for acne as there is a very high incidence of people out there who react adversely to Benzoyl Peroxide, a commonly used ingredient for acne spots. Common reactions include burning and stinging sensations, and this usually is a sign that the product may be doing more harm than good as time goes by.

Insiders’ Tip: There’s a way to use salicylic products as it may feel a little drying. I like to either alternate it with a simple non-foaming cleanser on a daily basis, or just to use it on oily t-zones. It may cause a little dryness around the lips and mouth area so you can either avoid that area when cleansing or apply a little moisturizer after that.

Insiders’ Offer: 10% off our Peter Thomas Roth BHA Cleanser with 2% Salicylic for the first ten readers of this blog entry.

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Hi, I’m Deborah Chan, and I’m the Singaporean technical director at Skin Type Solutions, we use a revolutionary system designed by Dr. Baumann that shows you exactly what your unique Skin Type requires when addressing your Skin Type’s concerns.

We insist our clients save money by buying the right treatments & products for your Skin Type & not necessarily the most expensive ones that cosmetic brands & other aesthetic places are always pushing you to try.

Unlike many aesthetic providers who have to hurry through a consult, we provide a non-obligatory consultation that is designed to save you money & time by showing you what your unique Skin Type can benefit from our well researched treatments and products. Should you be looking at solving certain skin concerns, you can enquire here.