How to Get Rid of Stubborn Acne
Uneven skin tone, excessive shine, blocked pores – most of us are familiar with the signs of breakouts. But if you can’t seem to reduce inflammation for long, you could be dealing with stubborn acne that may not be helped by typical acne cream spot treatments. Learn more about stubborn adult acne and how to fight back.
What Is Stubborn Acne?
While it can be common for teens to experience acne due to oily skin and hormonal fluctuations, breakouts sometimes continue into adulthood. But stubborn acne is more than just noticing a pimple or two on occasion – it’s when stubborn pimples and inflammation last longer than 6 to 8 weeks at a time.
What’s the Difference Between Acne and Pimples?
Though the terms are often used interchangeably, there are slightly different definitions of acne vs. pimples.
Acne is the overarching term describing a skin condition that causes inflammation of hair follicles and oil glands. Pimples, including whiteheads and blackheads, are one of the outward signs of the condition.
What Causes Stubborn Acne?
While the direct cause of pimples is usually the same – pores become blocked with oil or dirt, including dead skin cells or makeup, and sometimes acne-causing bacteria build up – different factors can make this happen more easily.
Stubborn pimples can occur when the skin is very oily due to hormones or certain medications, and overexposure to the sun or even the salt from our sweat can inflame the skin as well.
Pimples don’t just happen on the face – friction from clothing and bags can also trigger breakouts anywhere on the body, including causing stubborn bacne. Chest acne can also happen when hair follicles get clogged with oil and dirt.
Whatever the cause may be, there are steps you can take to get rid of stubborn acne and help prevent it from appearing in the first place.
How to Prevent Stubborn Breakouts
The best stubborn acne prevention includes a gentle cleansing routine to help eliminate dirt, keep pores unblocked and reduce excess oil. You’ll also want to take steps to maintain clean, oil-free skin throughout the day.
Set a Routine for Face Washing
Plan to use a gentle cleanser twice a day, after waking up and before going to bed. Even though your face may feel clean, don’t skip the morning wash! It helps remove oils and dead skin cells that accumulate during sleep.
Keep water warm but not too hot, and don’t scrub too vigorously. Both of these can irritate the skin. To help remove dead skin cells and fight blackheads, choose a gentle face wash. Harsh cleansers can sometimes cause dryness and the skin reacts by increasing oil production, putting us back where we started.
After washing, apply stubborn acne treatment cleansing pads, and follow up with a moisturizer.
If you work out in the middle of the day, make sure to wash off the sweat afterward. Finding time to spend at the sink or in the shower can be a challenge, so you can also grab some acne-fighting cleansing wipes to rapidly remove dirt, oil and sweat.
Avoid Touching Your Face
Even when we wash our hands regularly, it’s easy to pick up oils and dirt on our fingertips (from our phones, computers or clothing) and then transfer them to the face without even thinking about it. Anytime we subtly adjust our glasses, quickly sweep hair out of our eyes, or simply scratch our nose, we’re risking a pimple or a breakout.
It can be difficult to break a habit you’re not aware of. First, try to be mindful of when you touch your face. Then, you can work on ways to reduce or avoid touching your face, such as keeping facial tissues nearby, tying your hair back, or playing with a stress ball or rubber band to keep the hands occupied.
Look for Oil-Free Makeup
Some of the products we put on our skin may cause stubborn breakouts. Try to find makeup that’s free of oils and labeled “noncomedogenic” – that means a product isn’t likely to cause comedones, the acne papules.
How to Choose the Right Stubborn Acne Treatment
Treating the signs of stubborn acne needs a carefully balanced approach. In addition to the steps above to help keep skin clean of dirt and oils, maximum-strength salicylic acid pads are an effective treatment to help fight stubborn pimples on the face. You may also want to consult with a dermatologist for persistent cystic acne.
To fight the five signs of acne, check out Clearasil® Stubborn Acne Control 5 in 1 Acne Face Wash Cleansing Pads. These help reduce excess oil and shine, unblock pores, even skin tone, remove dirt and exfoliate for smoother skin.
The dermatologically tested cleansing pads are formulated with the active ingredient of 1.9% salicylic acid for a one-step solution to visibly clearer skin. Inactive ingredients include aloe barbadensis leaf juice. To help prevent bothersome peeling, start out wiping the area just once daily after washing, and then gradually increase use to up to 3 times a day.
