HABIT 1: WRONG FOOD CHOICES

Some food groups are controversial and may not suit everyone. A diet rich in high glycemic index foods is known to be associated with skin breakouts. Glycemic Index is the ability of a particular food to cause a rise in your blood sugar level. High GI foods cause a rapid rise in your blood sugar level. This spike in blood sugar is associated with skin breakouts. Gluten (major source being wheat) is another controversial food substance known to be pro-inflammatory, especially for people having gluten sensitivity or allergy. Dairy is another such food.                           

Solution: Although the role of wheat and dairy in causing skin issues is still controversial, many people have reported improvement in their skin issues after avoiding them in their diet. Try to avoid them for a few days and monitor your skin closely. If you do feel any improvements in your skin on avoiding these foods, replace them with other substitute nutritional sources like soy or almond milk, calcium rich greens and gluten-free bread.

Try to avoid high GI foods as much as possible. Examples of high GI foods include soft drinks, white bread, white rice, potatoes, cakes, cookies, some commercially available cereals etc. At times when you cannot avoid them, try pairing them with low GI foods like vegetables and protein-rich foods. Your goal is to maintain your blood sugar levels at consistent levels and avoid any sudden spikes.

Drink 10-12 glasses of water each day, 2-3 of which you should consume as soon as you wake up. It helps flush all the toxins out. You can also try lemon and honey in warm water first thing in the morning.

HABIT 2: CONSTANTLY TOUCHING YOUR FACE

Do you have a habit of unconsciously touching your face? Or resting the chin on your hand while talking to someone or watching TV? Our hands carry a lot of oils, dirt and bacteria. Frequently touching the face can transfer these acne-causing agents to the skin.

Solution: Consciously try to form a habit of not touching your face unnecessarily. Wash hands often with a mild antiseptic hand wash. Always keep a hand sanitiser in your bag and sanitise your hands often.

HABIT 3: NOT CHANGING PILLOW COVERS AS OFTEN

Our pillow covers accumulate a lot of dust from the environment, dead skin cells from our face when we rest on them, oils & thick hair products from our hair and chemicals absorbed during their manufacturing and washing. All these transfer to our face while we are busy taking our beauty sleep.

Solution: Ideally pillow covers need to be changed 1-2 times a week. Whenever possible, choose lighter colored pillow covers. This will help to keep a track of when your covers need a change. Sleeping on your back instead of your front can also help.

HABIT 4: SLEEPING WITH MAKEUP ON

Every night while we sleep, our skin repairs itself. When we sleep with makeup on, it prevents the skin from completely repairing itself leading to dull skin, blackheads/whiteheads and acne. Not only this, sleeping with eye makeup can cause irritation in the eye. Frequently doing so can cause clogged hair follicles in your eyelids leading to eruption and inflammation in the eye.

Solution: Never keep makeup on longer than you ABSOLUTELY have to! Take off makeup as soon as you come home. This tip has improved my skin many folds and I am sure it will help you too. If you suffer from recurring acne, never buy your skincare products before checking the ‘NON-COMEDOGENIC’ label (means non- pore clogging). A good non-comedogenic facewash is the Neutrogena Oil-Free Acnewash. You can read my review HERE. Religiously follow the habit of washing your face at night. This will help get rid of any pore-clogging irritants that might be sitting on your skin. If you feel you get lazy immediately before bedtime and tend to skip washing your face, you can wash it during late evening. As we all know, clean skin is THE first step towards a healthy skin.

HABIT 5: NOT SANITISING YOUR MAKEUP

When we use our blushes, bronzers, face powders and eyeshadows, bacteria from our face get transferred to our brush and ultimately contaminate our makeup products. Creams spoil more than powders. These bacteria in time multiply and tend to cause the skin to breakout. Same goes for the makeup tools. Makeup brushes, sponges and eyelash curlers also get contaminated in time sooner or later.

Solution: Sanitising your makeup and makeup tools at regular intervals can help prevent skin infections that lead to breakouts. To sanitise your makeup, take some rubbing alcohol (easily available at chemist shops) in a spray bottle and keeping a safe distance, lightly spray it onto of the your makeup products. Leave to dry for some time. If you need some tips on how to wash your makeup brushes, you can read about it HERE. Also go through your makeup kits once in a while and throw away any outdated and expired makeup.

HABIT 6: HAIR TOUCHING THE FACE

Do you get a lot of breakouts on your forehead and hairline? Do you like to keep your hair open? I love it too! But sometimes its not good for your skin. Hair falling on your face can carry with them a lot of undesired oils and comedogenic hair styling products. These clog the skin pores they come in contact with and result in tiny bumps on your forehead and/or hairline. The term ‘Pomade Acne’ is used to describe this type of acne which is caused by hair styling products.

Solution: Wear a hairband to keep hair away from the face. If you apply any kind of haircare products to your hair, apply them before you wash your face. This way your face wash will remove any skin-clogging irritants that might have transferred to your face. Sleep in a loose plait. This will prevent hair from unnecessary touching your face at night while you sleep. As an added advantage it will also prevent hair breakage.

HABIT 7: TALKING ON THE CELLPHONE OFTEN

Do you talk on your cellphone often? You could be doing everything right but still be trapped in the breakout cycle. Think about it. We keep our phone anywhere. And when this phone touches our face while we talk, the dirt, bacteria and oils the cellphone has gathered during the day are communicated to our face. Your cellphone at the same time gathers some more bacteria already on your face and the cycle continues. This in turn is responsible for  the breakout cycle that never seems to end.

Solution: Keep a sanitiser in your handbag or near you at all times. Pour a couple drops on a dry tissue and frequently sanitise your phone this way. Especially the front side which directly touches your face. Another way to enjoy guilt-free talking is to simply use earphones instead!

Hope some of these tips will help you break your skin breakout cycle.

Are These 7 Habits Causing Your Skin to Breakout? Do you know of any more habits that are a common cause of skin breakouts? Share below in the comments..

Disclaimer: I do not own the images used in this post. Source: 1, 2, 3, 4