4 Way to Fight Summer Acne

Summer Acne can be incredibly frustrating. The warmer months often include increased humidity in the air as well as a number of other irritants that could increase the number of acne outbreaks one has. The issue with summertime acne is that many of the powerful anti-acne products available, think benzoyl peroxide, also dry the skin which is increased by the summertime sunlight.

#1: Removing make-up before work outs & don’t touch your face!

So, the first trouble to solve is the increased amount of sweat that is caused by the temperature increase during the summer months. But, does sweat really cause more acne? The answer is yes. Sweat causes hair follicles to become clogged which can cause ingrown hairs as well as more pimples. These clogged pores will accumulate with bacteria and create pimples. You can reduce the intensity of these flare ups or prevent them completely by always removing any make-up before workouts and not touching your face with dirty hands that could bring foreign bacteria to your pores.

#2: Apply sunscreen to acne scars to prevent darkening.

Acne scars have a tendency to get worse with the increased sunlight activities. Those red scars can turn even darker in the sunlight. Dr. Vitaly Blatnoy recommends that you put on sunscreen and heavily lather it on your scars every two hours to prevent them from darkening. Prevention is the key to dealing with hyper-pigmentation from acne scarring. Adding a head covering to this routine is also necessary as the scars will darken with any amount of sunlight exposure despite the strongest sunscreen.

# 3 Shower After You Sweat!

Sweat can irritate acne. So you’ll want to hit the shower immediately after working out, or anytime you’ve been sweating.

While you’re in there, use a body wash or bar that fights breakouts. One with salicylic acid is good if you’re prone to blackheads; benzoyl peroxide is better for inflamed pimples.

During periods of heat and humidity, you may be more prone to a form of summer acne called acne mechanica. Acne mechanica develops when the skin is subjected to excess heat, as well as friction or rubbing of clothes, athletic equipment, etc. Wearing breathable cotton instead of synthetic fabrics can help.

Use a foaming cleanser to reduce oil.

It’s hot outside but many of us spend the majority of our time indoors during the summer if you’re in the southern United States. If you’ve been sitting in front of your air conditioner for three weeks or blasting your car’s A/C or existing only in frigid coffee shops, classrooms, planes, or offices, it could actually be breaking you out.

Air conditioning can remove the moisture from the air and cause your skin to dry out and become extremely oily. Adding a foaming cleanser and a decent moisturizer to your skin regimen may help reduce summer acne if you’re spending a lot of time in rooms pumping their AC units to the max during the hot summer months.