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Not every girlie has all three – a private walk-in closet, the makeup vanity of her dreams, and an ance-free life. If you are like me, you can let go of the first two; it’s the acne-free life that I burn candles for. The longest relationship I have had is with my acne; these persistent, pesky, perturbing bumps of inflamed skin had been the bane of my existence. But not anymore, after a lot of trial and error, I found some products, nay, the perfect routine, for every stage of my acne journey.
Through this process, I figured acne is not an overnight problem, and thus needs more than an overnight solution. It needs tender loving care at every stage, and the right ingredients that will get you through the end of the tunnel. So, without further ado, I’m ready to spill all the goldmine of information about acne, making this article the only guide for you to say bye-bye to acne.
3 Stages Of Acne
Acne appears in three main stages: acne-prone skin, active acne, and post-acne. Each stage is determined by the skin type, texture, number of lesions, presence of active acne, and post-acne scars. Depending on the stage of acne you have, you'll require specific ingredients and products to restore your skin to a healthy, radiant state. Here’s how you can identify the severity of your acne.
What Is The Acne-Prone Skin Stage?
This stage is what leads to an active breakout, even though there might not be any visible acne, your skin has the potential to break out. Your skin produces excess oil and sebum, especially around your T-Zone (nose, forehead, and chin), causing blackheads and whiteheads. Visibly clogged pores can flare up with an imbalance in diet, hormones, lifestyle choices, and stress, leading to a tendency to develop acne.
What Is The Active Acne Stage?
This is the stage that has everyone in turmoil, when your skin has active lesions in the form of pimples, whiteheads, blackheads, papules, pustules, nodules, or cysts. These bumps or lesions may or may not be filled with pus. They can also be either inflamed or non-inflamed, but they can clog.
What Is The Post-Acne Stage?
This is the recovery stage, so the inflammation, redness, and lesions are gone, but dark spots, pigmentation, discolouration, scars, and uneven skin tone and texture are left behind. This is the stage to heal your skin to go back to your naturally glowing skin.
How To Identify Your Acne Stage
You can identify your acne with this checklist:
How To Identify Acne-Prone Skin
- You may have an oily or combination skin type.
- Your pores appear enlarged and get clogged frequently with persistent blackheads and whiteheads.
- Even though your skin appears to be clear, chances are that hormonal changes, diet, stress, or lifestyle changes can cause a breakout.
- Your skin may experience mild breakouts occasionally.
How To Identify Active Acne
- Your skin may suffer from mild, moderate, or severe acne from time to time.
- The presence of red, inflamed, pus-filled bumps, such as papules and pustules, may appear.
- Your skin feels sensitive to touch and makeup.
- Breakouts may happen on the face, chest, and back.
How To Identify Post-Acne
- Even if you don’t pop your pimples or tamper with your acne, you may see dark spots or pigmentation.
- Pink or red marks are visible on fairer skin.
- Even though your skin looks clear, scars and discolouration may remain, sometimes accompanied by uneven skin texture.
Types Of Acne In Every Stage
- Acne-prone skin will not have active or inflamed acne, but does experience comedones, these comedones can be open or closed, vis-à-vis blackheads and whiteheads. Occasionally, you may see one or two pimples when there is a sudden change in your diet, hormones, stress levels, or lifestyle.
- Active acne will have non-inflamed acne, which are the open and closed comedones (blackheads and whiteheads, along with inflamed acne such as papules (red inflamed bumps with no pus), pustules (inflamed acne with yellow or white pus inside), nodules (large, solid lesions that are under the skin), and cysts (deep, pus-filled inflammations that potentially scar the most).
- The post-acne stage will not have any active comedones or inflammation, but it will have hyperpigmentation on spots that previously had active acne. If you have lighter skin tones, your skin may appear red or light brown in certain places. If you are a notorious pimple popper or experience cysts, then deep scarring is bound to happen.
Ingredients To Use In Every Stage Of Acne
There are a few ingredients that help acne at its different stages. Here are a few you can check out.
Ingredients For Acne-Prone Skin
When you have acne-prone skin, your goal is to reduce excess oil, prevent any potential breakouts, and close large and open pores. This means your ingredients don’t have to be of a higher concentration or intense in their process of recovery. Some ingredients that can help mild acne are:
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Salicylic Acid: This BHA helps unclog pores and physically exfoliates from the outside in.
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Niacinamide: This soothing ingredient offers a cooling experience while hydrating and controlling excess oil.
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Zinc: It regulates oil and sebum production and calms inflammation.
Ingredients For Active Acne
With active acne, your goal should be to prevent further breakouts, reduce acne-causing bacteria, and reduce inflammation and further lesions.
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Azelic Acid: This is an underrated ingredient for its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. It also brightens post-acne marks and thus reduces hyperpigmentation.
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Tea Tree Oil: Tea tree oil or extracts are naturally occurring antibacterial agents that also smooth the skin and reduce inflammation.
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Benzoyl Peroxide: It kills acne-causing bacteria to diminish widespread acne and inflammation.
Ingredients For Post-Acne Care
During this stage, your goal is to reduce dark spots, redness, uneven skin tone, uneven skin texture, and prevent future scars.
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Retinoids: This helps in cell regeneration, which helps with scarring and pigmentation.
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Vitamin C: This is an antioxidant-rich, ascorbic acid that brightens the skin, supports collagen production, and fades dark spots.
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Glycolic Acid: Glycolic acid helps reduce discolouration, improves skin texture, and fades marks over time.
Top Products To Treat Acne
With so many products and brands on the market, finding the right routine is essential. That’s why I’ve put together an everyday routine with the perfect products that work at every stage of your acne journey. Note: This is the only routine you’ll need.
Cleansing Balm
Matcha is not only a trending beverage that every cottage-core girl is obsessed with, but this green tea is also great for oil secretion. It exfoliates the skin and eliminates dead skin cells from within. If you use makeup or sunscreen, using a cleaning balm is mandatory to make sure your pores are not further clogged. It also gently removes impurities while rejuvenating your acne-prone skin and active acne.
Cleanser
This low-pH, mild, exfoliating face cleanser, made with salicylic acid, is amazing for sensitive and acne-prone skin. It’s anti-inflammatory, soothing, hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, and formulated with tea tree, triple acid complex (AHA, IP-BHA, PHA), hyaluronic acid, and provitamin B5 that helps minimise severe acne.
Face Wash
This is an ideal face wash for mild acne. The tea tree and neem are great anti-bacterial components that help keep acne at bay. This gentle face wash is backed by ayurvedic ingredients and an advanced formulation that helps control oil and acne breakouts. You can keep using this face wash even in your post-acne stage.
Toner
Enriched with active minerals that are naturally found in the French Alps, it has trace elements of mineral salts that help increase the radiance of your skin. This dermat-recommended brand boosts skin hydration levels, moisture retention, and soothes skin thanks to the higher concentration of calcium and magnesium salts. It’s ideal for all stages of acne, especially during the post-acne stage.
Spot Corrector
Made with sulphur, salicilic acid, calamine, zinc oxide, and glycerin, this acne spot corrector offers a targeted solution to active and flaring acne. It shrinks existing acne, reduces further breakouts, controls excess oil and sebum, and soothes inflammation. It’s ideal for moderate to severe active acne.
Day Cream
Even if you have oily or acne-prone skin, you need to moisture, and this moisturiser is the best for acne as it’s made with ceramides, glycerin, and allantoin. It offers 24 hours of hydration that limits the sense of tightness that comes with inflammation. This dermat-recommended brand that’s made in France is an ideal day cream to add to your anti-acne AM routine.
Serum-Infused Moisturiser
This serum-infused moisturiser has oil-control glow pearls that offer 8 hours of oil control. It instantly mattifies the skin without drying it out. It also soothes redness and inflammation, while hydrating the skin. This non-comedogenic, lightweight, hydrating moisturiser is ideal for acne-prone skin and post-acne care.
Parting Thoughts
If there are two takeaways that you must remember, cleansing and moisturisation are key. When you don’t cleanse thoroughly, chances are the dust, sweat, makeup, and other impurities will only aggravate the bacterial growth that causes acne.
Secondly, when you don’t moisturise, oily and acne-prone skin tends to produce more oil to overcompensate for the lack of oil and thus increases oil production and acne breakouts.
Now that you have your basics covered, make sure you get your hands on the best quality ingredients and products that will ensure your skin gets the tender loving care it deserves. Search bye bye acne on Nykaa to get the best solutions for your acne-related concerns.
FAQs
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What are some tips to avoid acne?
Some tips to avoid acne are:
- Change your phone case and pillow cases regularly
- Maintain a healthy, balanced diet
- Ensure you cleanse and moisturise daily
- Gently exfoliate once a week
- Visit a dermatologist if your acne flares up frequently
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Can I wear makeup if I have acne?
Yes, you can wear makeup if you have acne-prone skin. Make sure to use hydrating and non-comedogenic products that are not too heavy on your skin. Ensure you remove all the makeup as soon as you get home, because once the makeup settles at night, the skin might absorb chemicals that are not meant to be absorbed, and thus slow down the process of cell regeneration.
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Can my diet control acne?
If you avoid deep-fried, sugary, and dairy foods, you can control acne breakouts, as these foods create excess oil on your face. Opt for nutrient-dense foods that help improve blood circulation and cell restoration.
