After my crazy jojoba oil/argan oil/water experiments, my skin was breaking out like crazy. But what’s worse is that because I was constantly getting new breakouts, I developed a face touching addiction.
I couldn’t turn it off. And for a while, I didn’t even realize I was doing it.
Every morning I’d wake up reaching for my forehead. Every night I’d go to sleep after feeling around and picking my forehead. Throughout the day I’d find myself reaching for my face and feeling along for new victims…
It wasn’t pretty.
The worse the pimples became, the more I touched my face.
Or was it that the more I touched my face the worse my pimples became?
It’s true that when you touch your face you’re asking for trouble. You are spreading bacteria around, and potentially clogging pores by touching and picking at your face…
What’s worse is that your hands are not always absolutely sterile when you’re touching your face. Chances are that you just opened a door, or touched your phone, or held hands with somebody…
We are germ magnets, walking around picking up bacteria from everywhere – but doorknobs, remote controls, PHONES, and laptops are hot beads for bacteria.
Germs and bacteria are not always a bad thing, and I’m not saying that you should live in a bubble and use antibacterial soaps or sprays…I’m just saying that you have to be SUPER mindful of your HANDS.
I know how hard it is to stop touching, picking, or popping pimples…I understand that you want to feel your way around your face, but it’s time to stop.
When I asked Toronto’s #1 Dermatologist if it’s okay to pop a pimple, she replied with a big “NO!!!!” (all the exclamation marks included).
[btx_quote author=”–Dr. Kellet”]”NEVER pop a pimple. This is an inflammatory lesion and popping or manual extraction can lead to scarring, cyst formation, infection and at the very least an increase in blood flow. Cysts and infection can lead to permanent scarring. An increase in blood flow will make the affected area even redder, more inflamed and overall worse looking!”[/btx_quote]
Popping pimples is a GREAT way to cause scarring and discolouration, and it ALWAYS makes everything worse. Later you’ll have scarring to deal with, which is much more difficult to do than leave a pimple alone.
The anticipation of a pimple is usually much worse than the pimple itself. Whenever I left a pimple alone, I was always surprised that it would come out much smaller than I expected.
The thing is, your body is SUPER smart. It’s already dealing with the pimple way before you notice it forming.
The only thing you should do is to care for your face properly, with a gentle, soap-free cleanser and a great moisturizer. That’s it.
The only time you’re allowed to touch your face is when you are washing it, or when you’re applying products. That’s it.
After I started to monitor my face touching and become a free about NOT touching my face, everything started clearing up – fast! Do your very best not to touch your face, because you’ll actually see that your skin will IMPROVE.
Love,
Olena
P.S. Don’t miss a single one of my best 28 hacks for clear skin — sign up to get them in your inbox!
