SMART Youth Answers: It's an Invasion!

Why am I getting so many pimples? How can I make it stop!?

Adolescence is a time when your body's chemistry goes a little haywire! Noses grow bigger, voices change overnight, hair can change from straight to wavy, and our skin can turn into an acne battleground! These hormonal changes are the major trigger for breakouts.

But these changes can be related to other things besides puberty -- like menstruation, pregnancy, birth control (sorry ladies -- these are all you), and even stress. Along with those changes, if dirt, sweat, and the natural oils of your face (or chest, or back, or wherever you are breaking out) start to mix, it can cause pimples.

Pimples come in all shapes and sizes, as well as names.
Whiteheads: These are small and remain under the skin.
Blackheads: These are very visible due to their color and remain on the surface of the skin. Many people mistake these for dirt and scrub their faces too much, which only leads to more irritation of the skin.
Papules: These are small, solid and rounded bumps that rise from the skin. They usually have a pink base.
Pustules: These pimples are full of pus. They have a red base and the pus stays on top.
Nodules: These are larger versions of papules. They are embedded in the skin and can become painful.
Cysts: These are clearly visible and filled with pus. They are painful and usually cause scars.

We can go through every treatment in the book that is available to try and combat these pimply beasts, but in the end you will really have to find what product and routine works best for YOU! Since everyone's body chemistry is different.

Here are a few tips:

• Try not to touch your face! Even if you keep up a good hand washing routine, your fingers still have oils that interact with your faces chemistry.
• Wash your face with a mild soap and water no more than twice a day. This is where A LOT of experimenting comes in for finding the perfect soap for you.  (I personally use: Hemp Seed Oil Soap from Edelweiss - http://www.edelweiss-soap-company.com/Hemp-Seed-Oil-Bath-Products.html. I got Watermelon & Wine. It smells amazing and really does make my skin feel refreshed.)
• Try your hardest NOT to POP them! Treatments with Benzoyl Peroxide will help heal your skin quicker. I know they're so annoying (no matter where they are on your body) but popping pimples usually leads to more dirt in the open pore, more pimples in the surrounding area, and then scarring. NOT FUN!
• Take off your make up before you go to sleep! (your body absorbs more while you sleep, you don't want it absorbing the residue of your make up into your face)
• Clean your glasses, they attract dust and other tiny particles that and irritate your skin  and blackheads are most common on the nose.
• Try to keep your hair out of your face, and your hair products off of your skin.
• Sunscreen! Protect your skin and make sure whatever acne treatment you may already be using doesn't make your skin more susceptible to sun rays. It can dry out your skin, burn it, and harm it in the present tense and future tense (skin cancer :( )!
• If you have acne on other parts of your body, besides your face, looser clothing allows your skin to breathe more. This means the sweat, dirt, and other oils that your body naturally secretes on a daily basis are not all suffocated together against your body and building up under your skin pores.

Hope this helps! Pimples are definitely an army that needs defeating on a daily basis!
It takes a lot of tactics though... Good Luck!

For more fun tips, check out this video: