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What can help my adult acne?
Adult acne can be a real problem. Sally Medcalf, from West One Beauty, celebrity facialist with over 25 years of salon experience gave us her expert advice on how to deal with adult acne.
If you get spots, it's easy to panic, buy anything that might help and then put a lot of things on your face. With acne, the most common cause is too many products. I always say, "Cut right down and get back to basics."
Buy a simple, effective cleanser and moisturiser, and use those in the morning and at night. Try a very simple cleanser. I like Karin Herzog, Eve Lom, and Cleanse and Polish from Liz Earle is also good. All three use a cloth, so you get a gentle exfoliation, too.
Most brands will have an oil-free, water-rich moisturiser in their range. Dermalogica's Active Moist or Sheer Moisture is ideal. Karin Herzog's Vita-A-Kombi range is great, and Lancome have an oil-free range which is good, too.
I wouldn't tone; toners sometimes contain alcohol and if you have oily skin that will take too oil much out. Your skin thinks, "Hang on. I'm getting too dry here!" and overproduces oil. I won't name names, but there are some high-street brands whose toners are full of alcohol, which can be very damaging.
Could it be stress?
If lymph glands get slightly blocked up, perhaps because you're run down, stressed, suffering from food intolerance or have fluctuating hormones, you may experience acne.
Breakouts along the jaw-line are often down to blocked lymph glands behind the ears. When the lymph blocks, you get a build up of toxins because the lymphatic system, which is taking all those nasties out of your system, can't get down the neck or around the body.
If you have acne around your jaw, you need a good facial with a lymphatic drainage massage. Ask your therapist to show you how to do some simple lymph drainage massage moves at home to help drain in front of the ear and around the neck.
Spa solutions:
I have to recommend the Karin Herzog Pore Draw facial; that is the best for a really deep clean. That's how I got into her products, it's the best extraction facial you'll ever have. I also like Dermalogica, they use steam in their facials, which is great for extraction, too. Go to someone who knows what they're doing. There are many beauty therapists who aren't confident with extraction so see someone who does it as part of a facial.
Top tip:
Don't pick. If you squeeze and pick, it's like a volcano! The bacteria go down instead of the pus coming up. If squeezing is badly done, you get a pocket of infection -- like a cyst -- which you pick again, and on it goes. Go to someone who knows what they're doing who can remove blackheads and give you a proper extraction.
See also:
* Facials
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