5 Easy Acts of Self Care That Can Help You Fight Acne

When it comes to living with acne, a skin care routine is an essential part of maintaining clear and healthy skin, but what about the parts of ourselves we can’t see?

Self-care simply refers to any acts devoted to supporting your mental, physical, and/or emotional well being. Acne obviously affects the physical part of us, but do you know how this skin condition can affect the other areas of our lives? Acne has been linked to depression, anxiety and low self-esteem among many, especially among teens and those with severe or chronic symptoms. Because acne affects more than just our skin, it’s important that we give our whole selves some extra love and attention from time to time.

Looking at self-care as a part of your skincare regimen can not only work to improve acne from within, but help us get a helpful perspective on our condition, while helping develop healthier habits all around. We’ve come up with five easy, everyday ways you can add small acts of self-care into your routine, because skincare doesn’t have to stop at the surface!

1. Give yourself a minute to rest. In a world that’s often go-go-go, it can seem like a lot to ask of yourself to take a few minutes to slow down, but giving yourself the gift of the moment in the moment can help reduce stress and anxiety, and possibly help fight hormonal acne. You don’t have to devote an hour to de-stressing - even a few deep, mindful breaths can help keep you centered and available to accept what’s ahead. There are many great apps like Headspace that can help you get a few minutes of guided relaxation.
2. Treat your skin and body to a wellness session. The idea here is simply to devote some time and attention to your body, whether that look like a professional massage, a DIY spa day, or even taking a couple of minutes to stretch out any sore or tired muscles.  We take measures of self-care to feed our minds and bodies what it needs, so just remember - if your bodies are calling out for some extra TLC, listen! The littlest bit of attention can sometimes go a long way.
3. Partake in esteem-building activities not related to your looks or skin. It may be hard sometimes to not be obsessed with our acne, especially for anyone with severe or chronic symptoms that just don’t seem to stay away. With all the time and attention we pay to our skin, sometimes treating the condition can seem overwhelming, which is why it’s important to find things other than skincare to direct our attention toward, like joining a team or book club, or trying out a new recipe - whatever works for you! Honoring the self with esteem-building practices not only helps us to feel better about ourselves, but also encourages us to make better decisions for our general well being, which can carry over into our skin care practices.
4. Implement a mantra or skin care ritual. When it comes to adopting healthy habits, encouragement is everything, and there’s no reason you can’t be your own cheerleader. Adopting a comforting or motivating phrase or mantra can be the boost you need to keep working toward your skincare goals, and adding one to your morning or nighttime cleansing ritual can turn your usual face wash into a blissful break from the stress of the day. Rituals not only work to reduce anxiety and stress, but also allow for mindfulness in the moment, which often encourages people to take their time while caring for their skin. A skincare ritual is like a little gift we can give ourselves and our skin, so the next time you’re lathering up or applying your moisturizer, try doing so with a deep breath, and a mindfulness of what you’re doing and why – even try putting on on some relaxing music, light a candle and diffuse some essential oils into the air!  Small actions can go a long way, and just might help you find a new appreciation for your skin, and your skincare routine.
5. Keeping a positive outlook to keep going and not give up. Easier said than done, we know, but resisting the urge to compare ourselves to others is a freedom like no other, and can make a big difference in our mental health, and outlook on life in general. Maybe it’s time to take a temporary hiatus from social media, or plan a hang out with some good friends who you know always pull you up rather than drag you down. Everyone deserves to have skin they can feel good about living in, and that includes you. Keep up the awesome work, and never give up, because your happiness and health are worth working for.

Of course, there will be days when we feel tired and frustrated. We might not want to take ten minutes to apply a facial mask, or even stop to catch our breath, and that’s OK. Even if you don’t have those few extra minutes in the day, you can do yourself and your skin a kindness by implementing a treatment that will constantly work from within to stop acne before it starts. This is why our AcnEase® users love AcnEase® so much – it takes care of acne while you take care of yourself, and with a 96% user success rate and 60 day money back guarantee, you can give yourself the gift of clear skin with no risk involved.

How do you use self-care to care for your skin? Have any daily tips or practices that help support you in you along your skincare journey? Tell us in the comments!