Skincare concerns can be frustrating, particularly when you can’t put your finger on where they’re coming from, or why. Not only do you have to work on how to clear your sin, but you’ll probably also want to find out why it happened in the first place, in order to know what to avoid in the future to prevent the same thing happening again, but this isn’t always obvious.

If you’re stuck for solutions to your skin breakouts, here are some surprising, yet completely possible reasons as to why your skin isn’t cooperating like it should.

1. Your daily coffee fix

Cause

It’s no secret that many of us practically survive from coffee, but this regular fix may be causing problems for your skin, and perhaps you should consider whether it’s really worth it. While the caffeine is great for perking you up during a mid-afternoon slump, it can increase stress and anxiety levels in the brain, as caffeine is essentially a drug, and this can worsen acne as it triggers excess oil production. Not to mention, the additional milk and sugar create their own problems for your skin, too.

Fix

While coffee may be one of your favorite drinks to enjoy, and it keeps you energized throughout the day, there are plenty of coffee-alternative drink options to choose from with less caffeine and more antioxidants, such as macha tea or raw cocoa with almond milk. These will also keep your lifestyle a little healthier in general, and who doesn’t want that?

2. Forgetting to cleanse your skin before and after working out

Cause

Throughout the course of the day, oils will naturally build up on the surface of your skin and sweating during a workout will cause your pores to open up. When your pores are open, they allow the dirt and excess oils on the surface of your skin to enter, and can become clogged by this, which develops into acne. Not to mention, after sweating it out in a workout for a while, you release toxins from your body through your sweat, and allowing these to sit on the skin only allows them to get right back in, this time causing breakouts.

Fix

All you need to do to solve this problem is to wash your face pre-workout to avoid any surface grime to get into your pores during the workout, and straight after to remove toxins and sweat from the surface of your skin. Use a lightweight moisturizer if needed during your workout but avoid makeup completely if possible. If you’re looking for more tips on sticking to a pre- and post-workout skincare routine, check out this article here.

3. You’re over-exfoliating

Cause

We all love a good exfoliation session now and then, as it can do wonders for the skin, but it can also have some negative effects, too. Retinoids and retinol also make the skin more sensitive to exfoliants since it increases cellular turnover. If you’re being too aggressive with your exfoliation products when using a mechanical or chemical exfoliator, such as a face scrub or an acid, you may be damaging the skin’s natural barrier. This harms the skin’s ability to protect itself, leaving your skin susceptible to frequent breakouts.

Fix

To allow your skin some time to recover, and restore the natural skin barrier, limit your exfoliation to three times a week, incorporate some soothing and repairing products into your routine with ceramides or peptides, and be gentler to your skin. Plus, remember that using a cleansing brush also exfoliates the skin, so this ‘counts’ as step of exfoliation in your daily routine.

4. Your pillowcase

Cause

We all know that it’s important to clean the sheets and pillowcases on our beds in order to maintain good hygiene in general, but did you know it has a role in your skin, too? Bacteria and dead skin cells collect on your pillowcase each night, as a result of particles in the surrounding air, as well as ones transferred from your skin. When your face is pressed up against that from seven to eight hours per night, this gives plenty of time for the bacteria to make its way into your pores, and cause breakouts.

Fix

If you’re feeling pretty grossed out by this fact, and you’ve suddenly realized exactly how your pillowcase may be influencing your skin, you’ll be happy to hear that there is a simple fix. For optimal hygiene standards, wash or change your pillowcases three or four times a week, and you can be sure that they’re fresh for your skin. You can also opt for a silk pillow case, which doesn’t collect oils or dead skin cells as easily.

5. Your shower

Cause

You may have heard of the difference between hard and soft water before, and the quality of your water generally depends on the location you live in and is determined by the mineral concentrations and proportions found in it. Essentially, ‘hard’ water contains lots of minerals and harsh chemicals, which can be very unfriendly to your skin (as well as your hair).

Fix

To fix this, consider installing a shower filter to improve your skin dramatically, and you’ll also notice a difference in the texture of your hair, as it’ll probably feel much softer and silkier!

6. Your hair products

Cause

When we’re looking for solutions to all of our haircare problems, one of the main ingredients we can find in the products are oils and other greasy substances, as these can be effective for restoring and repairing hair damage. However, they’re not so great for your skin, as they can transfer from the scalp to your forehead, especially, clog your pores, and lead to breakouts.

Fix

Luckily, you don’t need to get rid of all your haircare products quite yet, and you can just be careful when applying products, and tilt your head to the side to keep it off the skin on your face, chest and back. In addition, washing your face very last will ensure that any product left on there will be removed eventually, making it much less likely to cause problems.

7. You love fruit juices

Cause

Unfortunately, your recent juice fix or obsession, while it may seem like a healthy choice, may be the cause of your acne breakouts. This is all because, despite all we hear about juices being healthy, they do still contain lots of natural sugars, and this can spike blood sugar levels when it’s not paired with enough fiber to aid absorption, which then leads to hormonal imbalances in the body.

Fix

In order to solve this problem without having to say goodbye to your precious juice each day, consider adding a natural form of fiber to your smoothies or juices in order to aid absorption and therefore lower blood glucose levels. Alternatively, you could swap some of the contents of your smoothie out for some more greens, as they tend to be much less sugary.

8. Daily pollution

Cause

In recent years, science has investigated the potential complications additional atmospheric pollutants can cause for your skin, and it has been shown that certain chemicals can leave the skin much more vulnerable to irritation, which can lead to acne flare ups. In addition, higher smog levels have been shown to clog the pores, which is a notorious cause of breakouts, and something you should definitely consider.

Fix

Although you can’t exactly change your environment, you can change how you take care of your skin. Simple fixes such as double cleansing your skin in the evening to remove all excess makeup and products, as well as wearing an SPF 30 or above to protect your skin from vulnerability will help. You can also use an antioxidant serum in the morning, as this will help battle free radicals caused by daily pollution and leave your face much brighter. Peptides will also help strengthen the skin barrier. Antioxidant supplements, such as Vitamin C or astaxanthin capsules, ingested internally will also help reduce the damage from free-radicals. 

When all else fails

So as you can see there’s are many causes of acne that are not as obvious. When all else fails, do not give up! There IS a solution. Just keep in mind that chronic acne is a symptom of imbalances in the body that need your attention. As someone who struggled with acne even after Accutane (it didn’t work!), I learned that treating acne from the inside out is the way to go. To start your clear skin journey, come check out our free course.

Featured photo by Haute Stock