Breakouts - to pick or not to pick?

So let's talk about break outs, those nasty little guys that always seem to pop up uninvited, especially before big events.

There is nothing worse than having that big white head standing out and it's all you can seem to notice on your face, it's almost asking you to pop it. And trust me I've been there, I know how hard it is to leave those bad boys alone! The old me would say "Surely picking this pimple can't be as bad as having a white head on my face at dinner this Friday night!". I squeezed and popped and picked and then covered the evidence up with concealer until I felt presentable enough to face my friends, But as time went on and the more knowledge I gained about the state my skin was in I realized how problematic the situation was.

The human body has an amazing way of healing itself. It constantly works to keep itself in equilibrium, a process called homeostasis. Examples of homeostatic processes in our body include shivering or sweating to maintain optimum body temperature in response to climate changes - this is your body's natural way of ensuring you keep at the correct temperature. The human body will do what is required to keep you at that same place of equilibrium that you are meant to be at and our skin is no exception to that.

When there is an injury to the body it will self heal. But that doesn't always mean that healing won't leave marks. When you have a break out and pick at that break out it causes an open wound which ultimately can lead to a scar (both discoloration or pitting). A pustule may hang around for up to a month but a scar can potentially linger for years. If that pustule is left alone it will heal on its own and along with good quality skin care and holistic therapies it can be helped along the way to speed up your bodies natural healing processes.

There are different types of scarring, some easier to treat than others. If you are someone like me and have picked in the past which has left scars don't be hard on yourself because there are treatments and skin care available to help improve the skin damage in this area and ultimately return it back to 'normal'.

1. Post inflammatory hyperpigmentation
Have you ever had a pimple that has finally gone away but you are left over with a marking that looks like the breakout is still there? This is a type of marking that can eventually go away but it does a loooooong time. The reason this mark is left is due to the inflammation created by the body in the process of trying to heal itself. When the skin is exposed to injury, its defense mechanism is to throw up pigment to try protect the skin. And just like any other pigmentation disorder it's so important to avoid the sun and use full sun protection.

2. Pitted Scarring
There are different types of scarring that can occur in the skin. Ice pick, keloid and box car are to name a few. Typically acne scars are pitted and inverted rather than raised like a keloid scar. Scarring can be of different levels and degrees and treatment depends case to case. Scarring is caused when an injury reaches the dermal layer of skin (where all the collagen and elastin sits). Our body responds by stimulating our fibroblast cells to produce collagen to try close the wound. In excessive amounts this creates a keloid scar(more common in darker skins) which leaves it raised. The opposite can also happen, if the trauma is significant, skin tissue breaks down and inverts in leaving an indent. This is where skin needling comes in!

3. Prevention

Prevention is key! Ask your skin therapist for help, do not pick, use amazing skin care and follow a healthy lifestyle; these are all things that are going to prevent break outs and scarring to occur and help your skins overall function. Remember that everything works in a cycle. Gut health, hormones and stress are all linked together and make a huge impact on your skin so getting that under control is going to do wonders for you!

4. Treatments

There are treatments out there for you at home and in clinic to help the appearance of scarring.

At home.
Having a skincare routine and using adequate skin care that has been prescribed specifically for you is the best place to start. Some of my favourite ingredients that I love to use that really help with scarring and also break outs are:
Vitamin A: To aid in skin renewal
Vitamin B: To support and re balance oil and break outs.
Zinc: The best healing ingredient!
Vitamin C: To promote collagen production and fade pigmentation.
Liposome Concentrate Plus: To assist with blemished skin by decongesting and clearing out the pores.
It's also important to include hydrating components such as hyaluronic acid or laminara digetara as a hydrated skin is always a skin that naturally exfoliates better!

Taking certain supplements at home can also help with skin function and fast healing. My favorites are zinc (healing) and Essential Fatty Acids (omega 3 and 6's to help with hydration and reduce inflammation).

Using a home roller 1-2 times a week is also going to help to stimulate natural collagen production to help the appearance of scarring and can also prepare your skin for in clinic treatments like skin needling.

In Clinic.
There a number of treatments that are going to assist in scar reduction. My favorite is Skin needling which is also known as Collagen Induction Therapy. By using tiny needles to create micro channels in the skin is creates a controlled wound which then stimulates your body's natural collagen production! How amazing is that?!

Some other treatments are radiofrequency, which uses a thermal controlled wound to stimulate collagen production and Enzyme peels which are used to signal down to your cells below and encourage them to naturally shed and renew - leaving you with newer skin on the surface!

Any questions guys please feel free to reach out! Have a Merry Christmas! xx Rosie @ SJM Skin Aesthetics