Make-up and Acne

One of the worst things an acne sufferer can do is wear make-up.  Liquid make-up and most compacts are not good choices.  If you’re going to wear make-up stick to water-based or glycerin-based products. 

Most acne sufferers love to wear a popular make-up because it is known to effectively cover acne lesions.  However, all it does is add to the problem.  When treating acne the pore is constantly being cleared of dead skin cells and oil buildup.  Applying a make-up containing pore clogging ingredients only exacerbates the acne by clogging the pore again.  Your acne specialist can make recommendations for you.

You MUST check the ingredients against a list of pore cloggers provided by your acne specialist before purchasing over-the-counter products as manufacturers are always changing their ingredients.

Using loose mineral powders is your best choice.  These can help eliminate the oily shine that most acne sufferers are “blessed” with.  High quality mineral make-ups have anti-inflammatory properties which can help with the redness acne sufferers may encounter.  They also provide great coverage.  There are many videos on the Internet on how to properly build coverage with loose minerals. 

Most blushes are filled with pore cloggers.

Eye make-up is not usually a problem for acne sufferers but be aware of make-up removers and skin wipes.  The majority of skin wipes on the market contain pore clogging ingredients.

Lip products can cause problems for acne sufferers.  They usually contain many comedogenic (pore clogging) ingredients.  The problem with lip products is that they travel from the lip area.  The wax in lip products is not the problem, it is the oils.  Make sure the oils in your lip products are something simple like castor oil, mineral oil or petrolatum rather than isopropyl myristate.  A good choice is petroleum jelly or Aquaphor.