Acne doesn't want to go away? Here are some reasons why

Do you deal with acne, but nothing works for you? You bought lots of skincare products, but acne doesn't want to go away? Here are some reasons behind that! Too much stress Do you have an important exam? Or maybe you have a harder time at work? Stress is bad for our immune system. Just as acne might be a reason for stress and lower self-esteem, stress makes acne worse. Each of us has different levels of tolerance to stress and different coping mechanisms. We still have a lot to learn about how stress works on our skin, but learning how to cope with stress might be helpful not only for your skin but your entire immune system and overall health. Wrong cleanser? Do you know what's the pH of your cleanser? I mean water-based cleansers like foaming gel, cleansing gel, cleansing cream, etc? The key is in the pH. The natural pH of the skin is around 5-5.5. The pH of soap is around 9-10 (if you wonder why people use Dove bar soap and have nice skin - Dove bar is not a soap, but syndet - a synthetic detergent), and cleansers? It depends, many cleansers have slightly acidic pH just like our skin - around 5.5. Some cleansers have higher or lower pH and these are the cleansers you should use with toner. We need to balance the skin's pH after cleansing, toner is a product to do that for us. Sadly, in my case using high pH cleanser and following it with low pH toner doesn't work, but I've noticed one amazing thing: too high pH makes my acne get worse. I used so many products for acne and it didn't work, the culprit was my cleansing gel. Cutibacterium acnes (since acne bacteria is no longer called Propionibacterium acnes) have a pH above 6. The higher pH in cleansers creates an ideal environment for this bacteria. If you are searching for a cleanser with a pH of around 5.5 - I've listed all my favourite water-based cleansers in a curation list called "Cleansers for acne-prone skin". Unhealthy eating habits Do you like to eat processed food? I do sometimes like to eat some chips or crisps, but the problem is that processed food isn't good for our guts and skin. There are many healthy alternatives, but sometimes they take time to learn how to prepare them or even preparation takes a while. Still, changing your eating habits can be beneficial for your health. I'm aware that there's a huge popularity of supplements, but before you take a supplement - talk with your doctor or dietician, too many vitamins and minerals can be as bad as not enough of them. Using drying skincare Do you use retinol, acids and alcohol-based products at the same time? Let's fight with some myths. Alcohol-based skincare isn't good for acne. Yes, alcohol dries the skin, but instead of helping the skin, you dry the skin, immune cells treat that as an alarm and what happens? Your skin will create even more sebum to balance the problem with a dry skin barrier. Too many activities are also bad for the skin. After all, acne is nothing else than inflammation, so instead of using strong, drying products, focus on balanced skincare with anti-inflammatory properties. I hope these tips will help you a bit with your routine. Feel free to ask questions regarding acne and skincare in general :)