Ah spots. They're a right pain in the face.
There are so many different causes of spots and so many different types of them too. Lots of factors out of your control can affect your skin. These different influences can range from diet to stress to hormones. These causes are not what we're going to discuss today (as we can't help you do anything about those things). Instead we'll be chatting about the actual mechanics of spots and what you can do to help deal with them.
Any one of these outside influences can affect the balance of your skin's oil production for example or the rate of cell turnover. There are lots of different types of acne and different types of spots. They are different in the ways they manifest themselves (under the skin layer, in a closed pore, in an open pore etc) but they all arrive for the same reason.
Dead skin cells are discarded each and every day. LOADS of them. All of us do this at a different rate but it's happening. Our pores then secrete sebum (that means they produce oil to you and me) and this oil is effectively used to flush out the pore. It takes dead skin cells with it and they land on the surface of your skin. The oil does its work to protect your skin by keeping it healthy and moisturised. You then wash your face at night and all is well with the world.
So far so good. So what's the big deal?
One word. Bacteria.
Bacteria is everywhere. It's all over your body, inside and out. Bacteria is sometimes good, sometimes. bad.
What turns all of this process into a spot? Glad you asked. Ok. So we have the dead skin cells being cast off by your skin. We also have a day's worth of grime, pollution and make up. They all live on your skin all day along with bacteria.
If everything is working well and nothing is going wrong then the grime, pollution, make up and bacteria are being removed from the surface of your skin regularly with your lovely face washing ritual at night.
Sometimes though, pores become blocked. Maybe you didn't remove your make up. Maybe your hormones are making your oil producing glands work in overdrive. Maybe an allergy or medication is causing inflammation which is closing up the pores, leading to blockages. Whatever the reason, the main problem is bacteria.
The bacteria gets trapped in your pores along with the dead skin and this environment is perfect for bacteria to grow. That bacteria along with all the gunk in your pores continues to build up. Your body doesn't like the bacteria and sends a load of lovely white blood cells along to attack the bacteria. These white blood cells cause inflammation and redness. Boom! Massive spot. On date night. Or just a Tuesday morning, whatever. It's still bad.
So, what can you do?
For such a long time people thought that harsh cleansers were key. Remember the alcohol stink of the super strong stuff we were recommended when we were younger? Or the advice to put perfume on our spots? Blooming heck. What were we doing? Toothpaste? No! It's all based on baaaaad advice. Using a very harsh cleanser strips your skin of valuable oils. Remember those oils that are protecting your skin and clearing your pores? You need them! Taking them away with harsh cleansers dehydrates skin, it tightens it (in a bad way) and just does no good.
Ok ok, so whats the answer? Cleansing. Good, effective, gentle and regular cleansing with a noncomedogenic ingredient list (noncomedogenic ingredients do not block pores - this is very important).
Is that it?! Almost. Remember the big bad word at the start? Bacterial. You want an antibacterial cleanser to keep that bacteria under control.
Soooooooo, as you might have imagined, we're going to tell you that Wonder Balm is antibacterial.
Yes! It is. Not just that. Apart from beeswax every single ingredient in Wonder Balm is a natural antibacterial. Every single one.
Not only that, but most are also anti inflammatory. So you know those spots you already have? They'll help reduce the inflammation and take out the redness. Good huh?
What else do you need to know? If you're having some breakouts then change your cloth every time you use it. Double cleanse on spot prone days and then shove that cloth in the wash. Done!
Ready to give it a try? You can get your Wonder Balm here.