We’ve all been there before: You wake up from a good night’s rest only to get up and find that you somehow managed to grow a pimple the size of a planet on your nose overnight. And no — these aren’t just war flashbacks from your teenage years, but a continuing problem that refuses to budge. So if, like us, you have ever asked why you are getting persistent pimples, here’s a list of 10 sneaky causes for your acne breakouts.

Stress

Rough week at school or work? Physical and mental stress can lead to a slew of health issues, one of which is hormonal imbalance that can cause enlarged pores and acne. Try and take a break once in a while to avoid the added trouble of a breakout in the middle of a stressful week.

Diet

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Milk and other dairy products don’t trigger acne or breakouts per se, but they do contain hormones that can lead to the overstimulation of your oil glands. A study by Hardvard University showed that removing dairy from your diet can be healthier not just in preventing acne-breakouts but for overall gut health as well.

Sleeping Habits

On average, you spend a third of your day lying asleep in bed, but did you know that your sleeping habits could be what’s causing your outbreaks? Whether it’s not getting enough sleep or waiting too long to change your beddings, the way you sleep may be why your outbreaks are happening more often than usual.

Hands Off!

Did you know that the average person touches their face 2,000 to 3,000 times a day? There may be an explanation to this, as Psychology Today explains that hand-to-face contact increases when we’re put in stressful situations. However, your hands can be a breeding ground for bacteria, and might just be contributing to your pimple problem.

The Sun

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While a healthy dose of Vitamin D is great for your skin, heat and humidity can cause your oil glands to go haywire and overproduce oil. This can lead to regular breakouts if you live a rather active lifestyle, even if you spend most of your time indoors. Gym windows don’t always filter out UV rays, which is why a good sunscreen is still important for your workouts.

Makeup

Although passing out on your bed after a long day may sound more appealing than taking the time to wipe all your makeup off, these extra minutes could save you from a week’s worth of acne problems come morning. Not removing your makeup hinders skin renewal and clogs up your pores, which causes bacteria to build up. Give your face a quick wipe down of micellar water before heading to bed, and you should be fine moving forward.

Skincare

While it may be counterintuitive to look at skincare as a cause of breakouts, it may be a case of you using products that aren’t suited for your skin. Products containing mineral oil, lanolin, wax, and the like are the usual suspects, so try to avoid them if you can.

Overscrubbing

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While a clean face is key to avoiding acne, there are some caveats you have to take note of. We often advocating scrubbing and exfoliating methods to help you shed dry and dead cells to make way for more supple skin and get rid of discolouration. However, there is such a thing as overdoing it. Overscrubbing can aggravate your skin, leading to the inflammation of clogged pores. If you insist on exfoliation everyday, then consider switching to a gentle acid as opposed to physical exfoliants.

Hair Products

Some hair products contain oil that can easily end up on your skin and clog up your pores. And as we’ve already established, clogged pores lead to acne, so be wary of the hair products that you use.

Your Phone

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It’s ironic that the one thing we all can’t live without may be causing our acne problems. Think about it: Your phone constantly comes into contact with your face and your skin, but can you remember the last time you cleaned your phone?

This article is written only for the use of beautyinsider.sg by Abby Tratter