What Is The Best Makeup For Acne-Prone Skin?
Having acne can feel like the absolute worst! Nothing can kill confidence faster than a breakout.
But don't feel like you need to hide in shame because your skin is revolting against you. Hide your acne, not yourself, with HIDE foundation and concealer.
Makeup is a great tool to help even your complexion and minimize the appearance of acne. Finding the right foundation and concealer and the best application technique can be intimidating without worry about acne. When you add in having acne-prone skin, it can quickly feel overwhelming. The last thing you want to do is put something on your face that will make your acne worse or clog your pores.
You want to find makeup that your skin doesn't hate that will also give you the coverage you need.
What Causes Blemishes?
Before we talk about what makeup you should be using, let's briefly discuss what causes acne. While acne is most common in teenagers, there are plenty of adults that struggle with acne—you’re not alone, we promise.
Acne is a skin condition caused by your hair follicles clogging with oil and dead skin cells. Once your pores are clogged, you will start to see whiteheads, blackheads, or pimples. Other factors can cause acne, though.
The four main things that cause acne:
- Excess oil on the skin
- Hair follicles clogged by oil and dead skin cells
- Bacteria
- Inflammation
Certain things can trigger or make acne worse:
- Hormones: Whether caused by puberty or menstrual cycles, hormonal changes can lead to breakouts.
- Medications: Some drugs that contain things like corticosteroids or testosterone can result in acne.
- Diet: Some studies have shown that eating certain foods could worsen acne.
- Stress: While stress doesn't cause acne, it's possible that it can make it worse.
Common Acne Myths:
- Chocolate and greasy foods: Eating these kinds of food has little to no effect on acne.
- Hygiene: Dirty skin isn't causing acne, and cleansing and scrubbing your skin too much can actually irritate your skin and make your acne worse.
- Cosmetics: Makeup will not necessarily aggravate your acne, especially if you use oil-free cosmetics and remove your makeup regularly.
It's important to understand why you are breaking out and what triggers it. Makeup is often not the cause of acne.
Foundation Ingredients To Avoid
We know that makeup isn’t going to cause acne necessarily, but there is some potential to make it worse if you’re not using the right products.
Companies use so many ingredients to make their products—some of these are beneficial, while others can do more harm than good.
Let's look at some makeup ingredients to try to avoid if you have acne-prone skin.
Stay Away From Oils
Since we know excess oil on the skin can clog your pores and cause acne, stay away from foundation and concealer with oils.
Pass on foundations even with mineral oils. For example, sometimes ingredients might include coconut oil or cocoa butter. While these may be natural ingredients, it doesn't mean your skin is going to react positively to them. They can clog your pores and cause blemishes to pop up.
The first ingredient in your foundation should be water. You may also see cosmetics with added ingredients like silica or titanium dioxide, which both soak up oil and camouflage redness without irritating skin and causing acne.
Stay Away From Alcohol
Try to stay away from makeup with alcohol because it can trigger a breakout.
Some acne medications have alcohol in them. However, when it comes to something that you are regularly applying all over your face, you want to be careful.
Alcohols strip your skin of its natural oils that moisturize your skin. Alcohol can irritate your skin and send your oil glands into overdrive. If you already have oily skin, too much alcohol can make it worse, not better.
For a complete list of ingredients to avoid and what you should stay away from, consult a dermatologist. They can make great recommendations customized to your skin concerns.
How To Wear Makeup When You Have Acne
Now that you know what ingredients to avoid when you have acne-prone skin, you can find the best foundation and concealer to help cover it up.
While finding the right cosmetics is a big part of the battle, the other part is learning how to use them. You can have the best face makeup in the world, but it's not going to cover anything up if you don’t apply it right.
The first crucial step comes before you ever pick up your makeup. You need to properly prep your skin for the best results. Start with a clean, moisturized base that is primed and ready for product.
A good skin-care routine before you apply your makeup can go a long way when it comes to minimizing the appearance of acne.
Makeup application Tips For Acne
Once you have prepared your skin, you are ready to go in with your foundation.
You can apply your foundation with a brush or your clean fingers. However, an essential tool to covering acne is a good old-fashioned makeup sponge. Just make sure that you’re regularly cleaning your makeup brushes, so they don’t grow bacteria—yuck!
Make sure you wet your sponge before you use it. If you didn't use a sponge to apply your foundation, use it to go over areas that look streaky or need more product. Dab your sponge in concealer and then gently pat it over your acne. You want to build up the coverage with thin layers to avoid looking cakey.
HIDE foundation and concealer work great on their own. However, if you have oily acne-prone skin, you may want to use a translucent powder to lock it in for all-day coverage.
HIDE foundation and concealer is waterproof and lasts all day but won't clog your pores.
Packaging Is Important
The packaging your makeup comes in is more important than you might think. You want to make sure your products stay germ-free, especially if you have acne-prone skin.
As we went over earlier, bacteria is one of the leading causes of acne, so you want to keep your makeup as clean as possible. Bacteria can get into your products and cause problems.
Some foundation comes in a bottle, and you have to pour the product out, leading to bacteria getting inside your makeup bottle. The best packaging comes with a pump, so it never comes in direct contact with any contaminants.
Concealer with a wand makes application easy, but it can come in contact with bacteria if you’re not careful. Always make sure your skin is clean before you touch it to your face or hand.
What Not To Do
We have gone over a lot of dos when it comes to makeup and acne-prone skin. Now let's go over some things you should definitely not do when your skin is acting up.
Clean Tools
Don’t use dirty makeup brushes or sponges on your face. Keeping your tools clean can be the hardest rule to follow and can feel tedious, especially if you wear makeup regularly. Bacteria can develop quicker than you think, so regular cleaning is key when it comes to keeping your skin happy.
Remove Your Makeup
This rule is one you probably have heard before: don’t go to sleep with your makeup on. When you sleep, your body achieves a lot. One of those things is skin cell shedding, out with the old and in with the new! Makeup can prevent the skin cells from falling off, and instead, they could end up clogging your pores.
Following these few simple tips can go a long way in preventing acne on your face from getting worse.
In Summary
Finding the right cosmetics is crucial when you have acne-prone skin. Acne can be a tricky skin condition that teens and adults both struggle with. However, there are a lot of things you can do to prevent your acne from getting worse.
Knowing how to apply your foundation and concealer can make your acne less noticeable. You always want to make sure you're using clean hands and clean tools when applying your makeup.
The right makeup can be your best friend when it comes to concealing your blemishes!
Sources:
Acne - Symptoms and causes | Mayo Clinic
Article Makeup and Skin Care for Acne | WebMD