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Suffering from tagyawat? Your battle against acne breakouts is not a lost cause. While anyone can experience breakouts at any age and people with acne-prone skin can have pimples for most of their lives, this doesn’t mean having clear skin is completely out of the question. It is possible to keep acne at bay, but it’s a commitment that may require a few adjustments when it comes to your habits and routines. Here are six things you can start with to help minimize breakouts.

Keep Your Hands from Your Face

The first thing your mom and dermatologist will tell you is to keep your hands away from your face — and they’re right. Frequent face-touching can transfer bacteria from your hands to your face, which can result in infections. The American Academy of Dermatology notes that you should only touch your face while cleansing or applying skincare products and makeup.

Even if you don’t have acne, experts at the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology advise against touching your face in general, since disease-causing germs can enter through mucous membranes as well.

Change Your Pillowcase

The amount of time we spend in bed has increased over the past couple of years, which means it's even more important to change sheets and pillowcases regularly. Pillowcases can hold oils from our hair, body, and face, along with bacteria, dirt, and dead skin cells. This invisible cocktail of undesirables can clog your pores and lead to breakouts, especially if you have oily or acne-prone skin.

Recommendations vary from once every week to once every couple of days. You would be the best judge. If you think you should change your sheets, you probably should.

Wash Your Face Twice a Day

Get into the habit of washing your face twice a day if you want to This is especially true if your skin is extra oily or if you sweat frequently. Washing your face in the morning cleanses your skin of the products that you’ve applied at night and preps it for your morning skin care. Meanwhile, washing your face before bedtime removes dirt, bacteria, makeup, sunscreen, and oil that have accumulated on your skin during the day.

Between washes, especially if you , cleanse your face with facial cleansing wipes.

Switch Up Your Products

If you know that you are prone to tagyawat, it’s simply irresponsible to not tailor your skincare products to your skin’s needs. Switch up your products to start clearing up your acne, curbing excess oil, and minimizing the appearance of acne scars.

Use POND'S Bright Miracle Ultimate Acne Control Facial Foam to reduce impurities and the accumulation of acne-causing bacteria. It works within three days, eliminating acne at the root and clearing up breakouts.

Stay Out of the Sun

are your skin’s worst enemy. Getting a nice “tan” may temporarily improve the appearance of your skin, but it will make it worse in the long run. UV rays can exacerbate acne by drying out the skin and irritating it. Moreover, inflamed skin and new scars are especially vulnerable to excess darkening from unprotected sun exposure.

If you’re going to be under the sun, wear sunscreen with at least SPF 30 and make sure it protects the skin from both UVA and UVB rays (which you will see on the label). Re-apply every two hours or after sweating or swimming.

Be Gentle on Your Skin

Finally, go gentle on your skin. You can’t scrub, peel, or burn acne away, so there’s no point in trying. Doing so will only make matters worse. Instead, respect the fact that your skin needs to recover from the inflammation and start adopting a gentler approach.

Use your fingers when washing your face. Avoid harsh scrubs. Pat on skincare products such as serum and moisturizer instead of rubbing them on. This can help clear up your skin by preventing further irritation and the spreading of bacteria.

Practice these six habits to help alleviate your tagyawat problems and as usual, consult with your dermatologist before trying on treatments at home.