Skin care

Washing your face

Acne has little to do with not keeping your skin clean. However, it is best to wash your face with a mild cleanser (eg. SkinCeuticals, Toleriane, Cetaphil, or Spectrogel) and warm water daily. Washing too often or too intensively may actually make your acne worse.

Applying exfoliant (eg. SkinCeuticals, ZO Medical) once or twice a week is useful for opening up blackheads and whiteheads, and fading acne marks and scars.

Call for a free consultation with one of our medical estheticians to determine the best cleansers, moisturizers, and exfoliants for your skin type.

Cosmetics

To make your acne treatment more effective, wear as little cosmetics as possible. Try to use oil-free, water-based moisturizers and make-up. Choose special "non-comedogenic" products, that won’t cause whiteheads or blackheads.

Don’t forget to remove your makeup every night with mild soap or gentle cleanser and water. A flesh-tinted acne lotion can help you conceal blemishes. Loose powder in combination with an oil-free foundation is also good for acne skin.

Toronto Acne Centre offers Jane Iredale mineral makeup that is perfect for acne-prone skin.

Acne Skin Care DON'Ts:

Our dermatologists & skin care experts advise our acne and acne-prone patients to avoid the following:

1.	Astringents, masks, toners, and exfoliators that contain scrubbing particles unless one of these products contains an ingredient used to treat acne, such as salicylic acid, vitamin C or benzoyl peroxide. Overscrubbing will irritate the skin and make acne worse. These products also may make it more difficult to tolerate prescription acne medications which themselves are often drying to the skin.
2.	Oil-based hair-care products such as pomades and gels, may drip onto the skin and result in clogged pores and acne. So try to limit their use or the amount of time you leave them on.
3.	Some people think that popping acne pimples is the best way to get rid of them quickly. However popping will irritate the skin and can in fact make acne worse. It will also prolong healing time and increase the risk of scarring.
4.	Many skin care products from makeup to sunscreen contain oil. Oil can clog pores and lead to acne breakouts. To avoid acne breakouts, use only "oil-free" or "non-comedogenic" products.
5.	There are a number of people who apply rubbing alcohol in order to dry out the oily skin. This will not help clear acne nor prevent breakouts and in fact, it can take away all the moisture and nourishment from skin and lead to more severe acne breakouts.
6.	Although a little sun exposure can be beneficial for acne, overdoing sun exposure or using tanning salons can affect the acne treatment you are on since many topical vitamin A/retinoid preparations and oral antibiotics make you sun sensitive. Also, overdoing ultraviolet radiation exposure will increase your lifetime risk of developing skin cancer.
7.	Touching the skin throughout the day: our Dermatologists advise our patients with acne and acne-prone skin not touch their skin frequently since our hands are often dirty and can transfer bacteria and dirt to the face resulting in acne flare-ups.

How to Shave if You Have Acne or Acne-prone Skin

Men know that shaving when they have acne can be a terrible problem.

1.	Before shaving, soften the hairs Wetting the face thoroughly with lukewarm to hot water can help soften the hairs and reduce the friction from shaving.
2.	Experiment Try shaving with electric and safety razors to see which works best for you.
3.	Make sure the blade is sharp This helps prevents nicks from a razor, which can irritate the skin and lead to breakouts. Change your blade regularly.
4.	Shave lightly Shaving lightly can prevent you from nicking acne lesions. Nicks can make acne worse.
5.	Never try to shave off the acne Trying to shave off acne aggravates your condition and makes acne worse.

Here is a selection of scientific & media articles by our renowned dermatologists Dr. Benjamin Barankin and Dr. Anatoli Freiman as they pertain to acne and acne scar treatment. Toronto Dermatology Centre is proud to be among the largest treatment centres for acne in Canada.

	Keep your skin clear - Acne clinical update
	Management of acne
	Flare - Using Skin Products Correctly

	Elle - Acne Treatment Tips

	Today's Parent - Ready for Makeup?