I have a confession to make.
I still pick my skin sometimes. Rarely though.
Not because I have anything to pick (most of the time), but because it is a bad habit. Just like biting nails.
And what I realized is that breaking a bad habit like that takes some effort.
You might think that once you clear up your skin, you won’t pick your skin again. That might be true, but I’ve known many girls who had nearly perfect skin, and only picking at it actually kept them from having flawless skin.
Your journey to clear skin is heavily dependant on breaking this bad habit. You know it and I know it.
Especially if you are always getting acne in nearly exactly the same spot, this is a clear sign that the skin barrier is damaged.
A damaged skin barrier means that the skin is very weak and leaky there, allowing the bacteria to move around more easily, and giving you new acne!
Acne, especially painful and cystic ones, are literally wounds in the skin, and the skin has to heal itself. This is often imperfect, especially if the skin doesn’t get enough of the necessary nutrients from food (like sulfur).
Don’t add any more to this by picking your skin!
Consistently applying the small tricks I am about to show you, will slowly ease you into cutting out that horrible habit of skin picking.
When I applied them myself, it made such a difference in my skin: how often it was breaking out, the skin tone, and how smooth it was.
I promise you, over time, you will stop picking your skin!
WHEN DO YOU PICK YOUR SKIN THE MOST?
This is the first question you need to ask yourself. Define when are the most critical times or situations.
Examples: when I am stressed, when at work or school, when I am bored, whenever I go to the bathroom…
Once you have answered the question and identified what times are the most problematic for you, you will have to decide (right now!) what to do instead when you find yourself in that situation the next time.
You can pick and choose from the solutions below, or even apply all of them (preferably!), but you have to decide now, and stick to it.
For example, if you know you pick your skin when you are stressed, take a deep breath first, and do the little (but powerful) breathing exercise explained in the point 6.
1. DON’T COME TOO CLOSE TO THE MIRROR
No leaning over the sink!
Place yourself at least 2-3 ft (60-90cm) away from the mirror, so that you can’t see your pores or your acne very clearly (but you can still fix your hair or makeup).
2. AVOID POCKET MIRRORS LIKE A PLAGUE
No pocket mirrors at work or school, where you can take it out whenever and stress over your skin.
Most importantly, NO magnifying mirrors! If you own one, please give it away. Pinky promise, ok? It won’t do your skin any favors.
3. NO STRONG LIGHTING IN THE BATHROOM! USE A CANDLE INSTEAD.
Have you ever noticed how your skin looks so much worse under those strong LED lights?
I promise you, your skin doesn’t look that bad.
Avoiding strong lighting in the bathroom might be all you need to help you stop picking. In fact, I only used candles when my skin was at its worst, and it helped so much! It gives a very soft light that doesn’t make the skin look so horrible as under the strong lights.
4. PUT SOME GREASE ON YOUR HANDS
I don’t know about you, but I would never touch my face with something that could clog my pores, aka coconut oil, olive oil, butter etc.
Whenever you need to, apply some grease and moisturize your hands with these wonderful, non-toxic natural alternatives to hand creams, minimizing your chances of picking your skin.
5. TOUCHING YOUR FACE WHEN STRESSED OUT?
Keep yourself busy with other things so that you have as little time as possible to pick your skin. Deep breathing, a short meditation session, journaling or yoga might be very helpful here.
When you are stressed out, try this simple trick (works wherever you are):
Breathe in counting to 1-2-3-4, and with each count, imagine that you are drawing a side of a square or a rectangle. When you have counted to 4, your imaginary square is drawn. When exhaling to 1-2-3-4, imagine you are removing those sides. Repeat the entire exercise for a minute or for as long as you need to.
I can’t even remember where I read this, but it’s so powerful for relaxing your body and slowing down your brain and the racing thoughts!
6. HEAL YOUR ACNE FROM THE INSIDE
No doubt, clearing and healing your skin with proper nutrition is the way to go.
For an extra punch of nutrition that heals the breakouts faster, check out my other blog post:
Related: How To Heal A Bad Breakout – Fast!
7. USE AN ACNE PATCH
Hydrocolloid acne patches like those from Hero Cosmetics, Zit Sticka or COSRX can be so helpful for whiteheads as they pull the puss out without you having to squeeze the pimple.
This also helps to heal the spot faster! Not only that, if you cover your spot with something right after your evening routine, you won’t be able to pick at it!
FINAL WORD
Overall, try to look at your skin less frequently, and do other things that make you relax and feel good about yourself instead.
I recommend writing down 3 activities that always make you feel good, and do at least one every day!
For example, take the time to relax each day, exercise, or curl up on a sofa with a good book and a favorite tea or turmeric latte…You deserve some pampering!
In radiant skin health,
Sara
Questions! Do you have any tips yourself on how to stop picking the skin? I’d love to know!
To not “scan” your face! I find that if I am sitting around or watching TV I run my fingers along my face looking for something to pick! 🤦♀️
But what if you have some visible and large blackheads and they wouldn’t go on their own…
i can’t stop myself. my skin looks awful because of me right now
Thank You
But my skin picking is legs not face…
So any tips for me???