When thinking of skincare, our makeup products don’t usually land on the radar. It’s so easy to forget that the makeup we wear affects our skin very directly. And when you have acne or certain skin conditions, it’s best to be extra careful of what makeup you use and how you use it. Sometimes, your routine can make such conditions worse, especially when you wear makeup to cover it. And it doesn’t help when most makeup tips for acne prone skin only make the situation worse.
However, there are actually quite a few things you can do to make an acne focused makeup routine more effective. Most are quite easy, and a couple require just a little tweaking to your individual needs. Here are 7 makeup tips for acne prone skin.
Try and layer smart, not more.
One of the biggest mistakes made when trying to cover blemishes is the impulse to put multiple, heavy layers of thick foundation. I’ve done this myself, and unfortunately I’ve found it doesn’t work as well as you’d hope. It doesn’t necessarily cover breakouts as well, it can add a lot of texture, and it suffocates the skin.
Instead of using full coverage everything, layer strategically. Color correcting can be your friend in these situations, as breakouts tend to be very pigmented, which is difficult to mask just with concealer and foundation. You can check out my guide here. Then, when you’ve used just enough corrector to mask the tone, full coverage concealers can be helpful. But after all that, you likely won’t really need heavy foundation, maybe a medium coverage. This process allows you to conceal and correct whatever you would like, without needing several heavy layers that often clog pores and suffocates skin that really needs to breathe.
Check for comedogenic ingredients.
Sometimes, acne is caused by ingredients found in makeup, generally comedogenic ingredients such as various palmitates, oils, lanolin, algae extract, among others. Here is an excellent list from Face Reality Acne Clinic. Acne prone skin needs to be able to breathe, and ingredients that are known to be pore clogging don’t allow that. A common example that is easy to identify are silicone based primers and foundations. They seal pores, while allowing for a very smooth canvas, can also trap oils and dirt inside.
You don’t have to completely nix pore filling primers, but see if your skin seems to react to them. Everyone’s skin is different, so no two people will be affected the same way. Try different things, and keep an eye on how your skin responds. Water based foundations and primers can work well in these cases, but be wary with oil based be aware of what kind of oil is used.
Use a moisturizer, but be careful with primers.
Pores become clogged at times due to sebum production, meaning oily skin, and this is a huge contributor to acne. When you don’t moisturize, it encourages oil production in order to compensate which becomes a catch-22. Moisturizing your skin regularly can help reduce the amount of sebum that your skin produces. It also soothes acne that is often dehydrated and inflamed. Moisturizing places a protective barrier between your skin and the makeup that is nourishing for your skin. It helps prevent how much makeup seeps into your skin
if you’re using primers, though, be aware of ingredients, as I mentioned above. Color correcting primers can be very helpful, but keep an eye on what is in pore filling or mattifying primers. Sometimes, moisturizing alone is enough. I like to use Glossier’s priming moisturizer when I’m having breakouts, which I find does the best of both.
Don’t over-powder.
It can be so tempting when you’re trying to keep your skin matte to heavily powder your face. Wanting to keep your skin matte and keep your makeup in place, it seems logical to bake with a heavy layer of powder. One problem though: this doesn’t just set your foundation. It uses the heat of your skin to essentially cement the product to your skin. This reduces the breath ability of the barrier, and can result in clogged pores.
Thee are a few ways to do this carefully if you feel this might contribute to breakouts. First, you can forego baking and instead opt to press lighter amounts of powder into the skin. This enables you to set your makeup lightly and not suffocate it. Or, you can bake with a lighter consistency powder as opposed to a heavy translucent powder.
If you have broken skin, skip the makeup.
If a comedone has popped, it can scab over and lead to broken skin. Even if you usually don’t have ‘sensitive’ skin, this tends to make the area very delicate. When that happens, you may be more reactive to certain products or ingredients than usual. Which can in turn make breakouts worse. It’s hard enough to heal a breakout in any case, but applying makeup and products that are reactive or are pore clogging can make it even more difficult. It could even lead to infection.
Something else to keep in mind is that broken skin gives bacteria a direct route to the skins surface. One reason we’re discouraged from popping acne is that it brings the bacteria to the surface and then spreads it across the skin. Putting makeup over broken skin or scabbing acne does this too, and can contaminate your tools and products. If you notice a freshly popped comedone, or if you notice scabbing, maybe skip the makeup today and allow it time to breathe and to heal.
Make sure your tools are clean.
This is very common advice, but it’s good. Regardless of your skin type, whatever tools or products come in contact with your skin will deal with a degree of contamination. Risk applying not just your makeup, but also bacteria when you use dirty tools or products that haven’t been sanitized.
Use sanitizing makeup cleaner regularly, and sanitize your beauty blender. But don’t forget to also sanitize makeup products that you touch directly, like stick products or products that you directly dip your fingers into. Once a week is ideal, with spot cleaning in between.
Cleanse your skin before putting on makeup.
To help with contamination, I don’t recommend applying makeup without at least cleansing your skin beforehand. When you apply foundation, you trap whatever is on your skin under the foundation and it can’t get out, only in. Most obviously, you can see this with clogged pores when it’s time to take your makeup off. But keep in mind that in that pore isn’t just makeup, it’s whatever was already in there as well. Reducing the amount of gunk in there can help ensure that less bacteria is allowed to fester. Bonus: your makeup will go on more smoothly!