Welcome to Ask a Derm, a collection from SELF through which board-certified dermatologists reply your urgent questions on pores and skin, hair, and nail well being. For this installment, we tapped Shasa Hu, MD, the director of the beauty division on the College of Miami Dr. Phillip Frost Division of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgical procedure. Her specialties embrace pores and skin most cancers detection and therapy, considerations of growing old and ethnic pores and skin, and pores and skin rejuvenation.

Anybody who’s handled pimples has most likely been advised not less than as soon as of their life to simply “let their pores and skin breathe”—that means, skip the make-up. And certain, that is sensible: A heavy, full-coverage basis can undoubtedly clog your pores even additional, resulting in extra breakouts. However this standard recommendation hasn’t at all times lined up with my private expertise.

Weirdly sufficient, I’ve seen that my largest zits generally shrink after I repeatedly conceal them with make-up—and it’s not simply me. A bunch of pimples victims on TikTok have additionally stated that making use of full glam day by day appeared to make their pores and skin in some way…higher? So, we requested Shasa Hu, MD, board-certified dermatologist and affiliate professor on the College of Miami Miller Faculty of Medication, if there’s any science to help these anecdotes. The brief reply? Properly, form of…

To be clear, it’s unlikely that the make-up itself is magically therapeutic your pimples. However it may well have an oblique profit: You most likely contact your face much less when you have got it on. “It’s like when nail biters put on polish,” Dr. Hu explains. “Each time you see the nail polish, it’s a reminder to not wreck [your manicure].” The identical goes on your fastidiously utilized basis—because you don’t wish to smudge it, you’re much less prone to poke, squeeze, or in any other case mess along with your face.

For these of us who can’t resist feeling (or popping) their bumps, this generally is a game-changer: Making use of stress to a zit along with your fingers can “push irritation even deeper into the pores and skin,” Dr. Hu warns, which can solely irritate the blemish, stopping it from getting higher (and likewise growing your probabilities of being left with a lingering darkish spot). So, something that will get your arms off your face will not less than enable your pimples to heal on their very own.

One other issue that will clarify your seemingly calmer, smoother complexion? You would be extra dedicated to completely cleaning your face while you put on make-up—one thing you might not be as diligent about on these au naturel days. In accordance with Dr. Hu, utilizing an oil-free cleanser can filter out filth, useless pores and skin cells, and no matter else is obstructing your pores and inflicting breakouts. However FYI, you’re nonetheless supposed to scrub your face each evening, together with while you’re solely carrying skincare merchandise like moisturizer and sunscreen. (Plus, even for those who assume there’s “nothing” in your face, oil and generally sweat naturally construct up in your pores and skin all through the day.)

So, these theories in regards to the zit-shrinking magic of make-up might sound promising, however Dr. Hu says you actually shouldn’t depend on it to banish your bumps. One main purpose is that lots of cosmetics—notably oil-based foundations, primers, and powders—are made with comedogenic (pore-clogging) components like coconut oil, vitamin E, and isopropyl myristate, in addition to presumably irritating fragrances. All of those components, Dr. Hu says, can doubtlessly worsen present pimples and trigger new ones, too. (Actually, there’s an official time period for zits particularly brought on by make-up: pimples cosmetica.)

Earlier than you ask: Why sure, selecting merchandise with acne-safe components (or choosing oil-free formulation) can decrease your probabilities of experiencing flare-ups. Nevertheless, noncomedogenic make-up can’t deal with the basis causes of breakouts—which may embrace hormonal imbalances, micro organism, and clogged pores. “It’s extra of a short lived cover-up moderately than an answer,” Dr. Hu explains, including that acne-friendly cosmetics particularly can’t do a lot for tremendous infected, indignant cystic pimples that types deep beneath the pores and skin’s floor.

The underside line, in line with Dr. Hu: The simplest strategy to deal with present blemishes at house is with research-backed, derm-approved pimples fighters, like benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid. However in fact, if you wish to camouflage your zits whereas they heal, it’s not the top of the world—simply select your magnificence merchandise properly.

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