If you have acne and a cold, read this RIGHT NOW.
Suffering with both acne and a cold (hello nightmare)? Don’t make your acne worse with a tissue full of comedogenic ingredients. Seriously.
Getting sick is inevitable. Even if you live alone, under a rock, or in the desert. Bacteria and viruses are just a part of life. Some are friendly and some…well lets just say we try not to invite them to dinner.
If you are prone to indulging in the sickness du jour, be mindful of how you care for yourself while you are recovering.
No no, this isn’t about what herbs or teas you should use to get better or boost your immune system (we can go there another time), its about how the care you DO choose may affect your SKIN.
Especially if you are ACNE prone.
I know, it sounds like a stretch, so hear me out.
Tissues with lotion can be a nightmare for acne!
In the event you are already sick with a cold (we hope not!), and reading this for fun, I will make it short so you can get back to sleeping and recovering.
The CDC recommends covering your nose and mouth with a tissue if you cough, this helps to slow the transmission of disease. Tissues are also terribly convenient to catch anything that happens to be escaping FROM your nose too…
However, if you do have a cold and are very acne prone, please opt for PLAIN TISSUES. Forget the fancy ones with lotion.
The LOTION IS COMEDOGENIC. It can cause acne!
Download our free list of comedogenic ingredients for yourself.
The potentially offensive ingredients are highlighted below:
Even the “cooling” tissues are problematic. Stearyl heptanoate and coconut oil are highly comedogenic and they will CLOG YOUR PORES!
Comedogenic Ingredients
Stearyl Heptanoate, Stearyl Alcohol, Polyethylene, Mineral Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract. That’s a pore clogging nightmare right there.
As you can see, even the fancy patented “anti-viral” tissues can be an issue if you have acne and a cold:
So if you can’t use the super soft tissues with lotion-y stuff on your tender honker, what IS a safe option to keep your nose from getting all cracked and raw?
Petrolatum aka Vaseline. Not the fancy lotion, just the plain old jelly in a jar. Don’t substitute “non-petroleum” jelly either, that usually has shea butter or beeswax in it, which are also pore clogging acne mongers.
Just swab a teeny schmear (is that word?) under your nose while you are actively using tissues, and you can really help mitigate that red crackly rash that comes with a typical cold. Just don’t use it forever.
Rescue Balm and CPR cream from Roccoco Botanicals are made for compromised skin like this and are both acne safe.
Jojoba oil, inchi oil, meadowfoam seed oil all work well for acne prone skin too.
However I suspect that unless you are a major skin care junkie (hello soulmate!), you probably don’t have any of those on hand.
If you ARE NOT acne prone, most unscented lotions will help, but we really recommend something like this. For any impaired skin barrier issue, the CPR Intense cream is great.
In a real pinch, you can use an acne safe lip balm on your nose, but DO NOT use it again directly on your lips. Ewww, can you say contamination?
So if you are struggling with acne and a cold , by all means take care of yourself with what you have on hand. Rest, drink lots of fluids, get some sleep, and use plain tissues.
Here you will find more info about winter skin care tips for acne prone skin. To learn more about acne and what makes your skin act up and break out, make an appointment with us at Viriditas Beautiful Skin Therapies. We are happy to share our list of common comedogenic ingredients too. Just please don’t come in if you are sick!!