Have you googled tips for clear skin? I’m sure you have, because when I was trying to get clear skin, that’s all I did.

I ended up ruining my skin time and time again because, turns out, most of the tips for getting rid of acne are totally ineffective.

I tried so many different ways to get clear skin. From weird things like aspirin or food on my face, natural skincare, and even diets all while ruining my skin to the point where I wouldn’t leave the house.

The good news is that I learned a lot since then! 🙂

I’ve helped thousands of women achieve consistently clear skin, and today I want to share 10 of the most effective tips that will actually work.

You get to have clear skin, the struggle-free way.

Let’s begin.

Tip 1. Cleanse Properly

Cleansing is really important because your skin faces impurities and pathogens all while creating it’s own sebum. All of this gets quite goppy at the end of the day and needs to be removed.

Many people don’t choose a well-formulated cleanser and this step alone throws off their entire routine.

Some use cleansers that don’t have any cleansing agents (no surfactants) in them like Eminence Organics. This just moves things around your face without properly removing impurities, leading to a rougher, dryer skin and clogging over time. 

Some use cleansers that are way too harsh and end up stripping their skin like with Dr. Brommer’s Castille Soap or plain bar soap. The horror!

Choose a gentle, water-based, acidic cleanser that helps you keep your skin clean but not squeaky-clean. Check out some great options here.

Tip 2. Choose Actives Based On Your Skin’s Needs

Many people choose actives based on their “skin type”, which is the least useful way to choose your products. More on skin types here.

If you’re breaking out, you may be reaching for products labeled for “acne-prone skin”.

Yet, products formulated for acne-prone skin are often too harsh and can lead to dehydrated skin—which is ironically more prone to clogging.

Many people think their skin is acne-prone, but all they have is heavy, clogging products in their routine. By eliminating the clogging products, people’s skin often gets better and better.

Do this first before introducing actives.

I recommend that you research different kinds of actives and their function, and then introduce the one that you think your skin could benefit from the most.

Does your skin need more exfoliation? Do you need an active that helps even out your skin tone? Create more collagen? Lower inflammation? Boost ceramides in your skin?

The actives step is really personal to you, so don’t copy other people’s skincare routines. Often, what’s good for somebody else’s skin is not good for YOUR skin.

Start with one or two actives in your overall routine.

The frequency differs from person to person. One person might use an active 3 times a week, while another person might use it 1x a day. Find the minimal effective dose that works for your skin.

Your skin should ALWAYS feel comfortable using actives. Flaking, dehydration, excessive oiliness, redness, or heat are signs that you’re overdoing this step.

Less is more is the key with actives, so start slowly.
Watch this video on when to use actives in a skincare routine.

Tip 3. 3-Step Moisture Method™

Moisture is key to maintaining a healthy skin barrier and many people are doing this step totally wrong — sometimes skipping moisturizing altogether.

People with acne-prone skin are sometimes afraid of moisturizing because they think that this might lead to more clogging.

This is only the case if:

1. The moisturizer is poorly formulated
2. You’re using it wrong
   

Skipping a moisturizer, especially after using some strong acne-fighting actives, is going to result in dehydrated skin.

This means more clogging, and SLOWER healing.

It’s a big mistake to skip a moisturizer on any skin condition.

If you’re cleansing your skin, do NOT skip this step.
If your skin is oily, do NOT skip this step.
If you’re using actives, do NOT skip this step.
If you have human skin, do NOT skip this step.

Click here to learn how to moisturize using my famous 3-Step Moisture Method™ that has revolutionized how people moisturize their skin.

Tip 4. Sunscreen 365 Days A Year

Because sunscreen often comes in a heavier texture, people with acne associate it will more clogging like with moisturizing.

This is true if your cleanser sucks (isn’t properly removing the sunscreen), or if the sunscreen is full of oils (thereby clogging the eff out of your skin).

If you have a good cleanser and a well-formulated sunscreen then there’s no need to be afraid of sunscreen.

Your skin is bombarded by UV radiation that increases inflammation, slows down healing, increases post-acne marks like hyperpigmentation or erythema, and leads to dryer skin and premature wrinkles.

If you have an amazing routine but no sunscreen, you are not fully benefiting from it…

Please wear minimum SPF 30, broad-spectrum protection, without oils or fragrance.

Check out the 7 most common sunscreen mistakes here. I also have sunscreen review videos on my YouTube channel so make sure to subscribe.

Tip 5. Be consistent

I’ve seen people start a new skincare routine and give up quick! Like I’ve seen one person give up after a WEEK of a good skincare routine and freak out because she was breaking out…

But she was actually purging.

Oh purging…

Purging is something that can happen on a new routine containing active ingredients such as acids or retinoids. It does not happen with oils (that’s just breaking out).

When an ingredient influences how your skin functions, there can be an adjustment period that may look and feel a bit bumpy. This usually happens within the first month of using new actives.

When you’ve spent time inflaming your skin (months, and sometimes years), you need to also give your skin time to adjust to a new routine, to calm down, and to heal.

Don’t give up. Patience over panic.

If you started using the new routine yesterday, you still might break out the next two months. This doesn’t tell you anything about the new products, because a pimple takes up to 8 weeks to form.

If you bounce around from product to product, you aren’t allowing anything to work, but you’re also not getting any data about the product (is good? Is it bad?).

It’s important to allow a new routine 8-12 weeks to work. If you give up too soon, you’ll never see the benefits of your spiffy new routine.

Tip 6. Strike A Balance

We can often create extremes with our skincare practices.

For example, we undergo it with cleansing or overdo it with cleansing.
We underdo it with some actives, or we overdo it with others.
We underdo it with moisture, or we overdo it with moisture.
We underdo it with sunscreen, or we overdo it with sunscreen.

Striking a balance is important, and the way to do it is to listen to your skin.

If your skin is too oily, flaky, red, tight, hot then something may be off in your routine.

Don’t ignore the signs of imbalance.

Eliminate irritants such as oils, essential oils, soaps, drying alcohols in your skincare routine so that you don’t experience the above.

Scale back on the frequency of some of your actives if necessary.

Tip 7: Treat Your Skin Like A Delicate Flower Petal

Many of us poke and prod and pick at our skin, constantly touching our faces looking to see what’s new and what can be annihilated.

Do not touch your face.

You touching the acne will not help you, it will likely inflame the acne further spreading more bacteria, and even leading to scarring.

Touching your skin should be like touching a delicate flower petal. With this energy of love instead of punishment, your skin will become amazing.

Often a pimple isn’t even that bad, until we pop it.
Then we see it from a mile away, and it drives us crazy.

It also becomes increasingly harder to cover with makeup.

Make it a rule to only touch your face when there is a purpose behind it. For example, when you’re washing your face, applying your skincare and/or makeup, and blotting with a tissue throughout the day.

Watch this video about a permanent solution for acne scars to learn more about scarring prevention and wound healing.

Tip 8. Tell A New Story About Your Skin

With all the stories about skin and acne on the internet, it’s hard not to take some of them on board.

Notice how a lot of these stories are disempowering and end up making you fear or distrust your own skin and body, and doubt your own healing abilities.

Many people walk around with the narrative of “chronic acne” or “hormonal acne” or “I’ve had acne forever because it’s genetic and I’m destined to manage symptoms for the rest of my life” or “clear skin is impossible” or “my acne is because of gluten”. Blah blah blah.

These stories are not useful.

Your body is INCREDIBLY intelligent.
You don’t have to worry about your heart beating, your lungs breathing, your liver and kidneys detoxing, your stomach digesting, or your wounds healing. Your body just does it.

Your skin wants to heal, it wants to keep you safe.

But it can’t under certain conditions, products, irritants.

So when you tell yourself that you never heal or heal super slowly and your scars last forever…This is an inaccurate story and your body is listening to it.

Instead of telling the same old story of, “I’m an acne-sufferer. I have acne.”
I would switch to: “I have used poorly-formulated products and I have irritated my skin. Now I’m working on switching to gentle products and healing my skin.”

These are totally different stories. One is actually accurate.

I have acne vs. I have clogging products.

Which story feels better? Which one empowers you to get clear skin?

It’s not about YOU having acne, it’s about you having bad products that you can change.

It’s that easy.

Our brain holds onto things that we put after the word “my”, like “my acne”. So even switching from “my acne” to “the acne” helps our brain let go of acne as something that we own.

You don’t own acne, but don’t allow the acne to own you either.

Tip 9. How You Feel Is How You Heal

Feeling terrible in our bodies makes our bodies function more poorly.

Not sleeping enough, eating too much junk, and stressing all the time can make it difficult to think positively.

But efforting in terms of food and exercise while feeling bad about yourself doesn’t work either.

The key that’s missing is your perception. How you see the world. How you see yourself.

This is a choice.

Thought>Feeling>Action>Result

Many of us may not be aware of how we’re really self-critical, self-deprecating, and even self-punishing.

Or we blame, shame, and don’t take responsibility, convinced that we’re victims of the world or other people.

These are ways that we choose to feel bad. Feeling bad leads to terrible choices (trying natural skincare, Accutane, diets), which leads to terrible results.

It takes one rogue thought to feel bad. ONE.

One thought makes us stressed, and when we’re stressed we shut off healing. (We also shut off reasoning, and become literally dumber.)

Realize that stress stops healing. Period.

Learn more about stress here.

A clog will come and go without you noticing when you’re happy, but if you’re stressed that clog will get inflamed.

I’ve had super happy and aligned clients heal their skin in as quickly as two weeks, and others with more mild skin take six months or more.

Because how you feel is how you heal.

People who have no time to worry about their skin because they’re having fun and living their life’s purpose heal quickly.

People who spend all their time talking and thinking about their skin take forever to heal. They’re often the ones to distrust their bodies the most, blame others for their problems, and hop around from product to product never allowing anything to work.

Without feeling good, healing won’t be possible regardless of how amazing your routine. 

Read books, hang out with friends, sing, draw, dance, knit — DO anything that feels good so you don’t focus on your skin.

Here’s my list of 10 life-changing books if you need some inspiration.

Tip 10. Keep A Sink’s Distance From The Mirror At All Times

You know when you’re in the bathroom, doing your skincare routine, and you feel the urge to lean over the sink to inspect your skin up close?

THAT.

Stop doing that!

Leaning over the sink (or inspecting your skin in a magnifying mirror) is a recipe for disaster.

This is one way we skew our perception of our skin and of ourselves.

Looking at your skin an inch away from the mirror is not normal. Nobody looks at you this way, so why should you?

Even if your partner is super close to you, they don’t pick you apart because they’re not taught to think the way we might be thinking.

They don’t see what we see.

Some of us tend to see something small, but make it really big.

Like pores. So many people pick their pores apart thinking that their pores are blackheads, when every single human has pores and they’re a normal part of human skin structure.

Keeping a sink’s distance is the way you succeed in getting and maintaining clear skin consistently.

Distance is important in being able to see yourself clearly.
Don’t look for trouble, because that’s how you find it.

Final Thoughts

Clear skin is not hard, but it is certainly complicated by the internet.

By following these 10 effective tips you will be able to achieve healthy, clear skin. Thousands of people have already.

To recap:

• Cleanse Properly
• Choose Actives Based On Your Skin’s Needs
• Use the 3-Step Moisture Method™
• Wear Sunscreen 365 Days A Year
• Be Consistent
• Strike A Balance
• Treat Your Skin Like A Delicate Flower Petal
• Tell A New Story About Your Skin
• How You Feel Is How You Heal
• Keep A Sink’s Distance From The Mirror At All Times

Make sure to DM me on Instagram and share your story and photos if you’ve used my content to achieve clear skin because I love seeing your healing! 🙂

Love,
Olena