What To Do When Your Skin Suddenly Starts Breaking Out

One of the most common messages I receive is:

“My skin was doing fine and now I’m suddenly breaking out.”

The first thing I want you to know is this:
A breakout does not mean you’ve failed your skin.

Breakouts are often the skin’s response to internal and external stressors building up over time.

Some of the most common triggers I see include:
• increased stress
• hormonal fluctuations
• lack of sleep
• travel
• over exfoliation
• inconsistent routines
• picking at the skin
• trying too many new products at once
• inflammation within the body

When breakouts happen, most people immediately want to “attack” the skin. This usually looks like:
• harsh scrubs
• overusing acids
• drying spot treatments
• constantly switching products

Unfortunately, this often creates more irritation and inflammation.

When your skin is breaking out, the goal should be to calm and support the skin while reducing inflammation.

A few things I recommend focusing on first:

• Simplify your routine  
Stick to the basics temporarily instead of layering multiple active products.

• Avoid over exfoliating  
More exfoliation is not always better, especially when the skin barrier is already stressed.

• Prioritize hydration  
Dehydrated skin can still break out.

• Stop picking  
Even minor picking can increase inflammation, prolong healing, and contribute to post inflammatory pigmentation.

• Look at lifestyle patterns  
Stress levels, sleep, hydration, hormones, and nutrition all affect the skin more than most people realize.

In the treatment room, I often find that calming the nervous system and decreasing inflammation can make a significant difference in the skin over time.

Sometimes the best thing we can do for the skin is stop overwhelming it and return to consistency.