This is a key section of the book because sometimes we have annoying acne pop-ups and have no clue as to what provoked their onset.
Surprisingly, there are several things that we do that may bring on an
acne eruption.

Touching your face

Our hands come in contact with numerous items in the course of a day.
The objects we touch are covered in germs and bacteria, whether or
not you can see or smell the germs present. Then, touching our face
with these dirty hands only spreads more bacteria and adds oil. Be
aware of when you unconscientiously touch your face and move your
hands away.

For example, some people touch their face when they are
nervous, focusing or bored. It also helps to keep your hands as clean as
possible.

Not changing your pillowcase often enough

I have been guilty of this one myself. Do you realize that as you sleep
your skin is sloughing off dead cells that fall onto your pillowcase and
sheets? Meanwhile, your oil glands still pump oil (which is normal).
But the oil is sticky, so as you are lying in bed, those dead skin cells
can stick to the oil on your face and clog your pores, leading to a
pimple formation.

To avoid this, most skin experts suggest changing
your pillowcase at least once a week. Keep in mind that if you place
numerous chemicals in your hair, these chemicals seep into the
pillowcase as well, which creates more waste to irritate your skin and
provoke acne.

Repeatedly squeezing zits (Mirror-addict acne)

Looking in the mirror with critical eyes can lead to this type of acne
called acne corée, or what I refer to as mirror-addict acne. This is
because when one squeezes a zit too often or too forcefully, it can
cause the acne infection to spread to near-by areas beneath the surface
of the skin.

Later, more acne eruptions will occur. For this reason,
exercise caution and restraint when extracting pimples. A pimple
should only be extracted once and then allowed to heal. Plus, if you
have a habit of repeatedly looking in the mirror and squeezing zits, I
can offer a series of suggestions:

• 1. For a period of two weeks, limit the amount of time that you
  look into the mirror and criticize your zits. The less you look,
  the less tempted you will be to over-squeeze a zit. Only look in
  the mirror long enough to make certain that you have properly
  removed the cleaning materia ls that you have applied to your
  face.
• 2. Before you squeeze a zit, ask yourself “Will I leave a scar if I
  squeeze this zit now?” Be honest. If you are squeezing a zit
  with no visible pus head, you are going to leave a scar.
• 3. Ask the pimple for the message it brings using the methods
  provided in this book. Remind yourself that your body is
  capable of healing itself and give your skin time to heal.

Not protecting your skin from commonly used areas

This habit is especially geared toward the frequent gym visitor (which
I hope includes everyone). At the gym the equipment is not cleaned
nearly as often as it needs. Because of this general uncleanliness,
bacteria and germs are allowed to grow in alarming numbers on gym
equipment and benches. You can provide yourself a bit of protection
by placing a clean towel over the areas of gym equipment that will
come in direct contact with your skin.

Touching your face or body with unclean objects.
Not changing your towel and facial washcloth frequently can provoke
acne.

As you dry your skin or cleanse your face with a towel, you are
placing bacteria onto the towel. Given, enough time, the bacteria in the
towel or washcloth will continue to grow. If you continue using a dirty
towel for too long, you may be dirtying your skin instead of cleansing
it, thereby promoting the onset of acne flare-ups.