It’s easy to take good skin for granted, yet eight out of 10 of us suffer from acne during our teenage years or as an adult. Acne can utterly shatter our confidence – even the most outgoing person can feel embarrassed and awkward when they have to face the world with a face full of spots. Makeup can mask the redness and disguise the pimples to a certain extent, but wearing too much can also aggravate the skin, block the pores and draw attention to them.

Bad skin can occur if you have high stress levels, long working days, late nights and erratic eating habits. Hormone levels play a big part in poor skin, especially during the menstrual cycle for some women. Ditching cigarettes can really help poor skin as nicotine exacerbates acne, as does drinking too much alcohol.

The best way to combat adult acne is through a combination of treatments from your beautician, home care and good lifestyle choices. So this month, I wanted to share some great skincare tips and products to help you on your way to flawless skin.

1 If you suffer from rosacea (a very common condition in Irish skin) Guinot Hydradermie Cellular Energy facial works brilliantly to help combat it. This luxury facial, available from salons such as Elegant Lady Beauty in Edenderry, Co Offaly, at €75, will take about one hour and brilliantly nourishes and purifies the skin, bringing it back to its natural beauty by calming down the angry redness. At home, products like Guinot Gommage Biologique €40 can also be used once a week to smooth and hydrate skin. To dry up spots, I advise the Guinot Mask Pur Equilibre Pure Balance Treatment Mask €57 for both adult and teen skin. Call Elegant Lady on 046- 973-1865 to purchase or find out more. Free facial consultations are also available.

2 Eat plenty of different coloured fruits and vegetables, raw or lightly steamed, for a good mix of antioxidants and nutrients that will help protect your skin from damage, repair itself and reduce acne inflammation. I believe that what you eat can be just as important as the creams you put on your face.

3 Selenium works wonders for the skin. As we get older, our skin loses its natural elasticity and becomes more wrinkle-prone. Inflamed acne can also break down collagen and elastin. Selenium is an antioxidant that helps protect the skin from inflammation and sun damage and preserves elastin, a protein that keeps skin smooth and tight. Great sources of selenium include Brazil nuts, still water, fresh steamed fish, beef, chicken and brown rice.

4 Vitamin C is a brilliant natural antioxidant and will help your skin stay healthy. Choose freshly squeezed juice rather than concentrate. A slice of lemon in hot water is a natural detox for your skin. I drink this every morning and it really does help keep my skin clear. Eating grapefruits, blueberries and plenty of fresh green salad with just a splash of light salad dressing will all help your skin look amazing. Tinned tomatoes are full of lycopene, which is another antioxidant that helps maintain healthy skin – ideal in soups and sauces.

5For an easy home treatment, squeeze lemon juice into a small bowl and dab it directly onto spots twice a day with a small cotton pad. This is something my grandmother told me and it really does work to calm and soothe away spots and cleanse the skin.

6 Vitamins E and A are powerful antioxidants that heal the skin and can be found in acne creams or through foods like olive oil, nuts, sweet potatoes and fresh fruits, such as carrots and mangoes. You can take vitamin supplements but be careful not to overconsume vitamins A and E as this can have the reverse effect and make the skin irritated and red.

7 Tea tree oil is used the world over as a natural antioxidant and antiseptic. Just a small amount on a cotton bud will penetrate the skin to unblock and disinfect spots and pores. It dries out any white heads, pimples and other blemishes. If you mix tea tree with witch hazel and apply it to the skin with a cotton pad, this dries out acne skin and is a natural healer.

8Neutrogena Visibly Clear Rapid Clear Treatment (stockists include www.boots.ie at €6.29) is a quick-drying gel that works quickly to reduce the size and redness of visible spots and blemishes.

9 If you wake up one morning with the most hideous stubborn monster spot, don’t fret! Crush two aspirin in water and make into a paste. Dab the paste onto the spot and leave for as long as possible. This will reduce the spot’s size and redness. I used this trick on a bride last summer who woke with a nasty spot under her nose on her wedding day. It really helped and no one was any the wiser.

10Aloe vera soothing gel, available from many pharmacies and health shops, is loaded with natural healing aloe vera juice. This not only leaves the face and body feeling refreshed and moisturised (eg if you suffer from spots on your back), but also aids the healing process of any spots. CL