It's almost like clockwork - same area, same type of breakout over and over again. 😵‍💫 

My personal area is my nose! 😂 There is a week of my cycle where my skin is very oily and I get the same breakouts right around my nose if I don't switch up my routine to combat the extra oils (due to hormonal shifts!). 

Your skin isn’t just randomly choosing these spots, there’s actually a reason this happens and once you understand it, it starts to make a lot more sense. 

⭐️ Let's start by discussing what's happening under the surface ⭐️ 
When you get a breakout in the same place repeatedly it’s usually because that pore (or group of pores) has become what we call a “habitual breakout zone.” Meaning that area has gone through enough inflammation or congestion that it’s now just more prone to it, kind of like a weak spot.

The reason this happens is because when a pore gets clogged/inflamed/heals it doesn’t always go fully back to normal. Sometimes the pore stays slightly stretched, oil flow in that area becomes a little irregular, or there’s leftover buildup deeper in the pore (especially if it was picked! More on this below 😉) Even when the surface looks clear there can still be irregularity underneath.

The next time your skin gets stresses/congested/or your oil production increases - that weakened spot flares again. A big piece of this is called inflammatory memory in skin world. Your skin is smart 😎  and actually remembers areas that have been inflamed before through changes in the tissue! So if you’ve had repeated breakouts in one spot (jawline, cheeks, chin are the big ones), that area becomes more reactive over time.

And we have to talk about picking for a second 😭 (i'm so sorry!) because this is a big one. When you pick at a breakout, it’s not just what you see on the surface - you’re actually pushing bacteria, oil, and congestion deeper into the skin and sometimes even spreading it slightly into the surrounding tissue. So while it might feel like you’re “getting it out,” you can actually very much be setting that area up for future breakouts.

If extractions aren’t performed correctly by a trained professional, they can actually keep the breakout cycle going.

Trust me, your esthetician gets it—we know how hard it is not to pick, and there’s always grace here. This isn’t about judgment 🫶  it’s about helping you understand what’s happening beneath the surface so you can get the results you’re wanting, and managing expectations by giving transparency.

I see a lot where someone picks, it heals, and then 1–3 months later that exact same spot flares again out of nowhere. It’s not random — it’s that underlying congestion and inflammation never fully resolved or that pore has been so blown out that now it fills up much easier. So as hard as it is leaving it alone, properly supporting the skin and not picking (!!!) will always lead to better long-term healing. 🫶 

Now let’s chat about why specific areas can be problematic: 
🔥 Jawline/chin → often hormonal or internal triggers
💄 Cheeks → can be product-related(blush, foundation), barrier, or external contact (pillowcases, etc.)
🧢 Forehead → can be oil flow, hair products, long hair/bangs

It's all tied to patterns 🤓 

Adding in more spot treatments to only target one spot when you need to treat the skin as a whole, upping exfoliation trying to "dry out" acne when it actually is preventing healing of the breakouts because it's stripping your skin - these are common ways people try to help their skin but it ends up just creating more inflammation/issues and prolonging healing. ❌ 

SO! How do we actually clear these areas? 
- Keeping pores consistently clear and balanced (not just when a breakout shows up)
- Supporting healthy cell turnover
- Calming inflammation instead of triggering more of it (including internally)
- Knowing which ingredients and treatments will help the disfunctional pore function normally again
- and making sure your routine is actually balanced, not reactive
If there’s something sitting deeper in the pore or that area is prone to congestion, it takes consistency and understanding to fully clear it out.

With the right support, consistency, and a little bit of patience the cycle can be broken 😊

You simply need help identifying the pattern, putting together the puzzle pieces of what your skin needs to regulate, and supporting this information long term. 🩵