A topic I find reoccurring in my life is zits. Oh yes, I went there. Those gross things that pop up on your face at the worst times.

I feel as though I should turn this into a personal story. When I was growing up, I sort of knew what a zit was - at least I thought I did. I also thought I knew how to make them go away, but I didn't. I grew up with a slew of overactive hormones that influenced the nickname my brother gave me: Pizza Face. The worst part of acne and zits is explaining how awful you feel about yourself to someone else. Self-esteem is lowered and you just aren't necessarily yourself; it affects us sometimes in bigger ways than we would like to admit.

I always found that the information on acne varied a great deal and it was never truly accessible for me. I want to clarify all this information so that when you're stressed and your hormones are peaking, you don't end up with little peaks on your face.

The main way to prevent getting acne is to understand how it works. When skin is dry or when hormones start to race, it creates sebum, an oil that skin needs to keep itself moisturized. Dirt mixed with an excess of sebum causes blackheads. Excess sebum and flaked skin cells create white heads. The reason why people say not to pop pimples is because it lets that bacteria flow if you don't do it properly; once that bacteria starts to flow, it can cause more pimples, which nobody wants.

The best advice I can give is to not pop zits and to always remember to exfoliate your skin (this is VERY important because this helps all that skin flake off and not clog in the form of whiteheads). Never touch your face with dirty hands, as this can cause acnespreading bacteria to begin infecting your pores; also ensure to never touch a pimple with dirty hands. I also recommend using a moisturizer that is non-comedogenic. This will decrease the amount of sebum produced and therefore diminish the acne-causing oils on your face.

Some men might think it's too much effort to take care of their skin, but it doesn't need to be! Clinique makes a great product for men that retails for just $13 called scruffing lotion. It can help with shaving, dead skin cells and excess oil. Using this and a spot treatment for localized breakouts is almost all you need. Clean & Clear Advantage Spot Treatment is a really great salicylic acid product that reduces any spot in less than two hours.

Taking care of your skin isn't hard, just like anything else it needs to become a routine. Start taking care of your skin, it'll help you down the road - it's a good habit to get into.