How To Clear Up Those Embarrasing Blemishes - Acne Skin Care Tips

People of all races and ages get acne. It is most common in adolescents and young adults. Around 85 percent of people between the ages of 12 and 24 develop the disorder. Nearly 17 million people in the United States have acne, making it the most common skin disease.

For most people, acne tends to diminish by the time they reach their thirties; however, some people in their forties and fifties continue to have this skin problem.

I remember when I used to get acne myself. Was that annoying. And it sure ruined my social life, that's for sure. There is nothing more embarrasing than going out in public with acne all over your face. You know people are staring at you. You know they don’t want to get near you because of those ugly marks on your face. I think they think it’s contagious, which is not true at all. It’s a good way to lose friends quickly.

So, how did I get rid of my acne? Well, before you can clear up your skin, you should know exactly who the enemy is and what you’re up against. Here’s a summary for you and some real honest to goodness solutions. It worked for me and it will work for you too.
 
What is Acne?
Acne is a disorder resulting from the action of hormones on the skin's oil glands (sebaceous glands), which leads to plugged pores and outbreaks of lesions commonly called pimples or zits. Acne lesions usually occur on the face, neck, back, chest, and shoulders.

Although heredity may be a cause of this problem, it is more associated with hormonal levels and how you care for your skin (e.g. rubbing your skin too much will cause it). Chocolate and greasy foods are often blamed, but foods seem to have little effect on the development and course of acne in most people. In addition, dirty skin does not cause acne and neither does stress.

How Is Acne Treated?
You can buy over the counter medicine (OTC), see your family doctor, or a dermatologist (skin doctor).

Over-the-counter(OTC) Medicines
Benzoyl peroxide, resorcinol, salicylic acid, and sulfur are the most common topical OTC medicines used to treat acne. Topical OTC medications are available in many forms, such as gel, lotion, cream, soap, or pad.

Prescription Topical Medicines
Several types of prescription topical medicines include benzoyl peroxide, tretinoin, adapalene, and azelaic acid.
 
Some people develop side effects from using prescription topical medicines including stinging, burning, redness, peeling, scaling, or discoloration of the skin.

Prescription Oral Medicines
Oral antibiotics are thought to help control acne by curbing the growth of bacteria and reducing inflammation. Examples are clindamycin, erythromycin, sulfur, or isotretinoin. Some people experience side effects when taking these antibiotics, such as an increased tendency to sunburn, upset stomach, dizziness or lightheadedness, changes in skin color, and dry skin.

Other treatments
There are lazer treatments for rare serious cases and there are safe and natural herbal medications that work like over the counter medications, but often with less side effects.

How Should People With Acne Care for Their Skin?
* Clean Skin Gently with a mild cleanser 3 or 4 times a day.
* Avoid Frequent Handling of the Skin.
* Shave Carefully.
* Avoid a Sunburn or Suntan.
* Use Non-Oily Cosmetics.

In summary, there are many treatments out there for acne skin problems. Talk to your doctor if you’re unsure what to do. Try some of the suggestions mentioned here. In no time at all, you’ll look better, feel better, and you’ll be back out there enjoying your social life, your friends, and your family much more.



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Best Acne Cure Program - Fast Results Home Remedy

This Program Will Work For MildI To Moderate Acne And Cystic Acne.

Steps you need to do:

1. Use a mild water based cleanser. Cetaphil is the best.

2. Use 2.5% benzoyl Peroxide (BP) and use a lot. The size of your pointer finger. Apply this to all areas that are effected with acne. Do this twice per day. BP cream is available over and under the counter in most chemists and drug stores. Please use 2.5% unless this proves ineffective. Only then should you increase to 5-10%. 90% of all people using 2.5% will find the program works and works fast. Increasing the strength does not mean it will work quicker so please use 2.5% to being with.

3. Moisturise. Your skin will before dry. VERY DRY. It might flake, peel, and become red. An SPF is your best bet as these are naturally very moisturising and will deal with the dryness.

Depending on your skin condition it might take depends on how quickly the program works. I noticed a massive change within 48 hours. How long it takes your skin to heal will depend on the severity of your condition. It will improve. And fast but you will need to make sure you're following the steps outlined above.

It is normal for the skin to become red. This was not a worry to me as anything was better than the acne i was suffering. Once your acne is under control you will be able to lessen the amount of benzoyl peroxide (BP) you're using and this will stop/reduce the redness and peeling (dry skin) that accompanies large amounts of BP cream.

NOTE: This program also works for acne on the back, neck and chest. You need to bare in mind that BP cream can bleach clothes so if you're using it on your back or chest caution is advised.

I am not the only one to come up with this idea. Here is an excellent website that follows the same procedure as the one above. I wish i had found this website when i was dealing with my acne as it would have saved me a lot of pain, heartache and money searching for products that worked. The site also sells products. I am not affiliated with this website but i can vouch for its effectiveness with the products recommend (the benzoyl peroxide cream).



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How To Cure Or Alleviate Acne

The processes going on in the skin of a person suffering from acne are explained here. You also find a survey of the factors causing acne and measures you can apply yourself to prevent, cure or alleviate acne.
Acne gives the combination of symptoms like greasy skin, white heads, black heads, pimples, inflammation and scar formation.

Acne mostly affects young people in the age 14 - 25, but also sometimes older persons, like women in their menopause. Most teenagers experience outburst of acne, some only little, but for others acne may develop into a serious skin ailment with great cosmetic impact.

THE SKIN ANATOMY
To understand the acne process, some knowledge about skin anatomy and physiology is essential:

The skin has there layers:

The outer layer called epidermis consists of epithelial cells. Under this lies the dermis consisting of connective tissue. At the bottom there is a layer called the hypodermis consisting mostly of fat cells.

The skin has narrow pores extending from the surface down to the top of the sub-dermis, called hair follicles. A hair extend from a growth zone in the bottom of each hair follicle and out at the skin surface. Around the hair in the dermis, there are small glands called sebaceous glands. These glands produce a fatty substance, sebum, which empty through the follicle opening and lubricates the hair and the skin.

THE ACNE PROCESS
Acne starts by the glands in the hair follicles increasing their sebum production. This will in the beginning only cause greasy skin. Eventually the sebum in the entrance of the follicles mixes with dead epithelial cells. This mix reacts chemically to forms hard props, comedones that close the pore entrances. According to the color of the comedones, they are called black heads or white heads.

Then the closed hair follicle gets filled with sebum and swell. The swollen follicle then gets infected by bacteria. The bacteria and the accumulated sebum cause the follicle and the surrounding skin to get inflamed, forming a pimple.  At last the inflamed follicle burst and empties its content.  Eventually the affected area heals. Sometimes the inflammation reaches deep into the skin surrounding the follicle and destroys skin tissue. This will cause more or less distinct scars that may reside permanently. Typically an affected person will have follicles in all these stages of the process at any given time.

THE CAUSES OF ACNE
The increased hormone production in the puberty stimulates to increased sebum production. The male hormone, testosterone, seem to contribute most. Also girls begin to produce more testosterone in the puberty. Also in other periods, altered hormone production may give acne, for example by women in the menopause.
 
Since not all teens get acne in any degree, the increased hormone level cannot be the whole cause of the increased sebum production. The follicles of affected persons must for some reason react stronger upon the higher hormone level.
 
Dietary factors, like eating too much fat, too much sugar or the wrong kind of fat may aggravate acne by some individuals. Lack of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids may also contribute to development of acne.

Poor digestion, lazy colon and constipation aggravate acne in some individuals, probably due to productions of toxins in the intestines. Lazy colon may be caused by dietary faults, like lack of fiber.

Very frequent washing and use of strong soaps aggravate acne, and does not alleviate the condition as many think. Rubbing, scrubbing or squeezing the skin may also aggravate acne.

Here are some other factors that may contribute in causing acne or aggravating the condition.

- Stress
- Some contraceptive agents
- Environmental or domestic pollution.
- Humid environments.
- Some antidepressants.
- Testosterone and anabolic steroids used for treatment or by body-building.
- Use of some types of greasy cosmetic products.
- Some antiperspirant products.
- Exposing the skin for chlorine or other halogens, or medicines containing halogens.
- Women may get aggravated acne 2-7 days before menstruation.

WHAT CAN YOU DO YOURSELF TO AVOID OR TO TREAT ACNE

Sometimes Acne is so severe that special medical treatment is required, and sometimes the causes of acne necessitate medical treatment. But you can do much yourself also. Here are listed things you can do yourself to prevent or treat acne:

1. Some advices about diet that may help prevent and cure acne:

- Do not consume a great amount of fat.
- The fat you add to the food should be natural oils. Olive oil is ideal, but use other types of oils too, like walnut oil, sunflower oil and soy oil. However, do not use only soy oil as many tend to do. Using only soy oil will give you too much of some fatty acids and too less of others.
- Eat much fish, seafood and not so much meat.
- Eat food with a high fiber content to regulate the digestion, like vegetables, whole cereals, full corn bread and fruit.

2. Here are some things you should avoid.

- Do not use greasy or heavy cosmetics that clog your skin and are difficult to wash away.
- Do not use strong irritating antiperspirants.
- Do not wash with strong soap or cleaners that dry up your skin and take away all the natural oily protection in your skin.
- If you perform body-building, do not use anabolic steroids or other hormonal supplements.
- Use clothes that allow air to reach your body surface to avoid collection of humidity and overheating of your skin.

3. Use of rinsing milk or solutions
You can rinse your skin with mild products especially made to dissolve the plugs in your pores, and to make the environment in your skin unfriendly to bacteria causing infection. Some of these products are just products to wash your skin with one ore more times a day; others should be on during night and flushed away in the morning.
 
Salicylic acid is a mild ingredient often used in these products to dissolve the comedones. The products usually also contain ingredients that work antibacterial and stimulate the skin's own cleaning activities, like Tea tree oil or Echinacea extract.
 
4. Use of gels and creams to treat acne and protect your skin
After the rinsing, you should apply some treatment gel, cream or lotion onto your skin to achieve these effects:

- To make your skin soft and elastic.
- To protect your skin against the environment. 
- To acts further to dissolve the clogging of your pores.
- To soothe and alleviate inflammation.
- To kill the bacteria causing infection or make an environment hostile for the bacteria.
- To stimulate the skin to clean itself.
- To stimulate the skin to heal.
- To be used as a isolating layer between the skin itself and cosmetics

In order to protect, make the skin soft and further dissolve the comedones, many products contain natural plant oils that are easily absorbed into the epidermis, like Tea tree oil, Rose hip oil, Lavender oil and Olive oil.
 
Ingredients used in products to reduce inflammation and to stimulate healing may be: Aloe Vera extract, Viola Tricolour extract, Rose hip oil, Vitamin E and Vitamin A.
Tea tree oil and Grapefruit seed extract are natural antibacterial agents used in many of these products. In other products artificial compounds like Benzoyl peroxide are used.

5. Oral supplements to fight the acne process and nourish the skin
Supplements taken by mouth to nourish your skin may be useful. The purpose of these supplements is more or less the same as that of nourishing creams.

- To make the sebum more fluid so it drains more easily.
- To stimulate the substance exchange and cleaning processes in your skin,
- To stimulate your skin to heal,
- To give your skin building nutrients necessary to heal.

Ingredients often used in these supplements to stimulate the cleaning and healing processes in the skin are: Vitamins A, C, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, D, E, Folic acid,  Beta carotene, Bioflavonoids, Magnesium, Copper, Zinc, selenium, anti-oxidants from Green tea, Metylsulfonyl methane.
 
Nutrient found in these products used as material to rebuild damaged skin and to give a sebum with better consistency are: Evening primrose oil, Olive oil, Flax seed oil, Borage oil, Soy oil, Wheat germ oil and Lecithin.

Gum guggul extract used in oral products has an anti-biotic effect, and helps against spreading of the acne infection and thus helps against scar formation.






Photo and illustrations by courtesy of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

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