Acne Skin Care – How To Clear Up Those Embarrasing Blemishes

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.

Acne Skin Care: 8 Simple Tips To Follow

Commonly affecting the skin condition of people between ages 12 to 24 is a disease called acne. The cause of acne is hard to determine. However, over secretion of the sebaceous glands is pointed as the cause to trigger most acne outbreaks.

Pilosebaceous units are the combination of the hair follicles and oil glands in the skin. Except for the surface of the palms and the soles of the feet, pilosabaceous units are found on the skin tissue throughout the body . They are responsible in secreting the oily substance called sebum. However, due to many factors (e.g. hormonal imbalances, stress and the skin’s natural condition) the oil glands may be induced to produce more sebum than normal. When this happens, the excess oil plugs the skin pores. This process brings about bacterial infection and stimulate the reaction of the immune system. In the end, acne inflammation results.

Acne can strike at any skin type. An oily skin type is most subseptible to acne. Dry skin on the other hand, may not be as susceptible but serious outbreaks may occur during winter. Normal skin is equally susceptible to acne but the level of severity may not be as high.

Presently, acne is not yet totally curable but can be remedied with several acne skin care methods. Many seek the help of topical medications, which are applied on the surface of the skin. However, employing the use of acne skin care products like “pore strip pads” may remove whiteheads and blackheads but they would not have any effect on the excess sebum produced.

Nevertheless, for remedy and prevention, it is best to employ the following 8 simple tips:

1. A healthy, well-balanced diet must be observed. Therefore, your food intake must incorporate all the essential nutrients the body needs for efficient functioning.

2. Drink plenty of fluids like water, juices. Minimize the intake of carbonated drinks.

3. No make up is recommended.

4. Wash your face with mild soap and water. The logic is to not remove the dirt (as the majority of acne-inflicted person perceive) but to remove the plugs on the skin pores, which may be a combination of dead skin cells, bacteria and hardened sebum. Although dirt is not truly the cause of acne, it may contribute to further infection through its interaction with skin debris and particles and extra oil in the skin.

5. Use topical cleansing pads that may contain one or the combination of the following: salicylic acid, sulfur and benzoyl peroxide to remove excess oil. Another way to minimize the presence of extra oil in the skin is to wash the face with the hottest water you can withstand.

6. Minimize the use of harsh cleansers and use acne skin care items that exfoliate mildly. Do not scrub vigorously to the affected areas.

7. If your hands are dirty, refrain from touching your face.

8. If you have long hair, tie up your hair so that it is kept away from the face. This is especially so if the weather is hot and you have been perspiring.

Preventative acne skin care steps are just as important as the treatment of acne itself. With prevention, at least, you know how to ensure that your acne problem does not escalate and spread to a bigger infected area.

Acne Skin Care

Acne is the scourge of the teenage years and a source of great distress and embarrassment at an age when young people are most conscious of their appearance. Almost no teenager, or adult for that matter, is spared a prolonged period of acne problems.

Pubescent girls are generally affected to a more serious degree because of the hormonal upsurges associated with the onset of menstruation. Basically, acne is the result of increased hormonal activity, which causes excess oil production in the skin’s sebaceous glands. Unfortunately, the areas most affected by acne are those which are almost constantly visible with today’s youthful fashion trends.

In extreme and far from rare cases, acne can lead to extensive and permanent scarring. Because of the emotional trauma attached to this disorder, it has assumed top priority status among problems that must be avoided at all costs, but this is easier said than done.

It has now been proved that oil-saturated foods, chocolate, poor skin hygiene and emotional upset actually play no role in acne occurrence at all, so there go a number of time-honored prevention targets. In fact, the most widely employed means of addressing the problem of acne – camouflaging cosmetics – are actually among the main acne aggravators. Many of them cause subtle skin changes that exacerbate acne occurrence. They can also cause the obstruction of the sebaceous glands, thereby preventing the free drainage of excessive oils. Often, this even applies to some of the so-called acne-prevention compounds.

While there is apparently very little an individual can do to prevent acne, there are now effective methods of treating it medically. However, for optimal results, these must necessarily be employed before serious disfigurement can take place. Since these treatments may involve hormone manipulation, they must take place under strict medical supervision.

Acne Scars Treat Them At Home With Tretnoin

Acne scars why do they form?

When we get acne many times it resolves without getting infected. This kind of acne leaves hyper pigmentation that fades over a time. When acne becomes infected, it spreads deeper inside and damages the collagen in the dermal layer. As the inflammation increases, more of skin tissues are killed and when the acne gets treated, it leaves a scar, which is normally a deep scar. The depth depends upon the damage done by acne, which depends upon it’s severity.

Acne scar treatment option-

If the scar is deep, you may have to get deep or medium depth chemical peeling done. Laser is another option while dermabrasion is also effective. Your doctor will decide about how to remove such deep scars because some filler may also be needed to fill the scarred skin. If the scar is not deep, you can do superficial peeling with tretinoin at home.

Superficial acne scars and tretinoin-

Tretinoin peels the upper layer of the skin. By repeated application, your mild superficial scar will become less prominent. You have the option of using an OTC product or a prescription product. Please consult your doctor about that. Along with treating mild scars tretinoin also removes dead skin cells and removes superficial age lines and spots.

This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.

Acne Scars And Chemical Peeling

Acne Scars can be easily removed with Chemical peeling. this method has been used since years for not only removing acne scars but also other skin blemishes and discolorations. With Chemical peeling doctors remove the layers of skin with chemicals. With the new skin forming the earlier blemishes disappear. Let us find out about how acne scars are treated with chemical peeling.

Acne scars- Keloids

Keloids cannot be generally removed with peeling. Keloid type scars form in some individuals. Keloids are skin growths that are full of collagen and look very unsightly. Whenever a person who forms keloids gets any injury the scars form keloids. No doctor generally tries to remove keloids because the scar healing may form more of them.

Ice pick and saucer type acne scars-

Other acne scars are normally ice pick type and saucer type. These scars can be easily treated with chemical peeling. Your doctor will assess the depth of the scar and try to remove skin up to that level. As the new skin will form there will be little scarring left. For chemical peeling, the doctors apply a chemical on the site and the chemical peels away the skin in a controlled manner over sometime. Redness and swelling may result with deep peeling. The skin heals over about ten days and new skin forms. If you have acne scars, please find out with your doctor about the possibility of removing them with chemical peeling.

This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.

Acne Scars – Can They Be Cleared Painlessly With Microdermabrasion

Acne scars are for life. As most of them form on the face, it becomes a major cosmetic problem. Those who have acne scars want to get rid of them. But when they meet their doctor and hear about the time, money and pain that will involve procedures such as Chemical peeling, dermabrasion and laser they go into deep thought. Can microdermabrasion performed repeatedly give an answer? Let us find out.

Acne scar types-

You may develop saucer type scars, or ice pick scars or keloids. With keloids you can do nothing, but with the other two scar types, you can something with microdermabrasion. If you wish to remove the scars at one go, you have to undergo some of the procedures I mentioned above but if you are patient and can wait for the scars to go away slowly and are happy with some improvement, microdermabrasion may help.

Microdermabrasion and skin-

In microdermabrasion small crystals are thrown at a high velocity and collected back by vacuum. These small crystals abrade the skin surface in a minimal way, removing the dead skin cells and some disfigured spots slowly. With repeated treatments, you may see some improvement in the scars. As new skin keeps forming, the scars may get less conspicuous. You should talk to your doctor about the kind of results you will get painlessly and a little cost from microdermabrasion. As there are two types of procedures- one performed by the doctors with a higher power and other at beauty salons with a lower power, you should find out about which of them is suitable for you. You also get home use machines. Talk to your doctor about all the options and probably you may get your look back at a very little cost and pain.

This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.

Acne Scars – A Nightmare For Many

Acne is a very common skin disorder which has become problem for all ages. The teen years can be tough and sometimes even after passing those adolescent years acne may not leave you alone. After passing through that testing phase of acne you have to clear another milestone of the scars left behind due to acne. Acne may leave you at some point or other but the scars become very visible and your face is the one which gets most affected.

There are different types of acne scars which causes severe damage to your skin

Ice-pick scars are mainly seen on the cheek and are mostly small and can be shallow or deep. These can sometimes be hard or soft to touch. The soft scars can be worked upon by stretching and the same cannot be done to the hard ice-pick scars.

Depressed fibrotic scars in comparison to ice-pick scars are very large which has sharp edges and steep sides. The metamorphosis of ice-pick scars leads to depressed fibrotic scars with the passage of time.

Soft scars as the name suggest is soft to touch and like a mountain erupts from the skin. They are small, circular and very linear in shape.

Atrophic macules are small but when it happens to surfaces the face it becomes very big. Over a period of time they may turn blue and dry out to be less conspicuous.

Follicular macular atrophy is usually seen on the chest or back of a person. These look similar to whiteheads which can be seen slightly raised above the surface.

Home treatments to remove scars are

*Use of sandalwood paste on the scars can help in getting the scars fade away
*Sandalwood paste mixed with black gram paste also helps
*Rubbing ice cubes helps in tightening your skin and making it young
*Sandalwood paste mixed with rose water kept overnight on your scar also helps, if it does not make your skin dry
*Acne pores can be tightened by applying cucumber juice
*Rubbing sliced tomato on your skin helps in closing the open pores and saves you from oily skin
*The other treatment may include skin surgery, skin grafting and laser treatment too