Acne Treatment & Information

Vitamins & your skin

Given that the skin is the largest organ in the body, one thing should be pretty obvious: if your body is deprived of vitamins, chances are that your skin will exhibit the most visible signs. Skincare consultant Adrianna Menotti, who runs a clinic in San Francisco’s Bay Area, says one of the chief causes of bad skin is vitamin deficiency, and plans to run an ‘awareness campaign’ to advertise the fact. Adrianna says, “Too few people are aware of the importance of vitamins in keeping skin soft and supple and preventing skin problems like acne.” A-ha, knew we’d get there in the end.

According to Adrianna, on an average, only about 25 per cent Americans get the right dose of vitamins every day, through the recommended servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. “That,” she says, “is a miserable statistic and one that can easily be remedied. Particularly when it comes to acne, vitamins work as preventives and are therefore of immense value.”

The vitamins power list

Vitamin A (with carotenoids):Vitamin A prevents acne by strengthening the protective tissue of the skin and reducing sebum production. It is also a powerful antioxidant that gets rid of the toxins in your body.

Vitamin B Complex:This group of vitamins not only helps maintain a healthy skin tone, but also rid you of anxiety and stress, two very significant contributing factors to the development and spread of acne. As always, B vitamins - Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin (Nicotinic Acid, Niacinamide), Pantothenic Acid, Pyridoxine and Cyanocobalamin - should always be taken together. Individually as well as a unit, they are often at the heart of the battle against acne.

Vitamin C (with bioflavonoids):Most of us know that Vitamin C is an antioxidant required for several vital bodily functions, but did you know that Vitamin C also protects against infection and enhances immunity, or that bioflavonoids possess antibacterial properties? Vitamin E: Once again, we have here an antioxidant that helps healing and tissue repair. It also prevents cell damage by preventing the oxidation of lipids and formation of free radicals.

The B-list

Supplementary to vitamins, but no less important, are the minerals, which play as large a role in preventing acne.

Chromium: Crucially, chromium works to reduce skin infections. Adrianna advises that chromium is best taken in tablet form, because it is unlikely to be absorbed in adequate quantities into your system from food alone.

Zinc: Zinc is yet another invaluable tissue-repair aid, but the good thing is that it also helps prevent acne by restricting sebum production. What’s more, it is also an antioxidant which prevents the formation of free radicals.

Obviously, the best way to absorb all these vital nutrients is to take a multi-vitamin pill along with a few supplements, which your doctor should be able to advise you about. This is particularly necessary because there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, which is why you need to guard against vitamin overdose. Therefore, stick to the dosage your physician recommends and acne will stay well away from you.

With the amount of emphasis on looks and personality, everyone is concerned about a good complexion. Most of us want a fresh, glowing skin to flaunt but shy away from taking efforts to maintain it. What we do not realize is that the skin care regime is not as complicated or tedious as we may think it to be. At times we also ignore what could be wrong with our skin and do not really spot the problem due to our busy schedules and pace of work. To solve the most rampant skin care problem of acne, we pick one beauty product out of the hundreds available which may actually aggravate the acne. Skin should be cleaned gently with a mild cleaner at last three times in a day. Avoid rubbing the skin dry after a wash; instead pat it dry. Do not resort to temporary measures to avoid outbreaks by using scrubs, scrub pads and the like. This is most likely to worsen the skin problem further.

The trick is to take some time out and explore the various effective options available and choose one which suits your skin. If you do not have time to do this search, here are some of the effective products we have come across. The first step towards an acne free skin is to try preventing it. Simply cleaning your skin regularly and washing your face when you get back from a drive or a day out help fight acne to a large extent. If a cleaner is not available, use only cool or cold water. Washing skin wipes away the bacteria and dirt which causes acne. Use astringents only if the skin is very oily.

IF you do get acne, one of the most important things to do is to avoid touching the pimples. Do not give into the desire to reduce the size of a zit by piercing it, pinching it or squeezing it. The bacteria in one area are likely to get spread to other areas by doing so. Not only will this increase the acne around that are but it will also leave long term scars which will be difficult to remove later.

Acne can be caused by using cosmetics and beauty products that may not suit your skin. Avoid cosmetics as much as possible, especially ones like foundation and blush. If you have to use them choose them judiciously picking out those that are oil free and suit your skin (this can be done using a patch test). Oily hair products should also be avoided since they can cause ugly blackheads. To identify products which do not result in these look for labels which claim to be suitable for your skin type. In case all this does not work and the acne is rampant, you should consider consulting a skin care specialist for advice.

As a long time acne sufferer from my teenage years and early adult years I feel it is important I pass on some good information that I learnt through having it. One common misconception is that the cleaner your skin is the less acne you will have. Well it is good to have clean skin as it sure does help, but washing your face once in the morning with a cleanser is clean enough.

Here are some reasons why washing your face with an acne cleanser once is enough:

1. When washing face with cleanser more than once per day the skin becomes more greasy. As pores open up further and this makes your skin more susceptible to acne. With less washing the pores become tighter and less greasy and this is what is needed to make your skin less susceptible to acne. A good practice to making pores smaller is to wash your face in cold water.

2. By doing it once a day, as for me it was in the morning the cleanser will have more of an impact. The skin can build up a resistance to over washing and the cleanser but this is less likely to happen by washing once per day.

Washing your face once a day and having a shower at night is more than clean enough to help you in your fight with acne. You must focus on other areas which contribute such as eating healthy, exercising and sleeping well. Also high zinc and fish oil tablets will go a long way to helping you beat the disease of the skin. I have been through this before and tried not washing and washing my face a lot. The best is once a day, not counting showers and shaving.

Make sure to use warm water before you put the acne cleanser on and cold water to take it off as this makes sure no dust or dirt gets in to your skin after you have finishing washing your face or back. source

Simply reading the phrase ‘Acne and simple home remedies for it’ will get any one interested to know more about it. Acne is a terrifying nightmare not only for teenage boys and girls but also for many grownups. Though every health problem does not have a treatment, thankfully acne does. Easy home remedies for it are available in every house. But before we delve into how to treat acne, let us first understand what these red eruptions on the skin are.

What Is It?

Acne is an inflammatory skin condition that is concerned with the skin’s oil glands. In layman’s language, acne is bad skin. These are spots that we call by another name - pimples.

Acne is caused by a multitude of reasons. It mostly erupts on the face and the neck but at times also afflicts the back, chest and shoulders. Although it is not a skin condition that can hamper health in a serious way, it is considered a social stigma as it can leave scars for life.

Know Its Types

Acne can be categorized into various types such as:

• Whiteheads that are embedded under the surface of the skin.
• Blackheads that rise above the surface of the skin and have a black tip.
• Papules that are small pinkish bumps.
• Pustules that are red pimples with pus at the tip.
• Nodules that are large and painful pimples, hidden under the skin’s surface.
• Cysts which are painful and embedded inside the skin.

Home Remedies That Are Inexpensive And Easily Available

These remedies for acne blemishes and blackheads are natural treatments that score over artificial creams and lotions any day. Let’s see them one at a time…

• Tomato can be applied on skin to not only reduce acne but also to get rid of that ugly patchy suntan.
• Applying a spoonful of yogurt mixed with fuller’s earth can do wonders for acne. You could even simply apply yogurt to your face.
• Aloe Vera, a household plant, has natural gel in its leaves. Simply spilt a leaf open and apply this gel on the face 2-3 times over the day to see a sea-change in your skin.
• Honey! Use some honey. Take half a teaspoon and mix it with some egg white and lemon juice. Apply the paste on your face and wash off after 20 minutes.
• Cucumber and lime help in reducing the oil. You can mix half a teaspoon of lime juice with the same amount of cucumber juice and apply on your face. Wash it off after 15 minutes.
• A face mask of egg yolk helps to remove excess oil from the skin. Alternatively you could simply apply some egg yolk paste on your pimples. Leave for 15 minutes and rinse off.
• Freshly ground almonds along with honey make an excellent face scrub.
• Papaya is a natural cleanser. Take some raw papaya’s pulp and apply on your acne prone skin.
• Salt, a gift of the gods, can be mixed with water. A splash or a squirt of salty water helps people with acne.
• Vinegar helps to exfoliate the skin. Use it before bed time and rinse off after 5-10 minutes. This treatment is not advisable for those with sensitive skin.
• Lemon juice and rose water in equal parts can be used as a face wash. Rinse face with warm water after use.
• Backing soda is a great home remedy to use with your liquid bathing soap. Gently dab and rub it on the oily T zone on your face and get rid of those unwanted blackheads. Then, rinse your face with cold water.
• Garlic is a great cure. Rub garlic cloves on acne and see them disappear.
• Cooked oatmeal as well as avocado paste as a face pack can also bring relief from acne.

“Now why didn’t I think of these before,” is what you must be saying to yourself. Go ahead, chuck those creams and lotions and give these natural home remedies for acne a try. source

The body, as a direct result of pregnancy, experiences such a vast array of changes in only a short amount of time, leaving you often confused and concerning about why is acne increased during pregnancy. For those of you that constantly worry about the onset of cancer or other extremely serious conditions during your pregnancy can relax a small bit and try to understand that increased acne activity is actually normal during a pregnancy.

While pregnant, your body is changing and growing from the moment of conception and along with all that growing and changing comes new and different experiences. The fluid levels, hormones, anti-bodies, etc. are all at such elevated levels during a pregnancy, that at times one of the results is acne. Because of the raised levels of hormones in the woman’s body, acne becomes almost second nature, and during the pregnancy, most acne medications are explicitly off limits for the health and safety of the unborn child.

When explaining the hormones level as a reason why is acne increased during pregnancy, doctors attempt to make it understandable how the level of hormones in your body are responsible for this uncomfortable change. Also regulating the intensity and the surety of experiencing acne during your pregnancy, is the fact of whether or not you suffer from acne regularly during the course of your normal menstruating cycle. If you suffer from acne or small break outs during each of your periods, chances are you are going to experience an elevated to extreme bout of acne during your pregnancy.

Treatment of acne during your pregnancy is narrowed down to only a few options as opposed to the multitude of options available to those that are not pregnant. Because this significantly lessens the treatment field, two of the main choices available that are healthy for your pregnancy are changing your daily diet and your exercise regimen. Doctors and specialists have found that diet and exercise are most often directly linked to some of the main causes of acne, and by changing the type of foods you normally ingest in a day, or simply by beginning or expanding your current exercise routine, you could be well on your way to acne free skin. Consult your doctor and get the basics on why is acne increased during pregnancy and the best treatment options available for your use. Make sure to inform your doctor or dermatologist you are pregnant (if you are) before you discuss treatment plans, as most of the medicines, in both gel and foam forms are dangerous to your pregnancy. source

There are so many various causes of acne, that attempting to narrow it down to one cause by asking questions such as, “Why is acne caused during puberty?” is absolutely ridiculous. When referring to puberty as a positive cause of acne, you are not only misdirecting your thinking, but also misrepresenting the facts or any information you may have uncovered as to the cause of acne during puberty.

Even though, technically, puberty is not the cause of acne, one is definitely left wondering as to the true cause in itself. Because of this age old question of why is acne caused during puberty, many scientists, doctors, and research experts, etc. have taken a look at the human body during various phases of puberty, pre-pubescent ages and post-pubescent ages as well. One thing they have all agreed on was that most often, close to 90% of all teens suffer acne on some level during the offset of their teen years. With numbers such as that, why is acne caused during puberty has become one of the burning questions of the medical society.

Some claim that the acne suffered from during puberty is a direct result of your body changing and producing far more than the normal amount of hormones. Others have thought is was the body cleaning itself out as it changes and grows during puberty. Either way, there is definitely a change in the body, whether temporary or permanent which is obviously affecting some of your body at an extremely elevated rate. This may seem strange and confusing, imagine how the teens feel while experiencing it. Puberty has become known as one of the most crucial, yet annoying times in everyone’s life. It is necessary for us as we enter the primary stages of adulthood to experience puberty, one as a preparation for tougher times ahead, and two to help us learn what and how our bodies were made capable of.

Whether it is a direct result of impurities in the skin, blood, or body, suffering from acne at any age can be vastly annoying and embarrassing at the same time. Along with the other strange occurrences that appear at this time in your life, acne during puberty has rapidly risen in ranks to one of the most discussed and researched current topics today. There are many people out there attempting to find out why is acne caused during puberty, and many other questions as well. As long as there are questions, there will be research. As long as there is research, there will be the gift of knowledge. source

People who have the skin disease acne are always on the look out for some natural cures. The main reason for this is because generally natural cures carry on side effects unlike some prescribed over-the-counter drug product. There are many aspects that need to be taken into consideration when curing cystic acne with natural cures.

What Is Cystic Acne?

Cystic acne is developed when acne develops within the skin and turns into cysts. A cyst is usually made up of liquid, but in some cases they can be semi solid. The inside is always a white pus substance. As I said at the beginning of the article, there are many aspects to work on to cure it in a natural way, such as;

Cleansing of the body - It’s very important to keep your body cleansed all the time, it’s an on going process which you have to work on often. It’s important to keep the level of toxins in your body low at all times. You can achieve this by drinking a lot of water daily, about 9 glasses. And to make sure you have a healthy diet and that you don’t become constipated.

Diet to help cure cystic acne - Almost all natural cures for anything have a lot of importance on the diet, and it’s no different in this case. A healthy diet will ensure the level of toxins in your body stay low. Avoid all fast foods and drink a lot of water. Also try to eat all naturally grown foods, and you should be good!

Exercise - Everyones favourite activity! Exercise will help you keep fit and will reduce stress. So it’s a vital part of the whole natural cure for cystic acne process. If you’re not used to exercising, I highly suggest that you start slowly and then build up. For the first few weeks you may want to start going for a morning walk for 30 minutes, then after those few weeks you may want to go for a daily swim. Then eventually you may want to walk to your local swimming pool, have a swim, then jog home! It’s very important that you don’t do any injury during exercise that’s why I suggested starting within something that’s not as likely to cause injury.

If you follow these simple steps, and be consistent with your exercise and your diet you will eventually cure your cystic acne in a natural way. source

Having had acne for many years, until I found a way to clear it, I tried lots of different treatments. Some of the treatments I used were the normal thing; antibiotics, accutane and over-the-counters. Some were more unusual; acupuncture, 3 day apple fasting and a few other bizarre things I won’t go into…

But after many years of STILL having acne, after trying all these things, when I finally found something that worked I was amazed. What worked for me was making some simple changes to my diet… The reason diet is so important to clear skin is because certain foods actually cause your acne. They do this by imbalancing your hormones - resulting in breakouts… Once you know which foods to avoid you will see a major improvement in your skin. For example, when I cut out of my diet the food vegetable oil, my acne cleared up quite dramatically.

Vegetable oil causes major hormonal imbalance and the worst kind of acne -cystic. This is best avoided and is easy to do so. Most vegetable oil in your diet is likely to be in your cooking oils (like sunflower oil). Other sources of vegetable oil are pesto and junk food. Once you stop eating significant amounts of vegetable oil you will have gotten rid of the worst of your acne and will start to balance your hormones so that not only does your acne clear up, but your oil levels with balance out too. source

Several factors contribute to the development of acne. The primary problem is that the abnormal flaking of cells inside the hair follicle leads to the formation of a plug. The plug can enlarge and even rupture the hair follicle. A ruptured hair follicle spills its contents of oil and debris into the skin where it leads to swelling and causes redness (inflammation).

Bacteria that normally live on the skin also play a role in acne development. The bacteria known as Propionibacterium acnes are responsible for causing acne. These bacteria produce substances that cause redness and irritation (inflammation). They also make enzymes, which dissolve the sebum (oil from oil glands in the skin) into irritating substances. These substances also make the inflammation worse.

Certain hormones called androgens are an additional factor in causing acne. Androgens are male hormones that are present in both men and women, but are higher in men. Androgens do two things: First, they enlarge the sebaceous glands in the skin. Second, they cause these glands to increase sebum (oil) production. The increased sebum leads to plug formation and serves as more “food” for the bacteria. Androgens surge at puberty, which is why teens develop armpit and pubic hair, and why boys develop facial hair and deeper voices. This hormonal surge also contributes to the development of acne in teens.

Estrogens, which are the female hormones, actually can help to improve acne in girls. A woman’s monthly menstrual cycle is due to changes in the estrogen levels in her body. This is why acne in a female may get better and then get worse as she goes through her monthly cycle. A doctor may recommend acne treatment with birth control pills, which contain the helpful estrogens.

We also now believe that acne can run in some families. This may be due to some genetic factor that has not yet been discovered.

Anatomy of the hair follicle: Hair follicles exist on virtually all skin except for the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Inside the follicle, the hair extends up from the deep layers of the skin and comes out of a pore. Near the surface, the oil gland (sebaceous gland) enters the hair follicle where it empties oil (sebum) at a relatively constant rate. The sebum lubricates the skin and provides a protective barrier to prevent drying. Skin on the face, chest, and back has an especially large number of sebaceous glands. These are the areas where acne occurs.

Acne lesions: There are 2 major types of acne lesions: noninflammatory and inflammatory. Noninflammatory acne lesions include blackheads (open comedones) and whiteheads (closed comedones). Open and closed comedones along with papules and pustules are referred to as papulopustular acne—a form of inflammatory acne. Nodular acne is the most severe form of inflammatory acne.

Noninflammatory acne: Open comedones result from the enlargement and dilation of a plug that forms from oil and flakes of skin inside the hair follicle.

• The hair follicle pore remains open exposing a black plug (known as a blackhead). The dark color is not dirt inside the pore. Instead it is the oil inside the pore, which has become exposed from the outside air.
• A closed comedo forms if the hair follicle pore remains closed. The plug in a closed comedo or whitehead is therefore not exposed to the outside air, and no black color develops. The closed comedo simply appears as a tiny, sometimes pink bump in the skin.

Inflammatory acne: Inflammatory acne lesions consist of red blemishes, pimples also called zits (papules, pustules), and larger, deeper swollen tender lesions (nodules).

• Papules are closed comedos, which have become red, swollen, and inflamed.
• Pustules are closed comedos, which become inflamed and begin to rupture into the skin forming pustular heads of various sizes.
• Nodules represent large, tender, swollen acne lesions, which have become intensely inflamed and rupture under the skin. If untreated, these can produce deep scarring.