Different Acne Solutions For Your Type Acne
Treating acne depends on the type and severity of your acne. Treatment also depends on how dry or oily your skin is, if you are male or female, if you are taking any medications, if you are pregnant or might be soon. These various factors affect your treatment options and can make any one size fits all acne treatment method ineffective.
Lucky their are numerous acne treatment options, so while you might not find one that works the first time, do not give up just try another. Do to the numerous acne treatments available today doctors can control most acne outbreaks; with greater success the earlier treatments are started. Hopping your acne will go away will not work, your local pharmacy is filled with many over the counter medications you can try, or visit your doctor who can prescribe more powerful treatments if needed.
The most popular way to treat mild to moderate acne is by using a topical treatment. These treatments can be in the form of a gel, cream, lotion or on a pad. They are applied to the surface of your skin, hence the name topical. The two main over the counter topic treatments are Salicylic acid and Benzoyl peroxide. Prescription Salicylic acid and Benzoyl peroxide are also available in stronger doses if required. Doctors my also prescribe ointments containing sulfur, tetracycline, erythromycin or a retinoid. Many times you will need to use a combination of the above treatments for best results.
Salicylic acid and retinoids are used to treat the clogged hair follicles that are causing the acne lesions. They penetrate the pores and help the dead skin cells dissolve. Benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, tetracycline and erythromycin are antibacterial ointments used to treat the inflammation and kill the bacteria in the blocked follicles.
For people with moderate to server acne, in addition to topical treatments they my also require some type of oral medication to treat their acne. The three types of oral medications are antibiotics, hormones, and isotretinoins. All three require a prescription.
Tetracycline, erythromycin, clindamycin, and doxycycline are the most common prescribed antibiotics. They work by being absorbed through the digestive system, then into the blood, and then into the hair follicles where they kill bacteria and reduce inflammation. This option would be used when topical antibiotic treatments were unsuccessful.
Hormones are an option available to treat teenage girls and women with acne. They are usually taken in the form of a birth control pill. They work by increasing the level of female hormones in the bloodstream. This helps reduce the production of androgen, which will then reduce the production of sebum.
For severe acne, isotretinoin is often used. It is a powerful drug that treats acne by stopping all of the changes in the skin that causes acne. It kills bacteria, reduces sebum production, and slows the growth of skin cells.
All of the above acne treatment options should be reviewed carefully prior to use. As with any type of medication they all present some type of risk or side effect. For the over the counter treatments read the product labels and warnings to see if the product is right for you. For prescription acne treatments discuss with your doctor all of the potential sides effects you may experience.
How Acne And Exercising Are Connected
Acne Free Solutions –
Moderate exercise is actually good for your skin . It can aid you in 2 ways: you stay fit and healthy and you also keep a balanced, normal level of stress . If you find your acne is aggravated by regular exercise, then you may want to analyze your routine . What do you usually wear when you exercise? Where do you exercise? How hard do you work out? Exercise-related acne is usually caused by something you put on your body rather something you do with it. You just have to get these outside factors under control and your workout breakouts will sooner or later vanish. Here are a few points you should consider:
Acne & Exercise – Make-up. When exercising, wear as little make-up as possible. Even oil-free and non-comedogenic (non-pore-clogging) cosmetics can clog pores if worn during heavy exercise. Wash or shower as soon as possible after a finishing your exercise routine.
Acne & Exercise – Sunscreen. Try to put on sunscreen whenever you are outdoors. A really common myth is, that exposing your body to the sun helps your acne, but that is just not true in the long term. Research has shown, that it thickens the upper layers of your skin, causes clogged pores and, as generally known, skin damage and burnings. Some kinds of acne medication make skin more sensitive to the sun, so sunscreen is even more important. When choosing a sunscreen, look for products that are oil-free and have a protection factor of at least SPF 15 for both UVA and UVB rays. Suncreen can also enter your skin and block your pores, so try to wash as soon as possible after exercising.
Acne & Exercise – Clothing. If you tend to get an acne breakout straight after working out, you should also consider your choice of sports apparel: try not to wear clothes made exclusively with lycra and nylon. Why? Because there are some synthetic fabrics that unfortunately trap sweat and heat against your skin and so produce an attractive environment for the P. acnes bacteria, the acne causing bacteria. For moderate exercise, your best bet is lightweight, loose-fitting cotton, or a lycra-cotton blend. These materials promote the breathing of your skin, loose clothes don´t tend to cause friction as much as tight clothes. If you are working out really intensively and are sweating a lot, you can however try some clothes made of the new fabrics; they are usually designed to wick the sweat away from your skin.
Acne & Exercise – Equipment. Some people are more likely to get acne or have their lesions aggravated in the areas affected by sports equipment. There are also some cases when people tend to get an acne breakout in areas that get in touch with sports equipment. The solution to this friction-related problem is simply a good fit of your equipment – your helmet should stay on nice and neat rather than sliding around on your head, your wetsuit should not be over tight, e.g. under your arms A good tip is for example to use bits of old t-shirts as a lining for your bike helmet, And always try to keep your sports equipment dry and clean, no matter what sport.
Acne & Exercise – Moisture. You should follow your mother´s advice: it is an essential point to get out of your wet clothes. No matter how you get your exercise — treadmill, trail, tennis court, or whatever — don’t sit around in your sweaty clothes or wet bathing suit when you’re done. If you can, shower off immediately and change into dry clothes before driving home . If that is not possible, try to at least wipe off the sweat with a towel and change into different clothing. Always try to towel the sweat off gently, don´t rub, it could irritate your skin even more and drive the sweat, dirt, make-up etc. even deeper into you skin pores.
Acne & Exercise – Showering. I know I mentioned it before: always try to shower straight after you finished your exercising. You may want to use a medicated exfoliant cleanser, but always be gentle with your skin. Scrubbing harder isn’t going to make you any cleaner, or make your acne go away — and it may actually irritate existing lesions or promote the development of new ones. If you can’t shower right away, you can still curb breakouts by wiping down with medicated pads; keep a few in your gym bag just in case.
So keep up the good work! Exercising is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle ; and if you have a healthy and fit body, you will eventually have a healthy skin, too. . Just take a closer look at the factors mentioned above and you are on the right track to an acne breakout-free exercising!
What Really Causes Acne
When you’re suffering from acne, you just want to know one thing: “How do I get rid of it and become Acne Free?” However, taking the time to learn exactly what acne is will help you find the right solution. Once you understand the real causes of acne, you’ll be in a much better position to sort through all the different remedies and spot “quack medicine” for what it is.
Many people blame hormones and natural body oils for causing acne. In fact, it’s much more complicated than that. Acne is caused by a combination of clogged pores, bacteria, hormones, and an aggressive immune system.
You probably know that your skin is covered with tiny openings called hair follicles, or pores. Attached to each pore are glands that produce a natural oil called sebum. The pores are lined with specialized skin cells called keratinocytes. These cells have a limited life span and eventually slough off after they die. Usually they’re flushed out by the sebum and get rinsed off the next time you take a shower. However, sometimes these follicular cells react abnormally to the hormones your body produces, mostly male hormones called androgens. Men and women naturally produce androgens from the time they it puberty, which is why children usually aren’t plagued with acne until they become teenagers.
The cells in your pores react to these hormones by becoming thick and sticky. The sticky dead cells form a plug that blocks the pore, trapping the sebum oil. Initially this results in noninflammatory acne, otherwise known as whiteheads and blackheads.
Tender red acne forms mostly as a result of a bacterium called P. acnes. This bacterium thrives in dark, warm, oily places where it’s exposed to little oxygen–which perfectly describes your pores! But the problem really begins with your immune system, which sees P. acne as a serious threat and launches a full-scale attack. P. acne is pretty harmless, so this response is a bit like using dynamite to kill a mouse. This causes the acne to become even more sensitive, inflamed, and prone to scarring.
Although diet, stress, and other factors may not be a direct cause of acne, many experts now agree that they definitely play a role. For example, recent studies confirmed that stress can increase the production of androgen hormones, which in turn encourages keratocyne cells to clump together and plug your pores.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for acne. However, it can be controlled. By keeping track of your acne triggers and using an appropriate skin regimen, you’ll rid yourself of those annoying pimples and enjoy clear skin again becoming Acne Free.
Clearing Up Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation
It’s bad enough to be afflicted with acne. To add insult to injury, sometimes pimples leave their mark in the form of flat, dark spots that contrast vividly against your skin. For many people, especially those with darker skin, these discolored marks are even worse than the acne itself. These marks are often mistaken for scars. The good news is that they aren’t scars at all. It’s a condition known as post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, or PIH for short, and will fade in time. The bad news is that it can take weeks, months, or even years.
So what causes PIH? Your skin contains cells that produce a chemical called melanin, which is responsible for the tint of your skin. The more melanin these cells produce, the darker your skin. Wherever there’s an acne lesion or some other trauma to the skin, the cells that produce melanin may go into overdrive. This results in spots of discoloration (called macules) that contrast with your skin. Although people of all skin types suffer from this, it’s often worse for people with dark skin.
The good news is that you don’t have to wait until the marks fade on their own, which can takes months or longer. There are prescription and over-the-counter treatments you can use to lighten them up and blend them with the rest of your skin.
Before you proceed, keep in mind that it’s best to put off treating post inflammatory hyperpigmentation until after your acne is under control. As upsetting as the marks may be, there’s not much point in treating them until after you stop getting pimples.
One popular treatment for post inflammatory hyperpigmentation is hydroquinone. It’s a type of phenol that works by inhibiting melanin production without damaging the cells. You can buy over-the-counter remedies that contain small amounts of hydroquinone, such as Porcalana or Ambi Skin Care Fade Cream. However, a dermatologist can prescribe more effective topical treatments with higher concentrations of hydroquinone.
If you find that hydroquinone products aren’t working for you, other options are available. You might consider a retinoid cream such as Retin-A, which can fade PIH marks, blend your skin tone, and even help control acne. Some people use microabrasion to good effect, a mechanical process that removes layers of skin to achieve a smoother appearance. There is a slight risk for complications, however, and you may need several microabrasion treatments to get the results you’re after. Chemical peels are another alternative, although these can damage your skin and should be done by a professional.
No matter how you decide to treat PIH, always make a point of wearing a noncomedogenic sunscreen with a high SPF of at least 15+. Like any other part of your skin, those dark packets of melanin can be tanned by the sunlight. When that happens, it will take even longer for these spots to fade.
As frustrating as post inflammatory hyperpigmentation can be, this condition is very treatable. At the very least, they are not permanent scars: They’ll eventually fade on their own, and in the meantime you have plenty of options to help speed up the process.
Acne Treatments – Prevention and Cures
Acne is a skin condition that simply refuses to go away. It’s a nagging skin ailment that we commonly call pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, red or yellow spots, cystic nodules or scars. The acne prone age is between 12 and 25 years. But beware; it’s not just a teen trouble. Even in your 30s and 40s you may get acne attacks. Acne can cause lifelong scars, if left untreated. Hence, it is vital to be proactive about acne treatment, beginning right from home remedies. Acne treatment essentially involves the use of both preventive and curative products.
Preventive products
The natural way to keep off acne begins at home. If you wish to keep off acne, follow this home treatment attentively and be sure of great results.
- Keep your face spotless clean, by washing it often with a gentle anti-bacterial cleanser or some home-made natural product – Never use greasy, oil-based moisturizers – Never use products containing synthetic chemicals and vegetable oils – Keep your hair off your face – Never dig or touch scars – Keep skin pores unclogged with products containing sulfur plus resorcinol
However, pregnant women, kids and patients under some other medication, should consult a doc before they use such products.
Medication methods
The condition of your acne will determine the treatment options. Treatment also depends on the oil balance of your skin, your gender and your existing medications. The most proactive acne treatment is with topical products (gels, creams) containing Salicylic acid, Benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, tetracycline, erythromycin or a retinoid. Many times a combination of these products also works well.
Physicians also prescribe oral medications like antibiotics, hormones, and isotretinoins. Go for such acne treatment only after knowing the side effects.
Laser treatment
Laser treatment has completely cured many. Here the laser destroys the excess oil producing glands and removes scars. It is painless, harmless but costly. However, to get rid of the existing acne you need medication.
Cystic treatment
Acute cystic acne needs cystic treatments with Accutane or isotretinoin. But, there are side effects. Since most other treatments are not effective on cystic acne, these severe products are unavoidable. Chinese treatments
The Chinese method is a natural herbal acne treatment. They believe in getting to the root of the problem like liver ailments, emotional upsets, wind heat, damp heat, blood heat etc. “They even trace acne to reasons like a stagnant qi (energy). Their natural products do help many,” says dermatologist Dr Manela Humphrey. Peel power
TCA Peels are an easy, safe and affordable acne treatment. “They are also more effective than other clinic or spa-based treatments,” says salon specialist Mary Roberts. Peels were earlier available only through costly treatments by skin specialists, at US$ 500- 1000 per session. These same peels are now easily available at less than US$30. No prescriptions are required either.
Proactive Acne Treatment: The Best Solution To Your Acne Problem
The tackling of acne eruptions on the skin can be given a thorough cleanup by using a vigorous proactive approach to its control and medication. The proactive acne treatment is a combination therapy that studies all aspects of the acne problem in order to search out a viable solution.
The first step of proactive treatment in acne relies on the premise that the skin blemish is healed before further steps to check its reappearance are taken in hand. The start point of skin healing in the proactive approach is to examine the ways in which the skin can be cleaned, with the help of an effective skin cleanser.
The ideal cleanser to effect a healing of skin blemished by acne is one that will help exfoliate the skin and expose the dead skin cells. The exfoliated skin can then be treated with benzoyl peroxide as that will kill the bacteria causing acne to appear on the skin surface. The benzoyl will also be in a position to penetrate the skin pores as the cleanser has exfoliated the skin sufficiently. This action will not only heal the blemishes but also attack the bacteria, providing a curing and preventive action in one go.
With the immediate problem taken in hand the next stage of the three-way proactive approach to control acne is to choose an ideal skin toner. When shopping for the right product one should look for a skin toner that is alcohol free and is a water based toner. This kind of skin toner will help remove dead skin cells and unplug clogged pores, allowing the skin to remain healthy and acne free. It will also help in the removal of excess oil that usually forms on skins prone to acne eruptions. The application of such a skin tone on a regular basis will thus help balance the skin tone and maintain a skin that is acne free and free of oil imbalance and clogged pores.
In the final stages, when the healing effect is well on the course and the skin is limping back to its original health, steps have to be taken to assist the process and recover lost ground. In such state a repairing lotion must be applied regularly on the skin. The skin at this stage is acne free but the scars of blackheads and whiteheads are just skin deep. So the users are advised to apply oil-free repairing lotion that will heal blackheads and whiteheads, while making the skin glow and acne blemishes, a thing of the past.
Acne- Prevent Acne In A Sure And Simple Way
Preventing acne in sure and simple way sounds little far fetched, isn’t it? We have started believing that acne cannot be prevented. But let me tell you something by which you can be pretty sure that you will prevent it. This is how-
Acne- what are the main reasons of formation?
The main reasons of acne formation are- blocked pore, excess production of sebum, infection in the sebum and the gland. Suppose we don’t care about controlling sebum production. After all there is not much that we can do about that because it is hormonal. We focus our attention on the blocked glands. Let us remove the blocks daily. If we can do that, the excess sebum will always go out on the skin and never get infected. Our target should be- keep the pores open. What blocks the pores? The pores are blocked by the dead skin cells, that should normally get shed naturally but accumulate on the mouth of the gland and block it.
Acne- How to remove dead cells daily?
How do we remove the dead cells daily? Use of a substance that peels the skin layers from the top is best suited for this. Use of materials that dissolve the binding cement of dead cells is also needed. Peel off the top layer of dead cells. Dissolve the bond between dead cells and make them lose so that they can be easily washed away. Use of retinoids such as tretinoin and use of AHA such as glycolic acid regularly will do this easily. Please consult your doctor about this and ask for the right product. Once you keep the pores open, you will be effectively stooping acne production.
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.
Hypertrophic Scars – Not Something You Need To Face
Among the many types of acne scar that can be found regularly among sufferers, the hypertrophic scar is unique in that it is rarely found on the face of a sufferer. It is also rare in that it is not seen where tissue has been eaten away by a breakout of acne, but rather where there has been extra tissue created. A hypertrophic scar – taken from the term “hypertrophy” which means an increase in the size of an organ due to overgrowth of cells – actually stands out from the skin rather than being sunken into it.
Most usually, hypertrophic scars are to be found on the torso of a male sufferer and look like a raised, firm bump of tissue. Often, a hypertrophic scar will grow larger than the original wound and they happen as the result of an overproduction of collagen, the tissue that allows our skin to be flexible enough that we can manipulate it easily. Hypertrophic scars are often confused with “Keloid” scars. Keloid scars routinely overgrow the area of the original injury, and may affect the ability to move the skin in the area where they grow.
In order to treat a hypertrophic or Keloid scar, cortisone is injected into the affected area, shrinking and flattening the scar tissue area. The shrinking and removal of this scar tissue is also aided by a softening process involving the injection of Interferon. If you suffer a hypertrophic scar and cannot fund the surgery, it may not be that big a deal – they often decrease in size and improve in appearance over a short time.
Box Car Scars – The Aftermath of Inflammation
Although not as common as ice pick scars, nor as pronounced, box car scars are a familiar type of acne scar, most frequently found after an inflammatory acne breakout. In comparison with ice pick scars, box car scars are a good deal wider and though not quite as deep as ice pick scars they do give the skin a somewhat pitted appearance. Usually a box car scar will be round or oval in shape and have steep sides. They are recognisable for the amount of tissue that is removed to make them.
The box car scar is created when an inflammatory breakout of acne strikes, destroying some of the collagen which gives facial skin its rubbery, flexible texture. Where the tissue is effectively burned away by the inflammation, the skin is left without support and develops a sunken look. There is no set level of severity for a box car scar, and it is recognised purely by its shape. They can consequently be fairly superficial or very severe depending on the severity of the breakout and the amount of tissue destroyed.
To treat a box car scar, it is possible to use punch excision, although the nature of that form of surgery is more suited to ice pick scars. Instead, punch elevation is a more frequent choice for surgeons. This style of surgery involves cutting out the base of the scar and lifting (or elevating) it to a point where it is level with the surrounding skin. It is then held in place using surgical sutures until it heals, leaving the skin looking much less pitted.
Ice Pick Scars – The Most Common Acne Scar
There are four major types of acne scar which affect acne sufferers in a major way. They are, in order of regularity: ice pick scars; boxcar scars; rolling scars and hypertrophic or keloid scars. The most common of these is the ice pick scar, it is not difficult to work out how this kind of scar got its name – in short, it looks as though the sufferer has been attacked with an ice pick or a similarly sharp, thin instrument. Ice pick scars are characterised by their depth and their narrowness. Some people say that ice pick scars look like a hyper-large open pore.
The way that an ice pick scar is formed explains its unique appearance. Usually a result of cystic acne, the scar develops after a cyst, or other rooted, inflamed blemish works its way up from the inner layers of dermis. Al the skin tissue in its path, and nothing else, is effectively burrowed away, leaving behind this long and deep scar. If seen as a cross-section diagram, an ice pick scar looks like a deep, narrow ravine.
Treatment is available to improve the appearance of ice pick scars, if not remove the scarring entirely. The most popular metjhod of treatment is a form of surgery known as punch excision. A small tool is pressed into the skin like a cookie-cutter in order to pull away individual scars. The wound, scarcely any wider than the original scar, is then closed using surgical stitches or skin glue. Once it has healed, the skin looks a great deal more normal.
