Tag: Clogged Pores

Acne: Fact And Fiction

Myths about acne die hard. Old wives tales about its causes continue to persist, in spite of scientific condition to the contrary. This article aims to shed light on some common myths about acne and attempts to separate fact from fiction.

Myth 1: People who have acne are unclean and maintain poor hygiene

There is absolutely no truth to this statement. Acne is caused by a hormonal imbalance in the body. When the oil glands responsible for keeping our skin waterproof and moist, over react to produce excessive quantities of sebum, they block the associated hair follicle, causing clogged pores, which develops into acne. So hygiene has absolutely nothing to do with it. In fact unnecessary scrubbing of the skin can exacerbate the problem. Do take care of your skin though – wash your face gently and pat dry.

Myth 2: Eating the wrong foods will lead to acne

The fact is that there is no co-relation between what you eat and acne. The chocolates, the French fries, the cheese pizza, and all those other fatty foods that have been lambasted ever so often, because of their unhealthy consequence have no affect whatsoever on your skin. However, eating a well balanced diet makes sense. So while you dont have to be concerned as to whether your favorite treat affects your skin (at least directly), do remember that it does affect your overall health.

Myth 3: Acne is caused by stress

The truth is that the stress that most of us experience as part of our day-to-day existence does not lead to acne. Sometimes, acne can arise as the side-effect of drugs taken to treat severe stress. Talk to your doctor to find out if your stress medication is responsible for your acne. Stress can however make an already existing acne condition worse.

Myth 4: Acne is a merely a cosmetic disease

Well, acne does affect the way you look and yes, it is considered a threat to your physical well being. However, the fact remains that in some cases acne can lead to permanent scarring which is more than just purely cosmetic. Acne affects people psychologically. It is known to affect their perception of themselves, their self-esteem and confidence and their interaction with others. It can cause feelings of frustration, depression and social embarrassment.

Myth 5: Acne can not be cured

With the kind of products that are available in the market today, there is no reason why anyone should have to suffer the agony caused by acne. The fact is that acne can be cleared up with the right medication and a regime specific to their needs. Consult your dermatologist if you have acne.

Tips On Taking Care Of The Face

What makes a beautiful face?

Besides the almond eyes or doe eyes that most women salivate for; the luscious lips or the patrician nose, one should have flawless skin.

This however is easier said than done. Although there are people who are gifted with the perfect skin, there are some, the majority in fact, who have to struggle everyday just to take care of their skin.

How to take care of the skin
Facial skin care is not as complicated as some think. With the right attitude and discipline, one can actually create a facial skin care routine that will help bring about that healthy glow. Below are just some tips that can help you start.

1. Get a good night sleep

They did not call it beauty sleep for nothing. Having the right amount of sleep can actually help the skin regenerate. This is also the time when the skin can breathe in from going all day with make-up.

2. balanced diet

Eating lots of fruits and vegetables can help the skin stay supple and soft. In fact, foods that are rich in Vitamin C and E are good for the skin as it serves as excellent anti-oxidants.

3. Moisturize

The skin on the face needs to be kept moisturize all the time as this is the part of the skin that is often exposed to the sun and the harsh environment. Moisturizing the skin will help prevent the appearance of wrinkles and lines that may let you appear older than you really are.

4. Cleansing routine

It is important that one follow a cleansing routine every day. Remember that it is a cardinal rule to always remove the make-up before going to sleep. Turning in the night with make-up on will only result in clogged pores and eventually, acne. Although there are products that go great for certain types of skin, experts recommend the use of mild soap especially to those who have sensitive skins.

5. Sunscreen

The suns harmful ways can bring much damage to the skin. In fact, the sun is the number one culprit when it comes to wrinkles and dark spots. The sun can destroy the skins natural protection. That it why it is important that you put sunscreen every day, even when you are not planning to go to the beach or to go out. Experts recommend the use of sunscreens that have SPH 15 or higher for all day protection.

Understanding Acne in Puberty Stage

Puberty acne develops from a few simple steps. First, teenage acne occurs when for some unknown reason or combination of reasons, hair follicles, also known as pores, become blocked. Although the exact combination of reasons that pores become clogged may not be fully known, many contributing elements for teenagers and adults alike can include:

* genetics (whether or not there is a history of acne problems and if so, to what extent)

* hormones

* dietary and vitamin make up (or lack of /deficiency)

* stress related factors

Other denominators in the development of puberty acne could include factors like how your body normally rids itself of its dead skin cells. And influences that may be working against this regularity.

For example, climate and other environmental factors, overall body health at the time of the outbreak, and your hormones and their effect on your own body’s sebum production (especially for females).

Second, the normal dead skin cells that combine with your body’s natural sebum oil as it drains through the skin’s surface become clogged in these blocked pores. This substance becomes somewhat sticky, further clogging the passageway.

Third, bacteria begins to grow around these clogged areas. As a normal reaction, your body’s white blood cells attack the bacteria, fighting it and pushing it out of the body.

And forth, the resulting growths during this 14-day to 21-day battle are called microcomedones. Microcomedones turn into comedones, commonly referred to as blemishes, pimples or acne.

There are basically four types of puberty acne: whiteheads, blackheads, pimples and nodules.

Whiteheads are when the sebum (oil) and resulting bacteria are trapped below the skin’s surface and you can actually see a white head appear above (or near popping out of) the skin.

Blackheads are when the sebum and resulting bacteria are only partially trapped, slowly draining out the surface and turning black because of your skin’s melanin or pigmentation.

In the absence of either white or blackhead are generally (but not always) smaller pimples. And the often deeper, boil-like lesions are referred to as nodules.

All forms of puberty acne can be mild, moderate or severe. Typically, mild puberty acne is visible in the form of whiteheads and blackheads, sometimes pimples.

With moderate puberty acne, more pimples and pustules are present on the face, some may appear on the back or chest.

And with severe puberty acne, many nodules develop, often large and sore, over parts of the face, back, chest and other body areas. This type of acne can lead to scarring.

Actually, lesser cases of puberty acne have been followed by scarring. So for those with possible nodular acne, seeking advice from a healthcare provider as soon as possible is recommended.

A gender issue to note is that males more often have the severe form of acne rather than females, due to their hormones. And the areas where they tend to break out most frequently are unfortunately more difficult to treat, the chest and back.

Proactive Acne Treatment

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.