Say Goodbye to Acne

When reaching the age of puberty, acne can be a menace to both boys and girls aged between 12 up to 25 years old. However, men and women in their 30s and 40s are sometimes not spared of this skin problem that look as ordinary as blackheads, whiteheads, red or yellow spots, or greasy skin to scars.

Acne typically affects the skin of the face, back, neck, chest and arms and the severity of the condition can vary. It affects people of all skin colours and the processes that cause acne are exactly the same in people with black or brown skin but the impact is altered by the skin pigmentation.

The surface of the skin has lots of small sebaceous glands just below the surface. These glands make an oily substance called sebum that keeps the skin smooth and supple. Acne is caused by the over activity of the sebaceous glands that secrete oily substances onto the skin.

In more severe inflammatory acne, cysts develop beneath the skin surface. These acne cysts can rupture, spreading the infection into nearby skin tissue and can result in scarring.

Acne is easily recognised by the appearance of the spots, and by their distribution on the body.

There are several varieties of acne and your doctor will be able to tell you which type you have after examining your skin. For most teen-ager and adults alike, acne may cause considerable emotional distress but there is a range of acne treatment options to help you tackle the problem.

No acne treatment will completely cure it but the aim is to prevent new spots forming, to improve those already present, and to prevent scarring.

For simple acne treatment at home, it is important to keep spot-prone areas clean, so wash the affected area twice a day with an unperfumed cleanser. The skin needs a certain amount of oil to maintain its natural condition, so avoid aggressive washing with strong soaps.

There are a number of over-the-counter remedies available from pharmacies to treat mild acne. These usually contain antibacterial agents such as benzoyl peroxide and along with its antibacterial effects, it can dry out the skin and encourage it to shed the surface layer of dead skin. Together, these effects make it harder for pores to become blocked and for infection to develop.

Benzoyl peroxide can cause redness and peeling, especially to start with but this tends to settle down if you reduce the number of times you use it. You can then build up your use gradually.

Remember that no home acne treatments will work immediately. It can take weeks, if not months, for significant effects to be noticeable. If home treatments have not worked after two months, or you have severe acne, you should visit your dermatologist or physician, who may start again your treatment by prescribing a preparation containing benzoyl peroxide. If this does not work, or if you have more severe acne, there are a range of other treatment options that you can either rub onto your skin (topical) or take in tablet form (oral).

An alternative to benzoyl peroxide is azelaic acid and this may not make your skin as sore as using the former. There is also the topical retinoids that are based on vitamin A, which are rubbed into the skin once or twice a day. They work by encouraging the outer layer of skin to flake off.

A topical antibiotic lotion applied to the skin can be used to control the P. acnes bacteria and the treatment needs to continue for at least six months.

Finally, there are several oral treatments you may be prescribed including oral antibiotics (tablets), such as tetracycline for inflammatory acne. They should be taken daily for around three months, although it might take four to six months for the benefits to be seen. The success of this treatment can be limited because the strains of bacteria are often resistant to the common antibiotics. Antibiotics do not prevent pores from becoming blocked so treatment to prevent blackheads, such as benzoyl peroxide, is often also prescribed at the same time.

Before we dwell upon various ways and methods of getting rid of acne, we need to understand what they are and how they are caused. Although all factors and causes of acne are yet to be ascertained and understood, the most well known cause of acne is the secretion of an oily substance which promotes hair growth and keeps it healthy. This oily substance keeps hair and skin soft, so the secretion is not without a reason. This oily substance is also called Sebum. Sebum is produce din a human body in large quantities during adolescence.

Although sebum in itself is not harmful, it comes in contact with dust particles and tends to block hair follicles. These hair follicles thus blocked turn into acne lesions. Apart form this, since sebum is an oily substance it forms a conducive environment in the acne lesion thus formed for bacterial growth. The bacterium thus grows into what we normally call a Pimple.

Effective Acne Treatments

Acne treatments are varied and wide spread. Probably my grandmother will suggest a cure and your grandmother would suggest another and both might work effectively or neither might. This essentially implies that acne treatments go a long way back, probably to the beginning of civilization and none of them are concrete.

Acne treatments depend on various factors like skin type, environment, hygiene and of course the primary cause of acne. However, people suffering from acne have a common symptom, they keep worrying about them incessantly. Let alone treatment, they worry about scars that may come up after they are treated. Be assured, the scars go away all by themselves after proper treatment has been done.

With a plethora of acne treatment products available across the globe, it is not so difficult to choose the right one. Dermatologists across the globe have also developed ways of healing scars that do not go away automatically. Some procedures like dermabrasion, microdermabrasion are popular where the external layer of the skin is removed using lasers.

Acne treatment can be very simple. Before acne take over and run amok, it is necessary that we take some preventive care to reduce the chances of acne.

We could begin with cleansing the face. Cleaning and washing the face removes only the surface dirt and does not remove any dirt accumulated in hair follicles filled with sebum. Cleansing the face is important so to prevent further accumulation. While cleaning the face, make sure never to

1. Scrub: Scrubbing will only worsen the acne situation.

2. Over-wash: Washing too often upsets the pH balance resulting in dry skin.

3. Use strong soaps: Strong and harsh soaps remove the oil, thus misbalancing your skin configuration.

4. Use heavy make up: Oil content in heavy makeup clogs skin pores which will increment the acne problem.

The next best option to maintain a healthy and glowing skin is to have proper diet and exercise regularly. Diets should be full of fruits and vegetables and other nutritious food. Avoiding oily food and fattening food is recommended. Exercising regularly helps maintain the water balance in the skin. Exercise also helps control stress level helping maintain a hormonal balance in the body. It is however, very important to remember that drinking lots of water, while exercising or otherwise is very essential to the body and helps the skin heal fast.

Sleep is another essential factor that contributes towards health and acne treatment. Sleep removes stress and thus the body’s hormonal balance does not get disturbed. A minimum of eight hours is recommended.

Acne treatment is a wide ranges science. However, traditional treatments of acne are basically oral and topical. Topical creams like Retin-A, benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid help open up pores and prevent development of blackheads and whiteheads. Exfoliation procedures are also available and help in reduction of discolored pigmentation.

For adults, oral antibiotics are a preferred form of acne treatment. Tetracycline family based antibiotics can help reduce bacteria on the skin, thus fighting inflammation to prevent redness of skin.

Although acne treatments are wide and varied, localized treatments are available and the most effective since these acne treatments are formulated as per the local environmental conditions and effects.

Despite all kinds of acne treatments available, naturopathic treatments are recommended to be the best.

Solve your acne & skincare problems at http://www.acnepimplezits.com