Posts Tagged ‘sebum’

The Best Acne Treatment

Monday, February 7th, 2011
acne treatment
To choose the best acne treatment is a tricky task because not all acne is the same.  There are a number of different types of acne, and there is no common treatment that is equally effective for each.  Nor are there treatments that work with each form of acne in the same way, since the treatment depends a great deal on the severity of the condition.

One of the more effective acne treatments is benzoyl peroxide, which is the active ingredient behind many different topical treatments such as Clearasil Max and ProActive. However, you have to be careful with benzoyl peroxide on your face because it could cause irritation of your skin.  It is better used on thicker skin, and is therefore widely used for treating back acne. It not only possesses antibacterial properties but also promotes the flaking of dead surface skin cells.

One of the problems with acne is that a treatment that one person finds effective might not be so for another. Each person has to find an acne treatment that is most effective for their own condition. Some of the milder forms of acne can be treated simply with a mild facial cleanser.  If you follow this up with a commercial antibacterial acne treatment, then you will have as good a chance as any of controlling your condition or even of curing it.

If your acne is deeper and more persistent, a treatment needs to be designed to effectively reduce the production of sebum.  This is the oil that is believed to be responsible for most acne conditions.  This treatment approach would be an effective way of preventing the acne from getting worse and possibly even stopping it altogether.  One prescription for achieving this is called isotretinoin (e.g. Accutane), a Vitamin A based treatment. It will only be prescribed by a doctor if the acne is severe and persistent, and is not suitable for anybody with liver problems.

With regard to topical acne creams, Vitamin A (retinol) can be effective, although a proportion of the population contract dry and flaking skin when they use it. In fact that is how it works:  by promoting flaking off of the top skin cell. It is basically a topical form of the oral isotretinoin, but not as strong. It is not the perfect treatment, and like most acne treatments, it will suit some more than others.

Antibiotic treatments can be effective, particularly when used in conjunction with skin-shedding applications such as benzoyl peroxide or retinol. However, most topical treatments will show few benefits for at least six months.  So you are looking at long-term treatments rather than the quick fix. In fact there really are no quick fixes for acne, although laser treatment can produce rapid results in serious cases.

Oral contraceptives have been found to work for women with acne.  A combination of the testosterone suppressant, cyproterone acetate and the hormone ethinylestradiol (eg. Dianette) have been found to be an effective treatment. It works by suppressing the male hormones (that all women have) and with it, the production of sebum.

There is really no such thing as the best acne treatment because each works differently with different people.  This simply indicates the difficulty in understanding the true causes and nature of the condition.  The way for you to find the best acne treatment is start off with the milder treatments and work up.  Thus, antibacterial soaps and body scrubs should be followed with topical over the counter acne creams.  If these don’t work, then your physician might suggest a prescription treatment, and eventually, with a bit of persistence on your part, you will come across an acne treatment that suits you. The best acne treatment for an individual is the one that works.

Acne Treatment: What is Acne, and Why Does it Hate Me?

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
acne treatment
The Not So Dirty Truth About Acne

If you’re looking for an acne treatment, it’s best to know where to start. What exactly is acne and why does it happen. You’ll learn that the emotional toll can be worse than the potiental physical scars. Find out what you should know about prescription drugs for acne treatment. No need to panic, there’s still hope and with the proper game plan and tools, you will be more than prepared to confront this nemesis.

The Basics Of Acne

There are basically four types of acne; whiteheads, blackheads, pimples and nodules. Whiteheads are when the sebum (oil) and resulting bacteria are trapped below the skins 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 skins 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.

Acne And Stress, Why It Happens

Lets take a look at some other popular notions about acne to dispel any other hearsays; for example, stress. Is it true that contributed stress spreads acne? Not exactly. What is true is that ultimately stress can have a very minimal or minor influence all by itself. It cannot actually cause acne, but it can influence reoccurrences of acne as stress increases the bodys creation of a substance called cortisol that in turn causes your sebaceous glands to produce increased amounts of sebum oil that can be blocked in pores. Note, however, that some medications people take when trying to deal with or treat stress can have a large influence on acne as the result of medication side effects.

The Emotional Toll

Acne is just on external result or surface deep; i.e. people shouldnt make such a big matter out of it, myth or reality? Myth. In reality, yes, it basically is only on your skin (and underneath the surface a little bit). Even so, the effects run much deeper than that in many instances. Any acne treatment should take into account that more than 50 percent of those suffering acne problems reported negative comments and other feedback from members of society, regardless of whether or not there was any scarring left for others to see afterwards. And ensuing internal depression and low self-esteem can be adverse emotionally not only short-term but over a persons lifespan. So acne can indeed be a very big issue involving healthcare treatment and support.

Over Prescribing Of Antibiotics

Non-rational prescribing of oral antibiotics in acne is common, and there is currently an unmet need for up-to-date guidelines that specifically address these issues. Presented here is a set of recommendations on the use of oral antibiotics in acne, developed by a group of European acne specialists, designed to be considered by dermatologists and general practitioners in their daily practice throughout Europe Recommendations cover optimal choice of antibiotic, drug doses, duration of treatment, combination treatment, and maintenance therapy.

Stop Before You Pop

People who are dealing with acne are often tempted to pick at or “pop” pimples or blackheads, either because they have a misconception that this is part of effective acne care or out of a simple desire to get rid of blemishes. If you are a parent with teenage children you will be reminded of what a toll dealing with acne can have on their lives. The most important thing to remember when dealing with acne, is not to get too stressed about it. A dermatologist can help you find the treatment method that’s best for you and can also give you lots of useful tips for dealing with acne and caring for your skin type.

Home Remedies for Acne and Pimples

Thursday, January 27th, 2011
If you are a teenager, you can not hang around to get rid of it. If you’re an adult, you can not judge its back. Luckily, improvements in acne treatments over the most recent two decades mean you do not have to put up with it any longer.

You have thousands of oil glands in the skin on your face, back and chest. Actually, there are as a lot of as 2,000 oil glands per square inch in the middle part of your face. These oil glands serve to lubricate the skin by producing oil (sebum). The oil from the glands flows through tiny ducts (follicles), to the skin surface.

From time to time, these oil ducts become plugged with sebum, bacteria and dead skin cells that are shed from the lining of the duct. That’s acne.

Acne tends to come into view typically on the chest, face, back and shoulders.

The cause is the oil glands and the hair follicles, where the acne infection begins are found in over abundance in these parts of the body. Typically it is a bad case of severe infection if acne is increase all over. The number of the regions affected is a good measure of the scope of the acne problem.

The most widespread features of Acne

A large number of people do not have quite a lot of problems in recognizing acne. But from time to time, there are a few other types of skin condition that resemble acne closely but are in fact fairly different.

In order to identify and estimate the acne circumstances in various stages, there are certain features to be observed.

-Too much extra oiliness on the skin.

-Whiteheads which from time to time are inflamed spots.

-Blackheads.

-Large noticeable skin pores.

-Little bumps below the skin (clusters of them).

Home Remedies for Acne (Pimples)

- Cook oatmeal and apply on face for 15 minutes and after that wash it.

-Rub the acne with garlic cloves for 5 to 6 times in a day.

- First wash face with lukewarm water and then put avocado paste mixed with water and apply it.

- Make a lukewarm bath with blanch of nettle and rosemary to stop the acne.

- Combine one tablespoon of dried or fresh yeast and two tablespoons of lemon juice after that apply the mixture on face, just wait until it gets hard (dry), peel or wash with lukewarm water.

- Apply equal amount of lemon juice and rose water with a cotton ball, leave for 1/2 an hour and wash. Do it again for 20 days.

- Always clean your skin with the help of soak a cotton ball in either lemon juice or apple cider vinegar and apply on face.

- Combined two or three tea bags to some basil and cook in boiling water for 10 to 20 minutes and after that apply on the acne with a cotton ball.

- Saturate lettuce leaves in water and apply this water to rinse face and acne.

- Make a paste of bay leaves and Cool and apply on the acne.

- Boil water in a pan, put in some apple cider vinegar. Cool, place a towel on your head and bend over the pan.

- Take one glass of lukewarm water and add 5 to 6 drops of lemon in it, after that take a cotton bowel and dip in it and clean your face every day before going to bed. It is very successful home remedies for acne and pimples.

-Mix and cook 2 or 3 tea bags with dried basil for 10 to 20 minutes and after that apply on face and acne with a cotton ball.

- Take out cucumbers juice and apply the juice on the acne with the help of cotton wool pads.

- Take one tablespoon of brown sugar and two tablespoons of white sugar wet a little and rub face once in a day.

- Apply some toothpaste on the acne or pimples. Apply it on the acne spots only and do not apply it skin.

- Application of a pack made by boiling 50 gram of raspberry, strawberry or blackberry leaves with 1.5 liters of water for three minutes will give itching free and soothing skin. This is a very effective home remedies for acne and pimples.

By: jeniferhobson