Archive for the ‘skin’ Category
Cause of an Acne Outbreak
Acne will affect more than 50 million people in the United States today. However even with the large number of people affected, mostly teenagers, there are a number of myths or old wives tales on the causes of acne.
Once you understand the real cause of acne, you can easily dispel these myths and prevent an attack of acne and even stop acne with confidence.
Where Acne Comes From
Researchers have determined that acne is a result of a hormone imbalance in the body. This hormone imbalance is caused by puberty, which is why teenagers have a majority of acne problems, and stress.
A hormone imbalance results in an increase amount of sebum (oil) being secreted by the skin. This sebum will cause dead skin on the face to clump together block the pores.
When the pores are blocked, it creates an oxygen-starved atmosphere that allows bacteria to grow. When the bacteria start to grow, the body’s immune system attacks the bacteria resulting in inflammation or acne.
Where Acne Does Not Come From
When I was growing up and in my teen years, I was bombarded with things I should not eat so as not to develop acne. Such foods as chocolate, French fries or any greasy types of foods were out-of-bounds for me to eat, all because my mother thought I would develop acne from consuming those types of foods.
But with the findings that acne is a result of hormone imbalance in the body, these foods were determined not to be a cause of acne. Of course this was after my teen years and my risk of developing acne was significantly reduced.
Exercise to Clear Away Acne
When I first went to my doctor to get my acne problem looked at, he did three things. He prescribed me an antibiotic to help kill the bacteria. He also prescribed me a facial cleanser that I was to use a couple times of day. (I later found some over the counter stuff that helped better). Finally, he recommended that I get more exercise if I wanted to help clear up my acne. This seemed counter intuitive to me though. Doesn’t working out make you sweat? Doesn’t stress cause acne and working out cause stress? He assured me that I was thinking about it all wrong and not only does working out help cure acne, but it makes you a healthier person as whole.
How does working out help to get rid of acne? Exercise works on many levels and all of them help to clear your acne in some way. First of all, while leaving sweat unwashed to spawn bacteria can REALLY cause acne, sweating itself is actually good for your acne and good for your skin. Sweating clears out all your pores of bacteria and other undesirables and actually works as a kind of purification system with your skin. By building up a sweat for a while, you’re actually cleansing your skin and filtering your pores.
Exercise also helps force the body to get back into a natural rhythm. A big part of acne, particularly teenage acne is caused by hormone levels being out of sync. It’s been proven in many a medical study that exercise helps to regulate the production and regulation of hormones throughout the body. By staying and keeping active, you get a better shot at getting those levels under control and thus helping get rid of your acne.
Finally, while exercise is stressful on the body during the actual exercise part, your body is flooded with feel good endorphins that greatly lower stress levels after your routine is complete. This in turn leaves you feeling renewed and refreshed for the rest of the day and thus able to deal better with stress. That’s not to mention that exercise itself burns calories, makes you look better, thinner, while also making you stronger and more agile.
Causes, Prevention and Control
Acne vulgaris, commonly known as acne, is a skin disorder that involves the pilosebaceous unit. This unit consists of a hair follicle, hair and sebaceous gland. Most of your skin contains these units (except the palm, sole and upper area of the foot), but the concentration is high on the face, neck and chest area. Acne is common during puberty when hormonal changes take place, though it can also occur in the late twenties. The general occurrences of acne are enlisted below:
Comedones are clogged skin pores that occur as whiteheads or closed comedones, and blackheads or open comedones
Pustules are lesions filled with puss
Pimples are lesions with a head
Papules are red bumps that don’t contain puss
Nodules are deeper inflammations symptomatic of severe acne
Cysts are painful membranous sacs that contain white blood cells, dead skin cells and bacteria
Let’s understand how normal follicles work before finding out how acne breaks out. Sebum secreted by the sebaceous gland forms a slough with the cells within the hair follicle and once it is full it spreads out and oils the skin surface so that it is healthy and moisturized. But, the hair follicle is obstructed due to some reasons and the sebum is trapped so that the follicle is clogged. This results in whiteheads and blackheads. Inflammatory symptoms occur when a bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes, which is generally found in the skin, increases and draws white blood cells to the follicle. This in turn secretes an enzyme, and eventually the follicle wall ruptures and releases the contents to the dermis layer. Thus, the symptoms that we discussed above appear as acne, depending on the intensity. The irritation is due to the fatty acids formed in the process.
By now you have understood that acne is caused by clogged pores, bacteria and excess oil. How can you prevent acne? Useful lifestyle changes can make you less prone to the disorder:
Maintain hygiene using clean towels, bed sheets, pillow cases, etc.
Shampoo your hair regularly as dandruff and oily hair can give room for acne
Take plenty of fluids and a balanced diet to maintain a natural clear skin
Exercise regularly for proper blood circulation and for keeping off stress
Several natural acne treatment methods are available to control acne and heal the symptoms. Follow a healthy skin regimen that will help in acne cure:
Cleanse regularly with benzoyl peroxide cleansers, or salicylic acid cleansers if your skin shows allergic reactions to benzoyl peroxide cleansers
Use only water-based makeup that is free from oil
Before going to bed, apply a cream containing sulfur on the spots
Never pick or rub the blemishes as it can lead to permanent acne scars. You must also remember that oil-based topical applications will aggravate acne. Clear5 reviews explain how acne is treated naturally, by releasing vitamin B5, which neutralizes the hormonal hyperactivity helping the body metabolize sebum in a natural way. It neither dries the skin nor hinders the oil glands.
Severe conditions may require medical treatment methods consisting of antibiotics, oral medications and laser techniques for persistent symptoms. Tretinoin, adaphalene gel and oral antibiotics like tetracycline are a few of the ingredients of medical prescriptions. Early intervention will help you find and get rid of acne with simple methods, though it may take weeks to see noticeable results.
Acne Secrets
As much as people inflicted with a case of acne, or even a few stray pimples, seek out acne secrets for a cure, the disappointing truth is, there is no secret cure. Although most cases of acne are harmless medically, they can be extremely damaging to one’s self-confidence and make them self-conscious to the point of appearing to have other issues.
Even though acne is well known to usually appear during puberty, when hormone imbalances are present and body changes affect most children going into adulthood, facial acne infliction can still break down the self-confidence of these young adults. And because of this self-consciousness, many of these early teen children react in ways that can make matters worse, as they search for a quick fix. Squeezing out the infected pore, and applying medications that will over dry the skin, will only leave skin in poor condition, with scarring and damage for a very long time.
With so much information available on the internet in this day and age, most adolescents realize there are no acne secrets. It shows them a dedicated daily cleansing program and good diet is the best defense against this condition that affects so many of their peers. It also allows them to see that they are not alone in the development of this condition, especially within their age group. But what most people will find surfing the internet for a cure for their acne, is a plethora of advertisements for acne treatments. The internet is a breeding ground for anyone who wants to claim anything to try and sell their product. While there are a few products out there that can provide temporary relief, most don’t work at all. How do you find the few that work, and save your money on testing the hundreds and hundreds of products on the market today? Well one easy answer would be to consult your dermatologist. Also remember that anything that sounds too good to be true, usually is!
Scalp Acne
Scalp acne is an irritating condition that can affect both men and women alike, because this area is covered with hair growth it can prove more difficult to treat it here with typical acne treatments that can be used freely on other parts of the body
The cause of acne can is usually attributed to skin pores becoming blocked and infected with bacteria triggering outbreaks, and the scalp is no different in this respect; additionally by nature of its position the scalp is not kept as oil-free as the face because it does not usually receive the same attention.
A build up of natural oil, dead skin calls and hair product residues all contribute to providing a breeding ground for scalp acne bacteria in base of the hair follicles.
For the majority of people scalp acne is not normally that serious and it can be cleared with nothing more than a good medicated shampoo, however like with any form of acne it is important to take action to stop it getting any worse.
Traditional creams are obviously out and benzoyl peroxide is not usually an option either as it may change hair color; this may be desirable for teenagers but for the majority it is unacceptable.
It may be possible to get away with using a weak concentration but it is advisable not to risk it, although it could be tested first for its effect on a lock of hair taken after a haircut.
The scalp needs to be kept scrupulously clean, and this may mean more frequent washing of the hair than normal, however over-washing can aggravate acne by drying the skin so it is important to use a very gentle shampoo for this.
A shampoo formulated for use on infants is arguably the mildest type of product.
Alternatively a product containing Tea tree oil would also likely to be of benefit; this natural product has many applications for any number of complaints and as it is a natural bactericide it is definitely worth giving this a try to see if this has any effect.
How to Get Rid of Acne to have Clear Skin?
How to get rid of acne is a popular question, since nearly 60 million Americans suffer from this common skin condition. Many people believe that acne outbreaks affect only teenagers and young adults, but that is not true. Adult acne is also popular and can affect anyone in their 30′s and even 40′s. So, knowing how to prevent pimples is a great tool to have in your acne toolbox. But before we get into the tips, let’s discuss what causes acne and the levels of severity.
What causes acne?
Acne is triggered by clogged hair follicles in the skin. Usually, hormones have sebum or oil produced in the hair follicle and has it discharged through the open area of the follicle and then onto the skin’s surface. However, at the same time you have dead skin cells, which tend to dry up the sebum and the bacteria blocks the opening of the follicle, which causes the sebum to build up. This inflames the pore and a pimple is born.
It sounds quite complicated, but meaning in short is that the pore becomes filled with oil and bacteria grows, which irritates the pore.
Levels of Acne Severity
Acne is broken down into four groups, one being the mildest and four being the most severe.
Group 1: usually consists of just a few small pimples scattered about. Blackhead can also be seen. This level of acne can be successfully treated with over-the-counter products. If group one is untreated, it can lead to the next level.
Clear Skin Max – What Can It Do For Your Skin?
Clear Skin Max is a strong treatment for acne. It is the newest system to hit the market and will make your skin feel new and young again. It will clear your acne and give your face a smooth appearance. The Clear Max System consists of six treatments that are designed to clear your acne permanently. It treats the acne you have and also prevents the acne from coming back. You will be able to feel better about yourself knowing you have clear skin. It will feel wonderful knowing you no longer have to cover up or deal with breakouts.
This new technology in treating acne contains six products that will help to control what causes the acne. It works for teenagers and adults alike. It not only clears acne breakouts on the outside, it will penetrate the skin to permanently stop acne on the inside. This new and different approach will allow you to be stress free knowing your skin looks wonderful. No more going from one product to the next and finding only negative results.
The Clear Skin Max system is very unique and not like any system to date. It is a natural product without any irritating ingredients. It has undergone careful research and been created to remove the acne that can cause you to not look your best. It also stops the acne from coming back. This product is different in that it contains six stages to perfect skin. It will clear the acne in more than one way. It will help to remove the scars left behind and make your skin better than it was before. You will be able to tell it is working in less than a week of use and you will not have to use anything but the Clear Skin Max system to get it. The first few uses may make the acne appear worse than it really is but, the natural ingredients will begin to take hold of the dirt and melanin in the skin and send it out of your skin. This cleaning out time is different for each person and how bad the acne is. It may take up to 21 days for the system to clear the acne completely. The skin will appear smooth and acne free. It will be the only product you use if you want healthy, amazing skin.