Dermabrasion For Acne Scar Removal

Dermabrasion has been around for decades in its usage to remove superficial acne scars. Would you be shocked if I told you that initially sandpaper was used to remove a thin layer of our unsightly skin and then the skin is left to grow by itself to replace the removed skin ?

Luckily, nowadays, electrical machines that have a rapidly rotating wire brush wheels are used in placed on the sandpaper. Dermabrasion is particularly suitable to minimize the appearance of small and shallow acne scars.

If it is used on ice-pick scars and deeply depressed scars, the end result after the dermabrasion process might make your skin look worse as it exposes the deeper part of the acne scars which may be more wide in scar formation.Therefore, dermabrasion won't be used on hypertrophic scars.

Dermabrasion process is initiated by a qualified dermatologist with anesthetizing the acne sufferer's skin with a spray to make it numb. A sedative may also be used to make one drowsy so as to make the scar tissue removal process less painful.

In contrast to dermabrasion, aluminium oxide crystals are being used instead of a rapidly spinning brush in microdermabrasion. These aluminium oxide crystals are blasted to the scarred skin and then vacuumed away together with the scar tissues .

However, microdermabrasion is only effective in removing fine lines and age spots and not effective at all for even very mild acne scar spots as a very mild exfoliation process takes place here.

For darker skin acne sufferers who suffer mild acne scar condition, you might run the risk of suffering big changes in your skin pigmentation color. Due to this reason, it is wiser to opt for laser scar removal process even though it might be more expensive to do so. We surely don't want our skin to look worse than before the scar removal process, do we?

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Can Neosporin and Rite Aid clear acne?

Neosporin and Rite Aid are antibiotic creams that are used to prevent infection and relieve pain when one suffers burn or cut.

These antibiotic treatments are indeed very effective against bacterial skin infection such as staphylococcus or streptococcus skin infections when one suffers open wound injury where such bacteria can easily get into one's skin when it is exposed to the surrounding. Note that in acne , P.acnes bacteria are responsible for causing acne and not the above mentioned bacteria. Do bear in mind too, these ointments can also clog your pores and will further worsen your acne conditions if you really have acne!

Some of you might hear that some acne sufferers had successfully treat acne with Neosporin. Have you ever ponder for a moment that what they actually have is not acne blemishes but some red rashes that mimics acne?

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Acne causes stress, a myth?

We know that acne cause emotional stress. But how about the reverse ? Up until recently, it is generally believed that there is no link between stress and acne. But a recent study by researchers at Wake Forest proves that not only stress cause acne but also why stress cause acne.

Since sebum level production which is generally associated with acne tends to change with a variation in the weather, the study was conducted in Singapore. The study tracked the stress level of 94 high school students with mild or moderate acne for several months. It was found that in periods of high emotional stress, such as before exams, the students were 23% more likely to experience acne breakouts. However, the sebum production did not vary much whether they were experiencing high or low stress. This indicates that the level of the sebum did not contribute to the increase of acne. So the studies concluded that it is due to inflammation. Other studies have shown that stress can prove inflammation and acne is an inflammatory disease.

The result of these studies do seems to ring a certain truth to this myth.

Yet other school of thought believes that during the times when one experience high stress level, his body will release an ernomous amount of glucocorticoids which is a form of natural steroid. As glucocorticoids has some androgenic properties, it causes the sebaceous glands to excrete more sebum and worsen one's acne condition.

If you notice that you DO get an increase in acne breakout during your high stress level time, it is wise to calm and relax yourself a bit by going for exercises such as qi qong and meditation such as yoga . Oh of course get yourself plenty of sleep even though I know that it is pretty tough to do.

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Various Type Of Skin

Which type of skin do you have? Knowing the type of skin that you are bestowed with can go along way in keeping acne at bay.

Normal Skin
This skin type contains a balanced amount of oil and moisture, making it soft , smooth and having a fine even tone appearance. The pores are fine and barely visible.Normal skin is a reflection of healthy life and good blood circulation.It is usually blemish-free.This is the type of skin everyone hope for. However, normal skin need to be taken care to prevent wrinkle and premature aging.Using soap,oil-based moisturizer,mask and sunscreen product go a long way in keeping normal skin healthy.

Oily Skin
Oily skin appears shiny and oily due to overactive production of sebum by sebaceous glands under the skin.The visible coarse pores make the skin prone to acne. Oily skin often present a youthful look. Oily skin require more regular and thorough cleansing due to dirt easily attracted the the skin surface and pores. Cleansing removes the skin surface of oil, dead skin cells and dirt , uncloggs the pores of hardened oil. Use oil-based cleanser to dissolve the sebum effectively. After cleansing it is important to apply a toning lotion to tighten the pores (for keeping dirt away) and heal the skin. Rose water based tonic is excellent for oily skin.Or use oil-free moisturizer to prevent excessive shining appearance.

Dry Skin
Dry skin look dry, dull and patchy due to its inability to retain the required amount of moisture and insufficient production of sebum. Dry skin can easily flakes and chaps.Appearance of wrinkle and fine expression lines are common for dry skin, however pores are not visible. Dry skin is often a problem in cold weather. Apply moisturizer to increase water content of the skin.This will make it soft and moist throughout the day.

Combination Skin
Combination skin is a combination of dry and oily skin. The oily areas on the face, are forehead, nose and chin which is also known as T-zone. The cheeks and the area around the eyes and mouth are normal to dry. Apply deep-pore cleanser and toner on the oily T-zone. Sensitive skin tends to be dry and easily get irritated. It is also prone to allergy and temperature fluctuations. Extra care should be taken for sensitive skin as it is prone to rashes breakout as an allergic response to ingredients used in cosmetic or moisturizer products. It is best to use natural or organic product for sensitive skin. Using a good sunscreen and moisturizer offer excellent protection for sensitive skin all days.

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What? Adult Can Get Acne?

People who suddenly get acne for the first time in their twenties or thirties might remark, " It can't be happening! Acne is only for teenagers!" After passing their teenage years with a pimple free skin, these people thought that they are the lucky fews who wouldn't have acne problems in their lives.

Well, adult-onset acne is a reality and it is getting more common as compared to the past. The fact that acne on adult is a lot more worse than those that on teenagers makes adult acne sufferers having difficulties in accepting that they really have acne. Adult-onset acne, which is also known as post adolescent acne or female acne is very prominent in women who experience vast hormonal changes in their bodies during their pre menstrual cycles.

In adult-onset acne, there are less occurrence of comedones (blackheads and whiteheads) but more of inflammatory acne lesions. Nodules, which are tender and firm lumps may leave scars when they heal, are also present but luckily the occurrence of nodules is less frequent in adult women who have acne.

In general, the adult acne will center more often on the lower part of the face; particularly in the lower area of the cheek, chin and also on the area along the jaw line. This means that the acne is more difficult to control as the skin around this area is more sensitive and will be easily irritated from the dryness that are caused by the application of acne medication. Therefore, many women are taking oral antibiotics and combination of topical treatment such as Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment, Vanishing Formula to treat their acne. Taking oral contraceptive pill is also a good method to treat adult acne.

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Is There Any Area On Our Skin That Won't Get Acne?

For acne sufferers who practically get acne on lots of areas on their bodies, they might come out with this question. They might be wondering if there is an area on their skin that won't get acne.

Typically, acne sufferers will experience acne on the face especially on the T-zone area and upper back. As these areas have the highest density of sebaceous glands, the tendency of getting blocked pores and later on develops into acne lesion is very high.

Others may also get acne on their chest, upper arms, shoulders, and to a lesser extent on the legs and even buttock. These second group of skin surface also have sebaceous glands even though their quantity are less than those of the above mentioned area.

Now, the good news is you won't get acne on your hands, feet, lip and elbows as these areas do not have any sebaceous glands. No sebaceous glands means that no pores clogging. Clogging of pores, coupled with the presence of P. acnes bacteria and high shedding of dead skin cells causes acne to form. Keep in mind that clogged sebaceous glands and not sweat glands that leads to acne.

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Are Oil-Free Products Really Free Of Oils?

Most acne sufferers will have oily skin and therefore, as a general rule of thumb, it is best to avoid oily cosmetic or medication acne products. Luckily, nowadays, most of these products will have the term "non comedogenic" imprinted on its label which simply means they are oil free.

An oil-free product or which is more popular known as non comedogenic product avoids most ingredients that contain the word oil in their name, such as mineral oil. However,there are a lot of ingredients that do not have the word oil in their names such as glyceryl tribehenate or lanolin which are actually oil.

Ingredients such as carnauba and oily hydrocarbons such as petrolatum and squalene are not oils but should not be included in an oil-free product as these oils may aggravate your acne condition.

Essential oils used in fragrance does not pose a problem to acne as their oil behaviour is different from other oils.

There are two classes of oil-free products. One contains strictly oil-free products which are usually drying. Of course, there are some exceptions. Propylene glycol, glycerin and silicone bases are oil-free and yet they are not drying. For acne sufferers who are resistant to acne treatment, it is important to identify strictly oil-free products to complement their topical medications. These products include gels, solutions and emulsions of oil-free ingredients. Ingredients such as fatty acids, fatty alcohols, sterols and silicones are acceptable in strictly oil-free products.

The other classes consist of certain amount of oil that contains oil-like emmollients called esters. Technically, esters are not considered oils or fats but they do exhibit the behaviour of oil. Products containing emmollient esters are classified as comedogenic. Oil-free emulsions of emollient esters and water are weakly moisturizing and are best used by acne sufferers with slightly oily to slightly drying skin.

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Does Dirt Really Cause Acne?

e can't blame our parents for asking us to keep our faces clean if we want to reduce the occurrence of acne. You see, with the appearance of blackheads in the form of black spots on our faces, our parents must think that the dirt are deeply "stuck" on our faces. And to get rid of them, all we need to do is to wash them away and our acne will be gone for good.

I wish it would be THAT simple but unfortunately thing is a little more complicated than it seemed.

First, these black spots are actually made up of melanin; pigments that provide coloring to one's skin and not DIRT! When melanin in the sebum comes in contact with oxygen in the air, they turn to black color.

Second, acne formation takes place from underneath our skin. It means that the blockage of the follicles does not occur from top down. Therefore, washing all those dirt away won't reduce the breakout of acne on our face. If acne is on its way to break out from our skin, no amount of washing will halt the process. Moreover, over washing our faces will further irritate our skin and making your inflamed skin condition worse and redden.

Some of you might argue that washing will remove the excess sebum on your face but do you know that the sebum will come back within half an hour after you wash it? However, don't get the idea that you do not need to wash your face.

If your parents still say that dirt causes acne, ask them why do all the people who work in coal mines, construction sites or in the streets do not get their faces full with acne? And why do some of us who work in the offices or even doctors get acne? Surely those who work in the open will have their faces covered with dirt most of the time.

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Go For Accutane Only As The Last Resort!

If you are an acne sufferer, I guess you will have heard of the name Accutane. Accutane is actually a brand name for isotretinoin which in turn is a powerful oral acne medication.

Why do I say "powerful"? Well, many severe acne sufferers who take Accutane experience significant improvement in their acne condition even though they only take one course of isotretinoin treatment.

By now, you might ask, " If it is so effective, why don't all dermatologists recommend it straight away to treat one's acne? ". For one, it has very extreme and serious side effects. Headaches, temporary hearing loss , nosebleeds, joints pain, dry skin or lips are just a few of the negative symptoms resulting from taking Accutane.

In addition to that, if a pregnant woman takes Accutane, it could cause severe birth defects. Therefore, a woman must ensure that she does not get pregnant while she is on the prescribed medication. Effective birth control method should be adhered one month before you start the Accutane treatment and shall be terminated only 1 month after you stop the treatment.

Why does a woman still have to use birth control method after stopping the prescribed isotretinoin for one month? Because this drug will stay in her body for quite some time! And surely she wouldn't want to run the high risk of having a baby with any birth defect.

For a guy, he is luckier as so far no evidence show that isotretinoin has any serious implication on his sperms.

Isotretinoin, derived from Vitamin A, when taken orally, is classified as a tetratogen which simply means that it can cause defects to one's baby.

By focusing on the root of acne causes, isotretinoin is very effective in putting acne at bay. As acne are caused by excessive oil (sebum) production coupled with dirt and dead cells that clogged the follicle openings (pores), the curbing of excessive sebum production in the sebaceous glands by isotretinoin will lead to the reduction of P. acnes bacteria that play a big role in acne development. These curbings of sebum also causes your skin to be dried after taking isotretinoin.

In addition to the reduction of sebum excreted, isotretinoin also regulates the dead skin cells shedding process. Less dead skin cells would mean that the tendency for a clogged pore is less and hence one would experience significant reduction in one's acne as the treatment is continued.

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Making Your Skin Less Shiny!

It is mentioned that people with oily skin are lucky. People with oily skin will age slower and therefore look much younger than their actual age as the sebum on one's skin will keep it "moist" and therefore sagging and wrinkles won't show up so soon.

The drawbacks of having an oily skin are one will always feel greasy and always seems to have shiny patches around his skin particularly in the T zone area where there are a high concentration of sebaceous glands.

These shiny patches on our face are definitely not a pretty sight for anyone to look at. And it is no wonder blotching papers or anything that can remove this oil, albeit temporarily, are so highly in demand. I guess it is psychology at work that makes these products so saleable.

Even though most products such as cosmetic powders will absorb the oil, the oil from under the skin (sebaceous glands) will continue to flow to the surface.

That being said, for those who still want to keep their face especially the T-zone oil free can lay their hands on Clinac Oil Control gel. This gel is one such product that will absorb your surface skin oil but you won't be able to feel its dryness.

Yet there are other products that can absorb oil and also prevent oil from "breaking through" your skin. These products are known as mattifier.

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Does Exercise Cause Acne?

AMost of us will think that sweat causes acne while a handful of us reason that through sweat cleansing process, the stored toxins such as dirt, sebum and dead skin trapped in the follicles will be removed.

Before we find out the truth, do you know why we sweat? Yes, we sweat because we want to cool down our heated up bodies. When the sweat evaporates, it will remove heat from our body and thus will be able to regulate our bodies temperature.

Guess you must know that sweat is released by the sweat glands and you must think that these are actually the blocked sebaceous glands where acne lesions such as blackheads, whiteheads and inflamatory spots originate. Well, if you think so, you really got it all wrong here. These sweat actually comes from the ecrrine glands that are located deeply in the skin and cover almost our entire bodies. Do you notice the amount of sweat you get on your forehead, palms and soles when you sweat? That's because there are lots of eccrine glands at those areas.

The sweat that we perspire not only contain water but also salt (sodium chloride), urea and other cellular and fatty wastes. Therefore, many of us would think that sweat will reduce one's acne breakout.

To really get a correct answer, we need to understand how acne occurs on our skin. In a healthy skin, sebum produced in the sebaceous glands will travel to the follicles ends (known as pores) on the skin surface via hair follicles and excreted to the surface. However, for acne sufferers, the excessive sebum, coupled with dead skin cells will block their pores and this creates a perfect environment for the P. acnes bacteria to thrive. The multiplying bacteria population on the blocked follicles will result in the swelling of the surrounding tissues and the first step in the formation of acne has taken place.

By now, you must have noticed that the toxins removed from the skin are not those from the blocked pores where acne originates but rather from the cells and capillaries located deeper in the skin. Therefore, it can be drawn that sweat does not lessen acne breakout but does it cause more acne?

Well, it does if you let the salty sweat on your skin as sweat provides a great environment for the P. acnes bacteria to grow rapidly.

One way to get around this problem is to apply some acne medications on one's skin especially on the back before exercise. Be careful when you apply a benzoyl peroxide based topical cream as benzoyl peroxide can bleach your clothing. Due to this problem, another alternative would be to shower immediately and use a benzoyl peroxide based cleanser such as Clean and Clear Continuous Control Acne Cleanser or salicylic acid cleansers.

Other steps include wear loose fitting attires and tie one's hair to keep them off the surface of the face.
Some people also figure that it is best to drink plain water rather than those sports "salty" drinks so that the sweat that is being exreted during exercise will be less salty and therefore provide a less than perfect environment for acne bacteria to multiply.

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Safe Acne Drugs During Pregnancy

The best way to treat your acne during pregnancy is by using a topical medication and avoid oral medications at all cost except oral erythromycin. You can safely use oral erythromycin or an oral penicillin such as amoxicillin provided that you are not allergic to them.

Even then, it is best to check with you dermatologist on suitable acne medications to be used as some of these medications may be harmful to your developing fetus. A visit to your health provider might lead you to try the following acne fighting drugs. You will be recommended to use erythromycin, which is actually an antibiotic presents in many topical treatment. If you are puzzled with the content of benzamycin gel, it actually contains benzoyl peroxide and erythromycin.

If you are currently using benzoyl peroxide, sulfacetamide or sulfur, you can continue to use these drugs safely even if you are pregnant. These drugs are classified as pregnancy category C products

Even though clindamycin, aczone gel which contains dapsone and topical retinoids are also classified under pregnancy category C products, they should be avoided as they are still very new in relative to the other established pregnancy category C acne medications.

Another less popular choice would be azelaic acid which is actually a natural chemical produced by yeast. This active ingredient in the prescribed medications Azelex and Finevin is classified under pregnancy Category B drug. Therefore, use this drug only as a last resort in fighting your acne during the breast milk feeding period or pregnancy.

Oral drugs such as tetracyline, oral isotretinoin available as Accutane, Amnesteem and Sotreet and anti androgen hormones can cause serious birth defects if they are used while one is pregnant. They still pose considerable risks to one's baby even if one becomes pregnant within one month after taking the drugs to treat acne.

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How To Wash Your Face Properly!

Guess you must think that I am a bit crazy in trying to teach you something so simple as to how to wash your face. I am very sane here and I just got to tell you that many people got it all wrong in the way they wash their skin. Hope you are not one of them.

Washing your face is the first step in the stages of applying a topical medication to your face. Therefore, it is better to get it right rather than wrong.

To begin with, there are endless types of soaps and cleansers in the market for you to choose. Some of these soaps come with Vitamin E, avocado, sandalwood, oatmeal, lemon, citrus, aloe vera, rose etc. For cleansers, some of them exfoliate while they clean and the medicated types normally contain salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide in various concentrations.

Bet your parents often tell you that you have acne because your face is dirty and they always ask you to wash your face more often. Well, you can tell them that they have it wrong here as over washing one's face will only irritate his/her face and might your face become red and inflamed.
In fact, washing your face more than two times a day will have no favorable effect on your acne.

Moreover, excessing washing and cleansing with a multitude of commercially available cleansers and soaps will dry out your skin and that's what gives you skin irritation.

Therefore the tip I am going to share with you here is to wash your face with a mild soap twice a day. Yup, that's all you need to do on the part to get a "clean" face. Nothing fancy here and I would like to further recommend that you use ivory soap if you have oily skin. For the few acne sufferers who have dry skin, you can go for Dove soap.

And to the unfortunate group of people who have very sensitive skin and might be allergic to soaps, try Cetaphil or Aquanil cleanser.

Now, let move on to the method on using those soap of your choice. Using lukewarm water, wet the soap. Apply the soap to your skin with your fingertips or with a soft cloth and then rub it gently in circular motion.

You might think that using brushes or loofah sponges will make the washing process cleaner but these stuffs are definitely a no-no! These washing utensils are too harsh for your delicate acne prone skin.

After you are finished with the rubbing process, splash your face with lukewarm water to remove the soap application. Rinse your skin a few seconds only.

Finally use a cotton towel to pat dry your skin and again never rub on your skin!

Presto! The process is complete and shall I ask is this what you are currently doing in washing your face?

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Does Cosmetics Cause Acne?

Would you feel sceptical if I tell you that cosmetics does not cause acne ? In fact, cosmetics does not really cause acne cosmetica even though some of you might get some reactions that present themselves as inflammatory acne. The truth is this so called "inflammatory acne" is actually your skin reaction to the ingredients found in the cosmetics that makes your existing acne redder and more prominent.

So you can continue to use the cosmetics that you like without having any worry on them for worsening your acne condition. If you are still in doubt whether the current cosmetics that you are using are worsening your acne, stop using them for a couple of weeks and observe whether there is less acne lesions on your face.

Almost all cosmetic products that you find in the market nowadays will have the term noncomedogenic imprinted on its label. Noncomedogenic simply means that they are oil free or they won't clog your pores.

Put in another word, using noncomedogenic skin care products won't lead to any acne flare up on your face. So you can stop blaming those blackheads and whiteheads that pop up after using a new cosmetic. They are already there in your skin and in the process of rising to the top layer of your skin.

You can check whether your cosmetic contains lanolin, isopropyl myristate or D & C red dyes if you do get negative reaction on acne after using it. These three ingredients are believed by most dermatologists to cause acne.

Lanolin is actually oil originates from sheep skin while isopropyl myristate is an ingredient that makes the product go smoother on the skin. Other ingredient in the same classification as isopropyl myristate are isopropyl isostearate, butyl sterate and laureth 4. Surely you won't want to use D & C red dyes on your skin as it originates from coal tars.

Thick creams, blushers and make up foundation powders are the most acne causing class of cosmetic as the ingredients that are used in these cosmetic to replace oil is synthetic base and is more harmful than those excess sebum produced in our sebaceous glands.

Moisturizers can be another source of acne causing products as they do contain ingredients that make them slide on the skin smoothly and easily. You can see that the above moisturizers often contain searic acid, acetylated lanolin or cetyl alcohol.

Therefore, you should get those moisturizers that contain petrolatum or mineral oil in order to skip their acne causing effect on your face. I know the word oil here would terrify you but certain type of oil is good for our skin and have no provoking effect on our acne.

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Teenage Acne

Up to 90% of teenagers have to deal with acne as it is the most common skin problem that they face.

Acne on teenagers is often known as acne vulgaris. You might not like how the word vulgaris sounds but it simply means common in Latin. For most kids, their acne often begins from 10 to 13 years of age but girls have a tendency to develop acne earlier than boys. If you are a boy, let not rejoices as your acne might be more severe than those that are developed on a girl. Acne is also a signal that your body is going through puberty.

Before acne outgrow itself when one reaches 19 or 20 years old, don't think that you don't need to do anything and wait for it to go away. Even though it cannot be cured, it still have to be treated so that it won't leave permanent scar on one face or skin.

With the onset of more androgens hormones, teenager skin tends to be oilier and less sensitive. The good thing about having more sebum on your skin is your skin will be less irritated when treated with acne products as the extra layer of sebum that you have will protect your skin from irritation.

Having more sebum on your skin also means that your scar will heal more easier and completely after an acne onset. This good news makes your skin steers clear of permanent scars and dark spots that are left after acne lesions heal which are very common in those darker skin people.

For teenagers, the most common area that acne will develop is on the T-zone, that is the forehead, nose and chin (refer to figure- pink color). Teenager acne will be characterized by many blackheads (open comedones) , whiteheads (closed comedones) , inflamatory acne lesions such as papules, pustules, nodules or cysts and also macules (acne that have healed).

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