Why do some of us get acne scars easily?

If you are one of those who get acne scar easily after an zit has subsided, I guess you must thinking that life is not fair. You must be pondering why some of your friends who didn't have a single prominent scar on their bodies and faces after a severe pimples breakout.

How does a scar form? When a deep rooted pimple in the skin burst open, bacteria will start to infect the area surrounding the pimple. What happen next is the body immunity system will send blood and white blood cells to the affected area. This will ward off the infection bacteria and also fill up the wound in the process of healing the skin tissues.

The utmost priority of the body immune system is to quickly stop the bacteria from infecting the body and penetrating to the area below the skin. In its rush to do its job effectively, it totally ignores the appearance of the skin tissues and therefore, an uneven skin tissue surface is formed after the "defensive job with the bacteria". This is what we known as scar.

Acne sufferer with lots of toxins in their blood system will develop more obvious scars as during the skin healing process in the bacteria attack, the toxins in his blood are also sent to the skin repaired tissue area. The presence of toxins in the skin tissues will further aggravate the scar appearance as toxins is not part of the natural body components. The body immune system might treat the toxins as harmful agent to the body and rush speedier in repairing the skin which causes an awful deplorable scar outlook.

That is why people with high level of toxins in their blood circulation system get scar even after a small pimple  or blackhead breakout. As toxins is the culprit here in causing those ugly looking acne scars, we need to get rid of the toxins or at least lessen the toxins level in our blood system. That means to lessen the scar effects, we need to purify and flush out the toxins in our blood stream so that only healthy and nutritious substances will be supplied by our blood to the affected skin repaired tissues and cells.

Herbal blood cleansers such as red clover is very effective in reducing acne scars. It improves blood circulation and detoxifies blood by flushing out the toxins and harmful substances through increased urination.             It has the added benefit for people with high cholesterol level as it also lowers their cholesterol level due to its  blood cleansing effect.

Some others blood cleansers include burdock root, juice from beet root, carrot and spinach, celery and watercress.

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Maintaining a beautiful skin

Heard of the following saying?

"Beauty is only skin deep"

True, true but we, human, likes and loves beautiful thing. After all, we are what we see. The visual sight of ourselves is the first impression that we present to others. So, even though beauty is only skin deep, a lot of people think otherwise.

The most basic step in maintaining one's beauty is taking care of one's skin condition. Skin, being the largest organ in us, do need care and maintenance. As we age, it loses its elasticity and it shows through the wrinkles that surface in our faces and bodies.

These are the natural ways to maintain a beautiful skin and face picked from Mark's Traynor Beauty Book.

Honey is a natural moisturizer which is very effective in preserving a beautiful and healthy skin. Take some liquid honey and rub it on the face and body. Leave it for 15 minutes and then rinse the skin area with water until they are free from honey.

For those with oily skin, add one or two teaspoon of orange juice to the liquid honey before applying to the body and face.

A radiant, fresh and soft skin is ours for the taking if we make this honey method a regular routine.

Milk, if added to the water we bath, will soften the skin of our bodies. Add a cup of liquid milk or milk powder to the bath tub, and then soak ourselves in it. After some time, rinse off the milk and water mixture with clean water.

Orange juice can be used to maintain the natural acidity balance in our bodies. It is very suitable for those who have an oily skin complexion. Rinse with orange juice after using the face wash that one used will preserve one's freshness and cleanliness as it is very effective in removing any facial dirt and oil residue.

Do you know that corn grain does has its place in maintaining one's skin beauty? Corn grain mixed with water acts as a very good face wash as it effectively removes any dead skin cells and thereafter makes the skin absorbs moisturizer easily.

Slices of cucumber found its place in the area around the eyes. Left for around 10 minutes in the eye area, it will freshen up our eyelids and reduce the swollen eyes we have when we don't have enough sleep.

Egg is particularly suitable to moisturize dry skin. Apply a mixture of egg yolk with a little bit of honey to the face, leave it for 20 minutes and then rinse off with clean tap water.

For those who oily skin, take the egg white and apply it to the oily skin in the face and leave it for 10 minutes. Then wash off the egg white from the face. This will maintain the balance of the skin acidity and reduce the size of the pores on the face.

Yes, even clay can be used to preserve our natural skin beauty and health. Kaolin, a form of clay, which can be bought in pharmacies and beauty centers, is used to soften one's skin. Add kaolin with water to form a skin pastry. Then apply it to the face and it will gradually harden and form a face mask. If one skin is oily, add a teaspoon of orange juice to the kaolin paste. For those with dry skin, add milk to the kaolin paste before applying to the face area.
  
            

 

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Getting rid of acne scars...Possible?

After a severe attack of acne, one would probably left with the dreadful acne scars. This is mostly an unwelcome sorrowful sight as they do make one's appearance not so pleasing. They surely aren't a pretty sight, so it is normal for everyone with scars to want to get rid of them.

If someone told you that those acne scars can be totally get rid of and restore your skin condition to its porcelain state, then take his/her opinion with a pinch of salt. They might be able to eliminate or lessen its severity and obvious appearance, but to totally restore one's skin to its original pristine state, that's indeed a tall order.

However, I do have a friend who have been successful in getting rid of his scar on his leg without resorting to expensive and painful treatments or medications ( for example dermabrasion). With his undying commitment and patience, he applied Vitamin E cream daily to his scar. Voila! After a year of doing so, his scar was gone forever. I think very few people, especially acne sufferers would have that sort of patience and persistency.

Anyway, if we already have scars, be it acne scars or scar on other part of our bodies, it is wise to treat them early. They will show quicker response to medication and heal sooner the faster we do something about them. Believe me, old scars do take a long long time to "heal".

Vitamin E plus zinc supplement do help speed up the healing process of the scar and reduce the scarring.A herb known as sarsaparilla which is normally found in complex with other herbs can greatly improve the texture and condition of the scar tissue.

To best reducing the scarring effect, take Vitamin E externally and zinc internally plus sarsaparilla. Also supplement your diet with 500 mg of evening primrose oil.

  

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Can we really not squeeze our acne spots?

I think most acne sufferers knew that they are not supposed to squueze their spots, zits or pimples. If you have been visiting a skin dermatologist, I am sure that he/she will tell you to never ever squueze your pimples, no matter how tempting you are. Right?

But even with this vital information, for someone who has pimples for quite some time, somehow, he/she will surely fail to fight the temptation to pop those acne spots. I guess the satisfaction in picking those pimples really put off the doctor's "no no" advice. Before I continue, can yo guess what's wrong with the picture?

So it is really a big mistake to pop those pimples? Well, if your spot is red in color, don't ever trying to pick on them. By doing so, you would cause severe and irreversible damage to the surrounding skin tissues. Furthermore, nothing will pop out as there is really nothing in it (yet) that can be squeezed out and if you press on them real hard, not only will they become bigger and redder, you would be presented with a big scar for your lifetime.

However, if your acne spots are yellowish in color, they are indeed ready to be squuezed. One way to do it is to squeeze them GENTLY with clean fingers covered by tissues at the tips. By now, I guess yo know what's wrong with the photo. The missing tissue paper!

If the pimples are really "mature" (yellowish and look like ready to pop by itself), a gentle pull of the skin surrounding the pimples (instead of squeezing it) will easily burst the pus inside the pimples. Yellowish pus will flow out from the "squeezed" pimples. To make sure the content of the pimple is emptied fully, some people give it a gentle squeeze. Here, one can see more pus which is thicker will flow out.

When red liquid flows out from the acne head, it means that blood is flowing out. So the moment you see red liquid flowing out, damage has been done to the tissues surrounding the matured acne. That is why gentle pulling and squeezing are important to ensure minimal harm is inflicted to the tender skin surrounding the hair follicles.


What would you do if you see the pus is flowing out from the spot? Soak up and dab the pus with tissue, right? Now, you know why I mentioned clean tissue earlier on. Finish off everything with a gentle small dab of tee tree oil (but never apply too much as it will definitely irritate your skin) to the affected spot area.


Contrary to popular belief, I think matured yellowish spot should be squeezed. Why? Because sooner or later, its content will be popped out. Letting nature takes its course simply means that it will "grow" into bigger size before it bursts naturally. So a bigger residue or pits will be left if we let it occur naturally. But with the act of picking, we would have pick it at a time before it grows into its full size. So the after effect "pit" will be smaller.

Ok, now some of you may ask, "What about blackheads and whiteheads? Could they be squeezed?" Blackheads can be squeezed (gently of course) but never ever do it on whiteheads.

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Noticeable Pores. What you can do about it?

Most of us would feel that our pores are open an noticeable. They often look digusting and unsightly as compared to a porcelain finish skin which we all yearn. Nobody likes the look of an orange skin.

So can we do anything about them? Unfortunately, those tablets given by your GP to "treat" your acne isn't going to help in making the skin pores less prominent. Pores showing up more obvious after we suffer a round of acne problems. This happens because the area around the hair follicle has been stretched open with the solid plug known as black head which formed during the acne process.

So the pore will appear as a bigger "pit" due to the occuppation of the former blackhead and the lack of elasticity of the skin to return the skin to its original state.  With a bigger "hole", it will tend to attract more dirt and absorb more make up from its surrounding and worsen the outlook of the skin. Now you know why the bigger pores become more noticeable.

However, there are still ways to make the pores feature less prominent on our skin. Good make-up which is oil free will give us a prettier look as it will make our skin less greasy. In addition to the make-up, apply a light powder on top of the make-up and after a certain time, after your skin get used to it, the open pores will become less noticeable. Yes, make-up acts as a camouflage to hide the pores appearance. Don't think that make-up is only for the ladies as nowadays many guys go for make-up to do wonders to their skin.

If you don't know what or how to select the suitable make-up which is suitable for your skin, ask around. There are many cosmetic companies specialises in making concealers and foundations which are suitable for guys and gals.

Also, keeping your skin clean and less greasy will lessen the pores unsightly appearance. Remember earlier on, we mentioned dirt trapped in the pores will make them very obvious. So by getting rid of the dirt, we would have a more beautiful look. 


 

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The Dreaded Acne Scar

I think the most dreaded thing about having acne is its destructive effects on our skin which can be everlasting. This presents itself in the form of scars. Some marks which we defined as scars are visible but will improve over time while others are permanent.
 
Macules, "scars" which appear as red flat marks on the spot areas can be visible for as long as 6 months while  the brown discolorations which often appear in darker skin people can last up to a year and a half. This discolorations, known as post inflammatory hyper pigmentation, happen as a result of stimulation of the inflammatory process to the skin cell pigments.

Scars happen due to the way our body repair the damage to the skin. The damage to the elastic fibres around the pores gives our skin a scar appearance after the skin repaing process.  And some of us will scar easily as compared to our friends. So it is wise to seek treatments for our acne in order to suffer the effect of acne scars which are usually more difficult to get rid off.

Keloid or hypertrophic scars comes in the form of raised scars. During the skin repairing process, our system piled up lots of collagen to the acne spots and form lumps in its place. Even though they may appear for years, some of them do vanish.

Most acne sufferers develop sunken scars which appears as pits or depression on the previous acne spots. They can be further categorised into many types.

As its name implied, soft scars are smaller and softer compared to the other scar types. They are less prominent as they normally have gentle slopes.

 Ice pick scars are more severe and even though they look fine, they are very obvious due to their jagged and steep edges. Most people have these deformations on their cheeks.

 
Depressed scars are a more severe form of ice pick scars. They are actually ice pick scars that are developed into larger pit areas. Therefore, they feature prominently on our skin.

I think atrophic patches are the least obvious acne scars that one could have. They are just flat scars; unsmooth skin due to the repairing process but at least there is no pit or depression.

Whatever acne scars we have, we will dread for it as it really changes the way we look. After all, this scars might be there for life. For some of us, even if we spend a huge amount of time, money and effort to eliminate the scars, we won't get the same porcelain look that we initially possessed. So pay attention to your acne and do not prolong treatment.     

            

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Are there any difference in creams, gels, lotions or foams in topical acne treatment?

The base of the product that frames the active ingredients determine how well the active ingredients are being absorbed in the skin. It can also make the active ingredients stronger or weaker. Therefore, there are indeed some differences with  products that have the same active ingredient (such as a 1% benzoyl peroxide) but come in different forms such as creams, gels, lotions or foams. 

If our skin is very oily, gels are much better for it. When the skin is dry, creams or ointment products are more suitable. Lotions and oils are usually used in the summer months where humidity is higher.

Products that are more moisturizing are normally greasier, making it unsuitable for most people as most people who have acne would normally have oily skin. Therefore, one definitely wouldn't want to put something which is greasy on one acne prone skin to treat acne.

 

 

However, a more drying product will make our skin irritated. Sometimes, a combination of more drying and more moisturizing products can be used to achieve good results as in acne treatments. As most acne treatments are drying, we recommend them to be used with moisturizers to make them less irritating for the skin to achieve an acne free complexions.

Benzoyl peroxide is known to be more active when used in the gel formulation than in other forms. However, it may be too irritating for some people. Hence the options are to use a lower concentration of benzoyl peroxide in the gel formulation, choose a higher concentration in a cream or use the cleansers in various strengths.

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Does facial treatment help clear acne?

Don't we all love facial treatment? It gives us a feeling of refreshment and cleanse after we have one. A typical facial treatments by beauticians in salons and spas consists of cleansing, massaging, heat wrapping, extraction of blackheads and application of creams.

Simple procedures such as cleansing and extraction of blackheads (open comedones) by aestheticians are usually safe. However, in the extraction of the blackheads, the beautician normally uses a tissue paper or blackhead remover to extract the contents which can lead to redness and swelling. Furthermore, this is only a temporary improvement  to free the pores from impurities as the pore will be clogged again over the next few days.

The cream or lotion used might cause irritation to your skin. And the skills of the beauticians or aestheticians in different salons vary tremendously. An aggresive facial can leave your face worse than no facials at all.

Should you decide to have a facial, ask your dermatologist or friends who have had facials on a good beautician. Ask your dermatologist on the products that they recommend to you and try them one by one in order to minimise the chance of skin irritation and acne breakouts.

Therefore, facial treatment only clears blackheads from our faces for a few days only. We also have to be alert on the type of creams and lotions that are being used on our faces, and also on the skill of the beauticians.   

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Do I need to treat my acne?

This question is often asked by people with one or two pimples at a time. Of course, the decision to treat the pimples is entirely up to each individual. Some people have many acne lesions and do not seem to mind while others are full of worries even with one pimple, especially on their nose.

Let us put it this way. If you get one new acne lesion per month with each lesion leave behind a scar, you will have 12 new scars per year. Therefore, it would be wise to treat the acne in order to prevent new acne lesions from forming and clear existing one so as to minimize the occurrence of permanent scarring.

Treating acne is definitely a lot easier than treating acne scars. And by the way, no matter what people tell you, one can never really get rid of acne scar, one can only lessen its appearance. Treatments are available to make the raised tissue around the scar flatter but I have yet to know any treatment that can raise sunken tissues effectively. And the cost of such treatment is prohibitive. So it is better to prevent the occurrence of acne scars than to treat acne scars. Therefore, it is indeed wise to treat acne from preventing any acne scar to form later on.

Wherever possible, avoid squeezing your acne lesions at this might lead to permanent scarring. Picking or squeezing at acne lesions also leads to a longer existence of your lesion and not to mention the associated pain that developed at the acne spots.

Anyway, by observing factors such as the duration and severity of your acne lesions, whether they are itchy and painful, the duration you have acne, your past response to acne treatment and the tendency of scarring and hyper pigmentation can greatly guide you in seeking treatment. It will help your dermatologist to decide the appropriate treatment for your acne condition too.

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Why antibiotic doesn't work forever for your acne?

The typical acne treatment, especially those that are being categorized as mild and moderate acne, is by using topical medications. It can either be purchased from your local pharmacy stores either through off the shelf or prescribed by your dermatologist.

However, for those with severe acne, it seems that the application treatment gels or creams do not do anything to improve the condition of one's acne. Most of the time, acne sufferers with severe acne condition will be recommended to go for antibiotic. Normally, this is the last resort in the medication profession to treat acne, Why? Because antibiotic, such as Accutane, does has its shares of harm in treating acne . Its side effects can be devastating and that is the reason why your dermatologist will use it to treat your acne for a short term period.


Antibioitics, as with most topical treatments, not only kill off P. acnes bacteria but also other friendly bacteria such as those pro biotic bacteria in your GI tract. Antibiotics work, where topical medications failed, because they contain stronger dosage of bacteria killing effects. Even though it works, its effect is never everlasting. In most cases, acne will return after the antibiotics treatment has been stopped for some times.

You would never cured it using this method as it is only treating the symptom of your acne condition, not the cause. That being said, it doesn't mean one should not resort to antibiotic to treat one acne condition which is severe. As a temporary counter measure, yes, we should try this treatment when typical acne treatments do not show any improvement in treating acne. Furthermore, in severe case of acne, the possibility of getting acne scar if nothing is done to treat it (and please believe me, acne need to be treated, it won't go away by itself) is high and believe me, treating acne scar is much much more difficult than treating any type of acne. In short, acne scar condition is almost non reversible. One can only lessen the effect of the scar, and never to get rid of it.

Prolonged usage of antibiotics will make your acne bacteria immune or resistance to its after some time as persistent exposure to the antibiotics will make our body develop a strain of acne bacteria that it resistant to it. When this happens, it is deemed that the antibiotic is futile in combating acne.

Remember that I did mention that antibiotics not only kill P.acnes bacteria but also other friendly bacteria in your G I tract? These friendly bacteria helps a lot in assisting us to absorb nutrients from the food we take. They also prevent fungus and many parasites to occupy the linens of our digestive system. I guess you can imagine what will happen to your overall health with the prolonged intake of antibiotics (to treat your acne) that completely kill off all your friendly flora bacteria. Now, you will not only get the severe acne condition again but also get a lot of chronic infections, among others include stomach ulcers, as an overall poor health system acts as a floodgate to lot and lot of diseases.        

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Why do we need to continuously treat our acne?

I bet this question will pop up on any acne sufferer who has acne pimples for a while. Do we really need to treat acne until it decides to go away? Do we really need to apply those topical acne gel or cream diligently? Couldn't we have some control over its popping up all over our face and body? Can't it be cured?

Well, if you read my post on the What is the true cause of acne?, you would know that there is indeed a solution to keep acne at bay. In the Is acne contagious? post, we know that acne bacteria can thrive only if they are being nurtured with the right environment. The act of applying acne gels or creams to the acne zits or spots meant to kill the bacteria that are proliferate there.

So you see, as long as we keep on applying the topical solution to the affected acne prone skin to kill off those acne bacteria, acne won't get a chance to develop. The moment we stop doing so, the acne development process will restart and acne will return will soon. This is unavoidable since we are treating the symptom, and not the actual root cause of acne.

That's why we often heard that acne is treatable but not possible to cure. We are not tackling the actual root cause of acne which is hormonal imbalanced and  toxins accumulation. Therefore, if one is really committed to keep acne away away for good, we need to tackle these two causes. But most acne sufferers just don't have the patience, faith  and time to travel this route as it really takes a long time to take effect. Even the time duration of seeing the effect of acne subsiding by the application of topical medications (a week or two) is too slow for them. After all, when one has acne, one is very anxious and embarrassed and want to get rid of it as soon as possible.

Most acne sufferers want instant result. Apply the medication today and see the acne pimples vanish the next morning. Believe me, this is not going to happen. The expectation of instant gratification in anything we do including getting rid of acne makes us concentrate on using medications to treat acne.       

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Is acne contagious?

I guess this question will be on the mind of every acne sufferers. Is acne contagious? Could acne be transferred from one person to another simply by touching or making contact with the acne prone area? Or is it possible acne can be transferred from one spot of the skin to another spot simply by touching both areas with a hand or finger?

In my previous post on The True Cause of Acne, we know that acne is caused by hormones imbalanced and congestion of toxins from our blood. Hormones imbalanced causes our sebaceous glands to excrete an immense amount of sebum. Congestion of toxins coupled with excessive skin shedding in the pilosebaceous unit (hair follicles) provides a conducive area for the acne bacteria to breed and multiply. With the presence of bacteria, the excessive sebum will become hardened and finally form what we known as acne.

That's why you often heard people said acne bacteria aggravates acne condition. It is only with the right condition (excessive sebum and a congestion of the toxins from our internal body system) that acne bacteria can thrive and cause acne to spread.

Therefore, simply touching one area of your skin free acne with your hand or finger laden with acne bacteria won't simply make that area infected with acne pimples. And do you know that some area of our skin (even with an enormous amount of acne bacteria population) won't have acne? Have you noticed your hand, fingers, and feet simply won't have acne?

So that means perfect skin person has acne bacteria on their skin but without the proper environment, acne won't get a chance to proliferate. Even though the acne bacteria are there, acne pimples are no where in sight. That's why I often say acne bacteria don't cause acne.








       

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What is the true cause of acne?

Whether one is looking to treat or to cure acne (yes, that right, I did mention the word cure), it would be a lot easier to do so if we understand what causes it.

Most of you might answer bacteria. Unfortunately, bacteria doesn't cause acne, even though it might aggravate acne. If bacteria causes acne, then how do you answer when there is certain place in our skin that acne just won't grow no matter how much acne bacteria you transfer to it.

Some of you might say genetic plays a big role. True to a certain extent but that it not the actual cause either. If it is, then one whole family would suffer acne. Do all your brothers and sisters have acne? And when there are two or three members in the family who are prone to acne, they said it is genetic. Have they ever paused and think that there might be something else that causes acne? Maybe there is some external trigger that causes acne. Something like one's lifestyle or the environment one live in.

Aha, now some of you might say overactive oil glands. Very close, as most of the acne sufferers were in their teens. In this stage of life, one's sebaceous oil glands secrete lot and lot of oil  and cause blockage to the follicles and eventually the accumulation of the hardening of oil there is known as acne.


Hmmm, seem like we have our answer there. Or is it? Let me ask you one question. Why do our sebaceous oil glands are so active in that stage of our lives? Why do pimple, acne, blackheads, zits, or whatever you like to call it, pop up at those unwelcome period?

Well, the answer lies in the imbalance of hormones. As hormones control the amount of sebum excreted by the sebaceous glands, an imbalanced hormones condition would make one's skin very oily. That's why most people will oily skin have acne. Most people but not all. Why? To have acne, we would need another ingredient. And this ingredient is none other than the congesting toxins in the sebaceous units originating from our blood and lymph. 

So now you know that an imbalanced hormone condition coupled with blood toxins cause acne.
 

     

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Birth Control Pills to Treat Your Acne

Birth control pills for acne? It's won't come as a surprise if we fully understand how acne begin in the first place. Caused by a blockage of pores in the hair follicles by excessive shedding of dead skin and secretion of sebum, acne pimple begin to take shape.

What causes an abnormally high amount of sebum secretion by the glands in our skin? It is mainly due to the excessive amount of male hormone, androgen and testosterone presence. When one is in teenage years, the female and male hormones are normally out of balance. And yes, the male hormones also made themselves present in a female body.

Birth control pill is used to bring back some stability of these hormones in the woman's body. Women normally experience great hormone fluctuation before their menstrual period. When these hormones are regulated and become more balance, acne outbreaks would not only become less severe but also less frequent.

A visit to a dermatologist for those with severe case of acne would normally lead to the prescription of isotretinoin. This medication, usuall come in the brand Accutane, is a risky drug to treat acne.       


To say that Accutane is risky to a pregnant woman is an understatement. It is a well known fact that Accutane causes great harm to one's fetus. Therefore, federal regulation are in placed to confirm one is not pregnant before taking Accutane. Also, screening of pregnancy is required for each refill of Accutane medication.

That's why your doctor normally prescribed birth control pill be taken together with Accutane to minimize the chance of getting pregnant during one's acne treatment using Accutane. However, as with all other acne medications, once you stop taking them, acne will come back to haunt you and might even be more severe than before.

One final note I must stress that when birth control pills are used to control one's acne, its effectiveness on its main function, ie. to avoid pregnancy, is greatly reduced due to the presence of Accutane. It still have its effect but it pays to get another birth control method in place to further reduce the probability of getting a baby.      

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How to prevent acne: is it possible?

I guess everyone who have acne would look for ways to prevent it. But is that possible?

To answer that question, you got to know why acne occur in the first place. It is not due to dirt or, the stuff you eat (though there're lots of debates going around about this point). It is mainly due to the hormonal change in our bodies. For teenagers, this hormone change is unavoidable. So is acne that come together with it.

Next, you may ask, "Since everyone experiences hormonal changes in their bodies, why not everyone get acne?" Interesting question. I guess by now, you already known that everyone of us is different. That includes our bodies. For most of us, our sebaceous glands will secrete more oil as a reaction to our hormonal changes while a small number of us do not show such symptom.

And when too much oil (sebum) is produced and coupled with the abnormal amount of dead skin shedding , our hair follicles will be blocked. When this takes place, it only a matter of days that acne lesions will pop up on our skin.

Though acne can't be prevented, it can be minimized. Taking steps to minimize the acne occurrence in our skin will save us tons of problem in dealing with our skin appearance later on in our life. So let take a look at ways to do so.

Remember I said earlier on, acne is not caused by dirt. So there is no need to wash your face repetitively daily. It won't make your pimples go away. Instead, it would only worsen your skin condition and makes it more acne-prone as over washing makes it drier. When your skin become too dry, the sebaceous glands will secrete more sebum and as a result, more acne breakouts will occur. Usually washing your face two times a day is sufficient in keeping your skin hygiene.

And do pat dry your skin after washing instead of rubbing with rough towel. Why? Surely you don't want to give your existing acne a chance to infect the skin area which is free of acne.

Some skincare companies give the misconception that hard scrub is good for our skin. Hope that you didn't tag along the same line. Remember our skin (especially the part that is on the face) is very delicate. To keep it clean, you don't have to scrub it vigorously. Such action would only "puncture" and injure it which would pose more problem to your acne condition.

Remember the age old saying that it is not wise to squeeze your pimples? Guess it is true that such an action would result in more breakouts. Squeezing or picking your pimples pushes the acne bacteria deeper into your skin and bacteria can also be transferred from your fingers to the respective skin area. Squeeze too hard and you increase the risk of having an acne scar. So it is best to leave your acne lesions alone unless you know what and how to do it properly.


As most of us have a mild case of acne, over the counter acne treatment would do fine. Get something mild (usually those medications contain benzoyl peroxide and go for the lowest concentration available) and give it a few weeks to work. Use it sparingly in the beginning to give your skin a chance to adapt it. More application of the treatment will only aggravate your acne breakouts and pose the treatment unsuitable for your skin. The moral of the story, more is not always better!
     

   

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Why Is My Skin So Greasy?

Having a greasy skin is definitely not a beautiful sight to behold and it also creates an uncomfortable feeling that our skin is not clean. Come to think of it, possessing a greasy or oily skin definitely makes dirt easier to stick to it in comparison to a dry skin.

Why do some of us have greasy skin while others have a dry to normal skin? The answer lies in the way our sebaceous glands that lie beneath our skin surface respond to our hormone fluctuation.

Most of us, while in our teenage years, will produce immense amount of androgen hormones. For a greasy skin person, the sebaceous glands will become overactive and excrete large amounts of sebum (oil) which is being excreted from his pores. Hence, the skin will always be covered with a layer of sebum.

I know it is uncomfortable to get oil covering our skin and also the fact that one might have a higher chances of developing acne from such an occurrence make us want to get rid of greasy skin at any cost but looking at it in another angle, people with greasy skin will age slower. Most of us with greasy skin will try to remove the sebum on our skin especially in the face by washing or using blotting paper but the oil will return in around 30 minutes. There is a product known as seban pads which when use on our skin will keep those oily patches away for as long as 4 hours.

Another school of thought states that hydrogenated oils which when oxidized by our bodies will become rancid fats. These rancid fats are toxins to our bodies and that is the reason why we have greasy skin as our system will try to excrete these toxins through our skin.

This is also the reason why some acne sufferers reported that they are having great success in using large doses of Vitamin A in treating their acne.

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Could Acne Be Cured?

I believe that you been told countless times; be it at by the dermatologists, friends, relatives or even by many acne sufferers out there in the net, that acne cannot be cured and that it can only be treated.

Actually I even told the readers of my blog the same thing but if I tell you NOW that acne can actually be cured, would you believe me ? Well, I am not pulling your legs but it is indeed true that acne can actually be cured.

Why do we have a general consensus that acne cannot be cured? It is due to the method we use to tackle our acne problem. Most of the acne problems out there are being tackled with medicines or drugs that focus to remove acne symptoms; be it topically or orally. These acne treatment methods are recommended by dermatologists, health care practitioners and also by those acne sufferers who have successfully keep their acne at bay. Surely they can't be wrong, can they?

Of course, treating acne with focus on the acne symptoms such as the pimples, zits, blackheads, whiteheads or cysts could successfully get rid of the acne lesions as long as we continuously and stick to our acne treatment regimen day in and day out of our lives. The moment we stop our acne treatment, the acne lesions will pop out all over our face and skin unless the system in our bodies have decided to pop those acne lesions out on our skin. So that is the reason why we always say that acne cannot be cured.

If we really want to cure our acne, then we have to shift our focus in tackling acne to the root cause that makes acne to break out on our once flawless complexion. Most of the time, pimples are caused by high level of toxin accumulated in our bodies and for most acne sufferers, these toxins are being released to the external through the skin in the form of acne lesions.

To get rid of the high level of toxicity in our blood and lymph node systems, we need to conduct a cleansing and detoxification process. Here, a good cleansing colon system coupled with a liver and kidneys strengthening regimen would not only able to detoxify our bodies but also able to restore and strengthen our immune system.

A herb combination that consists of Burdock, Chickweed, Yellow Dock, Cascara Sagrada, Oregon Grape, and Fenugreek would be able to do an excellent job in cleansing one's badly toxified body. So is a liver cleansing formula that consists of Dandelion root, Parsley herb, Chamomile flowers, Gentian root, Black cohost root, Birch leaves, Horsetail herb etc. This liver cleansing formula can cleanse, detoxify and nourish our immune system and restore one's digestive system.

Once we are done with the detox system, we can further build up our immune system with probiotics, vitamins and minerals.

You might ask, "if detox system is so effective in curing acne, why don't professionals recommend it?" Well, it will work if and only if you have the confidence and patience to stick to the regimen for months. To tell you the truth, it is not an easy thing to do as during the course of the regimen, it is best to restrict our diets to mostly fruits and veggies and drink plenty of water. Coupled with the fact that we don't see instant result ( I really mean that as it might take a long time - months for the result to be seen), most acne sufferers would ditch these sort of magical acne cure!

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Treat Acne With Tea Tree Oil

The antimicrobial activity of tea tree oil is what makes tea tree oil effective in treating acne. Its two important chemical constituents, Terpinen-4-ol and Cineole are responsible for killing bacteria and germs. As Cineole is also a powerful irritant aside from its strong anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, we would prefer to go for tea tree oil with low Cineole content to minimize skin irritation when applied topically to our skin.

As tea tree oil is an essential oil derived from steam distillation of the Australia's Melaleuca Alternafolia tree leaves, it is much safer from benzoyl peroxide which is often the standard ingredient used in treating acne. Even though tea tree oil might cause some skin irritation to acne sufferers especially those with sensitive skin, its degree and number of side effects are much more lower than benzoyl peroxide which will often itching, dryness, burning and stinging to its users.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that some acne sufferers are using tea tree oil as a supplement to benzoyl peroxide as their acne treatment as its antibacterial property will kill the acne causing bacteria; Propionibacterium acnes and its less harsher side effects.

As with most aromatherapy oils, tea tree oil completely penetrates your skin without leaving any residue on its surface. With such a strong penetration power, tea tree oil is able to reach and kill the acne bacteria that resides in the pilosebaceous units. With regular application, acne bacteria are killed and reduced and over times, new acne lesions are prevented and even the appearance of acne scars are minimized. The best part is tea tree oil still remain active in the fatty cells even after 3 to 4 weeks of application.

If you experience immense skin irritation with tea tree oil, then dilute its concentration with jojoba oil or pure aloe vera gel. When you start your acne treatment with tea tree oil, you should apply to your acne spots only and leave them overnight. To your surprise, those acne blemishes have become less inflamed in the next morning.

Aside from its usage in treating acne, tea tree oil is also effective in treating Athlete's Foot, Bronchitis, dandruff, Whooping Cough, and even Ringworm.

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Does Vitamin B5 work for acne?

There are lots of home remedies around which can be used to treat acne. One of them involves using large dosage of vitamin B5 which is also known as pantothenic acid to treat acne.

But does vitamin B5 really work in treating acne? According to a study conducted by Dr. Lit-Hung, not only high doses of Vitamin B5 (10 to 20 g ) was effective in treating acne but it also decreased pore size. I guess you already knew that one of the factors that causes acne is the overactive sebaceous glands that excrete an abnormally high amount of sebum/oil and when the P. acnes bacteria feed on it, acne lesions are developed. As most acne sufferers have a low level of fats metabolism, these fats are deposited in our sebaceous glands. As it takes Coenzyme-A to break down these fats, consuming mega doses of Vitamin B5 will provide our bodies with lots of Coenzyme-A.

Now, before you decide to take such a high doses of Vitamin B5 immediately, I would advise you to increase the intake of B5 gradually as your body need some times to adapt to such a high doses of B5 intake.

For the first 3 days, take 5 grams of B5 every day. And do remember to spread out your daily intake; say 3 to 4 times a day so that the level of B5 in your body can be more stable. Some people resort to time released B5 supplements but they are usually more difficult to procure. Then go for a B5 10 gram daily intake for 3 months. A tip that I like to share with you is to take B5 15 minutes before or during meals as doing so will minimize stomach or diarrhea problems.

How fast acne disappear from one's skin will vary from individual to individual. Some people reported that they have a clearer skin after a week while for others, they need a month for it to be effective. For me, it took around 2 weeks to have some noticeable improvements in many acne condition. For acne sufferers with severe acne condition, it might take 2 months for their acne to start diminishing and a total of 6 months for a flawless complexion. I know this news would be a BIG deterrent for many people but if you have tried almost everything under the sun to clear your acne, what do you have to lose in seeking this solution to your stubborn acne condition?

The key here is to be consistent in your intake of B5 and that means you must take the mega doses of B5 everyday in the 3 months period or until your skin is clear of pimples. Don't be alarmed if you notice that you have more pimples or zits after starting your acne B5 treatment as it only shows that vitamin B5 is working in pushing your existing pimples to the surface of your skin.

I also noticed that after a few days of taking B5, my skin became less oily. I guess B5 was lowering the amount of sebum that was produced in my skin follicles units and making my skin drier.

As taking mega doses of Vitamin B5 will cause deficiencies in other classes of vitamin B, I would advise you to take a supplement of vitamin B-complex (B50 or B100 complex would do). If possible, aim for a B complex which contain a low level of B6 or pyridoxine (less than 50 mg) as there were some study out there B6 increases acne breakout if taken alone.

You might experience chapped lips, stomach irritation, diarrhea or hair thinning during the course of your acne B5 treatment. For minimizing hair thinning problem, take more biotin ( a certain class of B complex vitamin). You can use the following guideline : 1 mg bitoin for every 2.5 g of B5 that you take.

Even though it is next to impossible to have an overdose of B5 as it is water soluble, somehow I would not recommend women who are breastfeeding or pregnant to take it as there is not much studies on its safety on such cases. Since B5 is water soluble, it is wist to drink plenty of water during your acne B5 treatment to lessen the above mentioned side effects.

Lastly, did I say that you can also apply B5 to your acne prone skin? Using B5 topically to complement its oral intake will make you having a higher success in treating acne with B5.

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A Look At Toothpaste in Treating Acne

You must have heard many contradicting views on using toothpaste in treating acne. Some people reported that toothpaste performs miracle for their acne while others swear that they would never ever try this acne home remedy again for treating acne as it only produces more irritation and burning to their face.

Why is it some of us are having great success in treating acne while for others, toothpaste do more damage to their skin? To have a better understanding, let's take a look at a toothpaste typical ingredients.

In most toothpaste, you will find fluoride or a variation of it such as Sodium Monoflurorophosphate or Sodium Fluoride. Fluoride is the ingredient that is used to prevent tooth cavities. If you ever suffer burning or irritation when using toothpaste to treat your acne, it is due to fluoride and it might also cause skin allergies for some of acne sufferers who have sensitive skin. However for acne sufferers who have less sensitive skin, they might find that it works for their acne as fluoride dries up the pimple contents and that's why people say that it works for their pimples.
Sorbitol, hydrated silica, titanium dioxide and Polyethylene Glycol which are found in toothpaste do appear in some dermabrasive products used to treat acne but their minute presence in toothpaste are too insignificant to render their effectiveness in clearing acne.

Glancing further at the toothpaste contents, you will note that the presence of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. This ingredient is also present in many toiletries products such as your shampoo, body wash, facial wash etc. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is the ingredient that produces bubbles in most of the toiletries products and you can bet that these foamy bubbles won't do anything to improve your acne condition.

To minimize tartar deposits on the tooth, Sodium Pyrophosphate is added to toothpaste to remove calcium and magnesium from the saliva. In the skin, calcium promotes skin cell growth and causes more hair follicles to grow.

When Sodium Pyrophosphate is applied to the skin, calcium reduction lowers skin cell growth which leads to less activities in the hair follicles. Bear in mind that one of the factors that leads to acne formation is the abnormal shedding of skin cells in the follicle unit and by having less cell growth activities, you will get less pimples on your face.

Now that you know more about toothpaste in treating acne, would you still like to use it to treat your zits? If you decide to proceed, make sure you only apply toothpaste to your acne spots (spot treatment) and don't leave it overnight. In fact, you should only leave it for 10 to 15 minutes. Never ever apply toothpaste to your pimples which has been popped as you will experience extreme stinging and burning sensation.

If you feel that toothpaste makes your skin too dry, apply a mixture prepared from three teaspoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder. This mixture will make your skin feel soft and less drying. On a final note, treating acne with toothpaste will make your skin ages faster due to its drying effect.

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