Acne 101

Skin care is one of the most researched and well-studied aspects of human body care.  To begin with, it is important to know that the human skin can be categorized into four types:

Normal Skin is the middle path between oily and dry skin, with the main features being a soft tone and a smooth texture.

Oily Skin has a shiny and thick texture and almost always has pores, pimples and blemishes. Oily skin is especially highly prone to blackheads.

Dry Skin has a very low level of sebum, having a parched look, mainly caused by the skin’s instability to retain moisture.

Combination skin is a combination of oily as well as dry skin, having an oily T-zone, comprising of the nose, forehead and chin.

Apart from merely being an outer covering that holds all of the body together, our skin performs a series of important functions as well. The most important amongst these is the protection it provides form external infections and bacteria of all types.

Our skin also acts as a primary sensory organ, enabling us to feel the sensations of heat, cold, touch, pressure and injury. It acts as a primary heat regulatory organ due to an immensely high level of blood circulation.

Science also proves that our skin is a major source of vitamin D which it produces when exposed to the UV radiation, present in the sunlight.

An organ having so many critical functions ought to be given one of the best possible protective systems, especially since it faces a series of hazards, ranging from air pollution and substance abuse, going up to the stage of faulty products and skin care techniques.

There are a series of concerns and conditions of the skin which need your proper attention and care.

These primarily include:

• Tackling acne
• Caring for dry skin
• Tending to aging skin
• Developing a care regimen
• Choosing skin care products
• Skin diseases and conditions
• Home remedies

Acne is one of the most common reasons accounting for regular visits to dermatologists. This condition basically occurs when there is an over-activity or disorderly activity of the sebaceous glands, leading to the many eruptions and disturbances on the face.

A very common problem amongst people with an oily skin, acne can raise its ugly head in various forms, including:

• Blackheads
• Whiteheads
• Papules
• Pustules

Acne can also occur in the form of severe acne vulgaris, typically characterized by the formation of nodules and cysts. Meanwhile, there is another form of acne, known as acne rosacea, which usually affects individuals above the age of 30. This presents itself in the form of a red-colored rash, limited to the cheeks, nose, forehead and chin.

Very often, acne is also accompanied by bumps, pimples and blemishes. In severe cases, the forms of acne like acne rosacea also cause extensive swelling of the nose and growth of excess tissue.

To be able to manage acne effectively, it is very important to know what causes the condition. In many cases, there is an excessive accumulation of dead skin cells which can lead to this disorder. In some individuals, the likes of adrenal and sebaceous glands become overactive, leading to an increased amount of secretions and hence, the condition of acne.

In addition, acne is also believed to be caused by a number of dietary components. These mainly include greasy and fatty foods, milk, seafood, excessive intake of carbohydrates and many more.

The treatment of acne is often taken up in a combination of therapies including topical bactericidals and antibiotics, oral antibiotics, hormonal treatments and topical retinoids.

The skin you have is given to you at birth. There is no skin type which cannot be made to look good and stay healthy with the right combination of nutrition and care. Dry skin can be caused and aggravated by a series of factors. Though the skin type is largely determined by birth, yet there are a number of circumstances and causes that can lead to the development of dry skin.

The climatic conditions you live in can become the most critical cause of dryness in your skin. The fall in temperature as well as humidity levels can lead to extensive dryness in your skin, due to the massive moisture loss.  Also, people who spend a lot of time in a  centrally heated environments have also reported getting excessive dry skin, even if normally their skin was normal or the oily type. In addition, frequent hot showers and the use of harsh soaps and detergents also cause your skin to turn dry.

To keep your dry skin in the best possible state, you need to be very careful of a few factors related to your general habits and lifestyle. To begin with, it is important that you get enough rest and seep to help your skin restore its natural balance. Ensure that you follow a good nighttime care regimen with a good product suited to your skin type.

Develop and follow a proper schedule of cleansing, toning and nourishment with the care products especially suited to dry skin. The eyes are also a very sensitive and vulnerable region of the face for people with a dry skin. It is quite beneficial to use an almond-lanolin cream for this purpose.

Besides, individuals suffering from a dry skin are always advised against having frequent hot water baths and avoid prolonged sun exposure, as far as possible.

As the years of our life progress further, the various organs in our body are living their own age. Skin, as it is the organ that faces the maximum exposure to the external atmosphere, tends to show the maximum signs of aging, right from the moderate ones to the most severe ones.

Well, to begin with, the most significant and prominent warning signs our skin begins to show are the loss of elasticity and excessive dryness. The other changes include pigment changes, wrinkles, and looseness of the skin, and the most dreaded, the skin cancer.

The changes your skin undergoes due to the increasing age also differ in accordance with the age you are in. For instance, dark skin and blotchy spots are the main problem in your 40s, while the most common problems in the 50s include sagging spots, age spots, thinning lips and the like.

If you too want to age gracefully and do not want to get into the trap, then you can simply follow a few basic self care measures to protect yourself, which could include:

• Maintain basic hygiene and cleanliness
• Wear comfortable and loose clothing
• Abstain from excessive itching
• Prevent excessive dryness in the skin
• Don’t have extensive hot water baths

A basic self-care regimen followed throughout your 30s, 40s and beyond can significantly reduce the signs of aging on your skin. If need be, you can always take professional help and even read the literature available on the subject.

Besides, there are a series of anti-aging products that are also available to help you in this stage.

These mainly include:

• Anti-aging facial serums
• Eye creams
• Neck serums
• Anti-aging facial toners
• Anti-aging facial cleansers

A skin care regimen always follows a set of rules and guidelines designed to aid beauty care and help in the overall enhancement of the state of health.

The most rudimentary, effective and time-tested skin care regimen follows the three essential steps of cleansing, exfoliating and moisturizing.

To begin with, the step of cleansing involves removal of make-up, dead skin cells, oil and dirt, along with various other pollutants from the skin. It considerably helps in unclogging pores and prevents skin conditions such as acne.

When purchasing a cleanser, it is important that you ensure that the product doesn’t carry any harsh ingredients or other chemicals that might not suit your specific type of skin.

Moving on, the step of exfoliation is carried out to rub off the dead skin cells, bringing to surface the freshest ones. Chemical peels and microdermabrasion are the most common and successful methods of exfoliating.

However, as in the case of cleansers, exfoliating preparations should be used with extreme precaution. Any harsh ingredient or action at this step can actually damage your skin to quite an extent.

The last step in a basic skin care regimen is to moisturize. The skin’s basic health drink, a good quality moisturizer usually contains a lot of soothing and curative ingredients like lavender which have a highly nourishing impact on the skin.

Experts also recommend that in case your individual lifestyle requires, you should choose a moisturizer with a higher SPF count. Also, it is important that you use a moisturizer only in accordance with your own skin type to prevent any adverse side effects.

You might decide to save a few precious pennies and spend a bit less on your skin care and acne products, but the cost you’ll have to pay in the after years of life to cover the damage of a wrong choice of a skin care product will surely be unsurpassable.

It is a wise step to devote extreme care and precaution while choosing your skin care products. To begin with, you should know what type of skin you have and select the products accordingly.

Generally, it is quite common for the regular users to be able to select a particular brand which suits their skin type better. Of course, this can happen only once you’ve tried several brands and waited to see the long term results.

When deciding on your cosmetics kit, you should also be well aware of your skin type. For instance, you will not want your make-up to look awkward just because you chose a wrong tone of the foundation.

As we earlier mentioned, do not make price the base of your decision. It is of course not a wise decision to spend foolishly, but just buying a product because it is cheaper can actually cost you a fortune in future.

It is also important to know what type of make-up suits you. There are some women who look great with a heavily done make-up, while others look simply ravishing only with basic hues and tones.

As a learned and well-aware buyer, you should also spend a few minutes and go through the list of ingredients on the cosmetic’s label and packing. However, what tops the list of all your efforts is your own personal research for a product that will suit both, your skin type as well as your personal taste.

Skin problems and concerns normally stay as cosmetic concerns but sometimes they do become a personal inconvenience.  For an unfortunate few people, skin conditions can become quite hazardous, painful and even fatal in some cases.

Talking of such diseases, skin cancer is the most dangerous and fatal skin disease. It is typically explained as a malignant growth that exists in the outer layer of the skin. Conditions like the skin cancer are mostly caused due to factors including extensive sun exposure, heredity and even a history of chronic and unhealed wounds. The most prominent and probably the immediate sign of the occurrence of skin cancer is a clear change in the appearance of the skin.

Skin cancer basically exists in three basic forms, including the basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Cancer of the skin is mostly treated with therapies like radiation therapy, surgery, curettage and cryosurgery.

Psoriasis and eczema are other serious skin conditions that usually develop into a chronic skin condition. These can be caused due to the genetic make-up of the individual and can even be triggered by various factors including skin infections, reaction to medications and a basic skin injury.

However, skin allergies are one of the most common skin problems. Ranging from urticaria to angioedema, skin allergies can assume very complicated forms and usually present themselves in the form of a typical rash on various parts of the body.

A practical combination of appropriate lifestyle measures, along with suitable medications is often resorted for the treatment of such allergies and skin conditions.

The range of beauty problems is so diverse and varied that to find a possible commercial product to cure each one of them is practically impossible. Instead, what is preferable is to concentrate on the bounty of Mother Nature and try to use the wonderful herbs and other ingredients of nature that can act as excellent skin care tools.

For instance, the herb, turmeric, is known to have a vast range of curative qualities, for a series of problems. When mixed with a base of curd and gram flour, it can be a wonderful solution for acne, besides having excellent healing properties.

Similarly, almonds are known to have a very good soothing effect on the skin, besides being beneficial for curing dark under eye circles. Honey is another excellent natural moisturizer having a very soft effect on the skin.

Other home products that can be extremely helpful as skin care aides include:

• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Lemon
• Carrots
• Ginseng
• Lemongrass
• Mint
• Rose
• Eucalyptus
• Cucumber
• Potatoes
• Eggs
• Apricots

Treating acne is really the right move when you have it, but there are certain times when the treatment can cause more problems than benefits. There are stages in the life of a person when you could not treat acne anytime you want to. And, this is during pregnancy. As we know, this is a delicate stage in a woman’s life and it is that phase of a woman’s life that she must show extra care for herself. When she feels the need of treating acne, she must see to it that she equips her self with the right information.

The following are some medications for acne that are not good for use during pregnancy for they are harmful for the fetus:

First is Hormonal therapy that may include estrogen, flutamide, and spirolactone. They are harmful and may lead to some problems for both the mother and the child.  It is suggested that you avoid at all costs.

Another one that would just put a pregnant woman’s life in danger is Isotretinoin. This has negative effects as well especially for pregnant women or those that are breastfeeding. This could cause severe health hazards on both mother and the fetus inside her womb. It is advised that a woman who do choose to take this medicine must be monitored by the expert. Those who are trying to be pregnant must avoid using because it may just trigger negative effects not only for you but most especially to your child.

And, also avoid oral tetracyclines which could be of doxycycline, tetracycline and minocycline. As tested and proven, pregnant women or those that are breastfeeding must not use these medicines because there are bad side effects that can be a threat to your life and to your child. The topmost effect is permanent discoloration of teeth or bone disorders.

And the last one to ignore is topical retinoids such as tazarotene, adapalene and tretinoin.

Just like the above-mentioned means, this could just be another hazard to you and your baby’s health. So, whether you are pregnant or not, it is not wise to use all these mentioned.

For all of you who would like to treat their acne but are pregnant, why must you risk your life and the life of your child just to have a prettier face?

There is due time for treating your acne and during your pregnancy is not one of the safest times.

According to studies, acne is very common for people in their teenage years.  And for many teenagers experiencing acne breakouts can make very difficult to face the social impacts of their lives. There are these marks of shame, depression and even self-pity. As a parent of a teenager who faces this problem, you could be one of the greatest helps.

What can you do? You can do a lot.

Remind your child that acne is temporary.

As a guardian, you need to be there and give the encouragement to your child. You would probably see him or her so down due to the way people and criticisms affect him or her. Tell your child that the acne will not last for long and that it can be successfully eradicated. Never stop to explain the importance of moving on despite the negative reactions from others for their words are not that important at all.

Bring your teen to a good dermatologist

Do not wait for your teen’s acne problem to get worse before you go and see a dermatologist – the earlier the better. You need to find the dermatologist who deserves your trust. Be with your teen when they visit the dermatologist. Also, help your teen follow the reminders and instructions of the dermatologist.

Guide your child to do the right things

There are some things or acts that may worsen acne. See to it that you are near your teen to remind that those are not the right thing to do and it would just cause bad effects. Explain the cause and effect of acne problems and be sure t answer questions that your teen has.

Boost your teen’s self-confidence

Self-confidence plunges down when all those mocks and teases arise. The effect to your teen would be bitter. Be there to boost the esteem he or she has inside. Be generous with praises but do not use them just to flatter. Tell your teen about how wonderful his or her talent is. This would be a lift to his/her morale.

You are a parent, and you could help out your teen feel better through the misjudgments of the society towards people with acne. This is just a stage; it would surely be put to an end. Be there and support your child like no one could.