By Kerwin Chang
Proper Hygiene
One of the most common misconceptions about acne is that it's caused by dirt. It's not! Acne is caused by a combination of factors you can't control, like your hormone balance and the natural pace of your skin's renewal system. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can control that may help you keep your acne in check. Begin by following these simple suggestions for healthy-skin hygiene.
Acne Prevention - Tip #1: Don't over-wash. Since dirt is not causing your acne, excessive scrubbing and washing won't make it go away. Try to limit yourself to two washings per day — anything more than that can leave your healthy skin dry, and your acne-prone areas irritated. Habitual over-washing may also stimulate extra oil production, which could result in more breakouts.
Acne Prevention - Tip #2: Skip harsh scrubs. It's okay to exfoliate, but be sure to use a gentle formula with small, smooth grains. Avoid products with almond or apricot shell fragments; they can irritate or even tear your skin and further aggravate your acne.
Acne Prevention - Tip #3: Say no to alcohol. If you use a toner, avoid products with high concentrations of isopropyl alcohol, or common rubbing alcohol. A strong astringent, alcohol strips the top layer of your skin, causing your sebaceous glands to produce more oil. The result? Dry, red skin — and possibly more blemishes.
Acne Prevention - Tip #4: Don't squeeze or pick. Squeezing or picking your blemishes — with fingernails, pins or anything else — can force bacteria deeper into the skin, causing greater inflammation and infection. You'll also increase the damage to the surrounding skin, so the blemish is more likely to leave a permanent acne scar.
Acne Prevention - Tip #5: Hands off! Propionibacterium acnes (the bacteria that causes breakouts) is a normal resident of your skin; it doesn't lead to acne until it gets trapped inside the hair follicle. Excessive touching of your face, including rubbing or even resting your chin in your hands, can drive bacteria into your pores — where it can begin its dirtywork.
Acne Prevention - Tip #6: Work out, wash off. When you exercise, your movement generates heat; clothing and equipment cause friction. Until you shower off, heat and moisture are trapped against your skin, creating an ideal breeding ground for the spread of bacteria. So whenever you can, shower off immediately after exercising.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
With The Best Skin Care Products You Can Kiss Your Acne Goodbye!
Oh goody. You woke up this morning to find a huge zit on your chin, and today's the day for that big presentation at work. Sounds familiar? We all wake up with those irritating imperfections every now and then. Here is a list of the best skin care products that will help to eliminate these sudden acne outbreaks.
Exfoliate: Exfoliating is an essential step that should be done at a minimum of 3 times a week. This step eliminates dead skin build-up, which can clog our pores and create blemishes. Exfoliate every morning with a scrub that consists of the best ingredients, which you will find in "Honey Snap Out of It" Scrub by Benefit Cosmetics.
This product contains top exfoliants such as almond meal, which helps clean away dead skin and oil build-up, and honey, a moisturizer known to act as a natural form of alpha hydroxy. This product also has the added feature of being used as a facial mask for added moisture and deep pore cleansing. Men can benefit as well, as this exfoliator prevents ingrown hairs.
Cleanse: Cleansing is a step that should be done daily. Finding a good cleanser is crucial in the skin care process, as they remove the oil that causes blackheads and blemishes. Many foaming cleansers on the market today do not work as expected.
It is known that the foam just gets moved around on your face and does not remove dirt and oil as it should. A cleanser to try is "purity made simple" by philosophy. One dime-sized dab of this silky cream cleanser emulsifies, which means that it dissolves dirt, build-up and even makeup with no foamy residue.
Moisturize: Moisturizing is an important step to do everyday. If your skin is really thirsty for a top notch moisturizer, here is the best facial quencher. Voted as #1 Best Facial Moisturizer by Sephora in 2005, "hope in a jar" by philosophy is an effective moisturizer, which contains lactic acid and beta glucan. These products work together to give your skin a radiant glow, and help your skin look younger at the same time!
In order to eliminate unsightly blemishes, use the best products with top ingredients to receive optimum results. That way, you will not wake up in the morning with those unpleasant surprises on the days when you just don't need them.
About the author: William is the owner and the author of "1st In Acne Skin Care Products" available at www.1st-in-acne-skin-care-products.com A great source for Acne Treatments! Find articles and information on acne treatment, and a number of skincare products from makeup to blackhead removal items.
Exfoliate: Exfoliating is an essential step that should be done at a minimum of 3 times a week. This step eliminates dead skin build-up, which can clog our pores and create blemishes. Exfoliate every morning with a scrub that consists of the best ingredients, which you will find in "Honey Snap Out of It" Scrub by Benefit Cosmetics.
This product contains top exfoliants such as almond meal, which helps clean away dead skin and oil build-up, and honey, a moisturizer known to act as a natural form of alpha hydroxy. This product also has the added feature of being used as a facial mask for added moisture and deep pore cleansing. Men can benefit as well, as this exfoliator prevents ingrown hairs.
Cleanse: Cleansing is a step that should be done daily. Finding a good cleanser is crucial in the skin care process, as they remove the oil that causes blackheads and blemishes. Many foaming cleansers on the market today do not work as expected.
It is known that the foam just gets moved around on your face and does not remove dirt and oil as it should. A cleanser to try is "purity made simple" by philosophy. One dime-sized dab of this silky cream cleanser emulsifies, which means that it dissolves dirt, build-up and even makeup with no foamy residue.
Moisturize: Moisturizing is an important step to do everyday. If your skin is really thirsty for a top notch moisturizer, here is the best facial quencher. Voted as #1 Best Facial Moisturizer by Sephora in 2005, "hope in a jar" by philosophy is an effective moisturizer, which contains lactic acid and beta glucan. These products work together to give your skin a radiant glow, and help your skin look younger at the same time!
In order to eliminate unsightly blemishes, use the best products with top ingredients to receive optimum results. That way, you will not wake up in the morning with those unpleasant surprises on the days when you just don't need them.
About the author: William is the owner and the author of "1st In Acne Skin Care Products" available at www.1st-in-acne-skin-care-products.com A great source for Acne Treatments! Find articles and information on acne treatment, and a number of skincare products from makeup to blackhead removal items.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Skin Care Tips
Like it or not, your skin will be with you for the rest of your life. Your skin serves you and your body in a number of ways. It aids in sensory perception, protects you from injuries, provides a barrier against dehydration, assists in temperature maintenance, removes toxic wastes, aids in the manufacture of vitamin D, and provides structure to the organs and tissues within your body. To put it lightly, your skin is an integral part of your life. It's essential that you care for it and maintain it in a healthy state so that it will continue to function well for you as you age.
Knowing Your Skin
We glance quickly at the skin on the rest of our bodies when we shave, and we know to cover our skin when it's cold. But do we really know our skin? Is it dry or oily? Sensitive or thick? How often do new moles or wrinkles develop? Does your skin react differently when you change your lotions, cleansers, and creams? Do you have a skin care routine?
Your skin is very important to your overall health and well being. Take time to really look at your skin, and get to know its various features and subtleties. If you are not satisfied with your current skin care products, look for higher quality natural organic products that will improve the condition of your skin.
Skin Care Tip: Enlist the help of a natural skincare expert to examine your skin, point out trouble spots, and monitor the condition of your skin. A dermatologist can also help you understand your particular skin type, and recommend skin care products that would work best for you.
Protecting Your Skin
The ultraviolet rays of the sun are damaging to your skin and to your health. Sun exposure can lead to premature aging, sagging, wrinkles, skin discoloration, and the development of cancer. And while a suntan will eventually fade at the end of the summer, the damage to the skin from sunlight will continue to accumulate over time. Take measures to protect your skin from the sun and its damaging rays.
Sun Screen: Sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 helps block the damaging rays of the sun, and it should be used every day for adequate protection. Even if you don't plan on sunbathing, you are exposed to the sun when you drive in the car or walk into the grocery store. If you tend to sweat heavily, or if you are exercising vigorously, reapply the sunscreen every two to three hours throughout the day.
Reduce Sun Exposure: In addition to wearing sunscreen, it’s a good idea to reduce the amount of ultraviolet radiation your skin is exposed to everyday. Limit your time outdoors between 10:00am and 3:00pm when the sun is directly overhead and strongest. Wear protective clothing such as wide brimmed hats and sunglasses to block the sun's rays. And when you do have to expose yourself to the sun, try to build up your tolerance in modest increments each day.
Cleansing Your Skin
Next to sun protection, proper skin cleansing is the next best thing you can do for the care and protection of your skin. Washing your skin helps to remove the dirt, pollutants, dead skin cells, bacteria, cosmetics, perspiration, and debris that accumulate on your skin. Choose a gentle skin cleanser based on your skin type and special skin care needs (i.e. anti acne, or sensitive skin.) And wash your skin as necessary to keep it clean, fresh, and functioning properly.
Skin Care Tip: do not rub skin care cleansers into your skin. Instead, lather the soap or gel into a foam in your hands, apply to the skin and rinse off well. This will keep the cleansers from overly drying, blocking, or irritating the skin's pores.
Maintaining Healthy Skin
Moisturizers: Skin care moisturizers smooth and soften skin and help to lock in its natural moisture. They can be particularly soothing to dry or sensitive skin. And they provide great protection for the skin during wet, cold, or chapping (windy) weather.
Lifestyle: Your skin needs a good balance of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in order to function and remain healthy. Adequate exercise helps improve circulation and move waste and nutrients through the system. Eat a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise to keep your skin, and the rest of your body in tip-top condition.
Skin Care Tip: Drink at least six to eight glasses of purified water throughout the day to hydrate the skin and circulate essential nutrients. Also avoid chlorinated pools and hot tubs. Chlorine is very damaging to the skin. Get a shower filter to filter out the harmful chemicals from your city water supply.
About the Author
Dr. Group, the founder/CEO and clinical director for the Global Healing Center, heads a research and development team producing advanced, new, natural health protocols and products.
Knowing Your Skin
We glance quickly at the skin on the rest of our bodies when we shave, and we know to cover our skin when it's cold. But do we really know our skin? Is it dry or oily? Sensitive or thick? How often do new moles or wrinkles develop? Does your skin react differently when you change your lotions, cleansers, and creams? Do you have a skin care routine?
Your skin is very important to your overall health and well being. Take time to really look at your skin, and get to know its various features and subtleties. If you are not satisfied with your current skin care products, look for higher quality natural organic products that will improve the condition of your skin.
Skin Care Tip: Enlist the help of a natural skincare expert to examine your skin, point out trouble spots, and monitor the condition of your skin. A dermatologist can also help you understand your particular skin type, and recommend skin care products that would work best for you.
Protecting Your Skin
The ultraviolet rays of the sun are damaging to your skin and to your health. Sun exposure can lead to premature aging, sagging, wrinkles, skin discoloration, and the development of cancer. And while a suntan will eventually fade at the end of the summer, the damage to the skin from sunlight will continue to accumulate over time. Take measures to protect your skin from the sun and its damaging rays.
Sun Screen: Sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 helps block the damaging rays of the sun, and it should be used every day for adequate protection. Even if you don't plan on sunbathing, you are exposed to the sun when you drive in the car or walk into the grocery store. If you tend to sweat heavily, or if you are exercising vigorously, reapply the sunscreen every two to three hours throughout the day.
Reduce Sun Exposure: In addition to wearing sunscreen, it’s a good idea to reduce the amount of ultraviolet radiation your skin is exposed to everyday. Limit your time outdoors between 10:00am and 3:00pm when the sun is directly overhead and strongest. Wear protective clothing such as wide brimmed hats and sunglasses to block the sun's rays. And when you do have to expose yourself to the sun, try to build up your tolerance in modest increments each day.
Cleansing Your Skin
Next to sun protection, proper skin cleansing is the next best thing you can do for the care and protection of your skin. Washing your skin helps to remove the dirt, pollutants, dead skin cells, bacteria, cosmetics, perspiration, and debris that accumulate on your skin. Choose a gentle skin cleanser based on your skin type and special skin care needs (i.e. anti acne, or sensitive skin.) And wash your skin as necessary to keep it clean, fresh, and functioning properly.
Skin Care Tip: do not rub skin care cleansers into your skin. Instead, lather the soap or gel into a foam in your hands, apply to the skin and rinse off well. This will keep the cleansers from overly drying, blocking, or irritating the skin's pores.
Maintaining Healthy Skin
Moisturizers: Skin care moisturizers smooth and soften skin and help to lock in its natural moisture. They can be particularly soothing to dry or sensitive skin. And they provide great protection for the skin during wet, cold, or chapping (windy) weather.
Lifestyle: Your skin needs a good balance of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in order to function and remain healthy. Adequate exercise helps improve circulation and move waste and nutrients through the system. Eat a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise to keep your skin, and the rest of your body in tip-top condition.
Skin Care Tip: Drink at least six to eight glasses of purified water throughout the day to hydrate the skin and circulate essential nutrients. Also avoid chlorinated pools and hot tubs. Chlorine is very damaging to the skin. Get a shower filter to filter out the harmful chemicals from your city water supply.
About the Author
Dr. Group, the founder/CEO and clinical director for the Global Healing Center, heads a research and development team producing advanced, new, natural health protocols and products.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Translations for Acne
Dansk (Danish)
n. - akne, filipenser
Nederlands (Dutch)
acne (puistjes)
Français (French)
n. - acné
Deutsch (German)
n. - Akne
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ιατρ.) ακμή, σπυράκια
Italiano (Italian)
acne
Malay (Melayu)
n. - jerawat
Português (Portuguese)
n. - acne (f) (Med.), erupção (f) da pele (Med.)
Русский (Russian)
прыщ, угорь
Español (Spanish)
n. - acné
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - akne
中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
痤疮, 粉刺
中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 痤瘡, 粉刺
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 여드름
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - にきび
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) حب ألشباب
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - פצעי בגרות, חזזית, חטטת
n. - akne, filipenser
Nederlands (Dutch)
acne (puistjes)
Français (French)
n. - acné
Deutsch (German)
n. - Akne
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ιατρ.) ακμή, σπυράκια
Italiano (Italian)
acne
Malay (Melayu)
n. - jerawat
Português (Portuguese)
n. - acne (f) (Med.), erupção (f) da pele (Med.)
Русский (Russian)
прыщ, угорь
Español (Spanish)
n. - acné
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - akne
中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
痤疮, 粉刺
中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 痤瘡, 粉刺
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 여드름
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - にきび
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) حب ألشباب
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - פצעי בגרות, חזזית, חטטת
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Skin and Face Cleansers
Skin Cleansers - An Overview On Soap
Soaps are essentially made of salts of fatty acids. The most commonly used fats come from animal and vegetable sources and include stearic acid, palmitic, oleic, as well as lauric. Soap particles will coat the fat droplets in which dirt is embedded and then will allow these to be removed by water.
Cleansing of the skin helps the skin to maintain a healthy, attractive looking, surface. It removes dust, perspiration, and some of the breakdown products of sebum. Makeup can also be removed.
Mild Cleansers
Different gentle skin cleansers are available for acne, there are several types of mild cleansers that you may use if your skin is irritated or aggravated. There are also several types of specific acne cleansers that you can use for daily skin care, oil-free and non-comedogenic products are usually advisable.
Over cleansing the skin can cause irritation and may aggravate your skin condition, as well as encourage you to use other products that will grease up your skin. This may then complicate your skin care. You may need to use...
Cleansers For Various Skin Types
Oily skin: The selection of cleansers for oily skin should involve using products that rinse off well, both bar soaps and liquid cleansers have been formulated for this purpose. Many of the soap gels and stronger liquid cleansers are helpful for oily skin.
Dry Skin: The use of hard-milled face soaps and gentle synthetic detergents are very appropriate for dry skin. It may be necessary to only use cleansers on the face and body folds, when the ambient humidity is low (e.g in the winter or in the south-western United States).
Normal skin: Most people can cleanse with bar soap daily. The synthetic detergent soaps react better with hard water. Liquid cleansers and soap gels are popular at this time, the advantages, being cleaner dispensers in the bathroom. The cleansing sheets may be used for normal skin as well...
Acne Cleansers
Acne cleansers (Salicylic acid cleansers, Benzoyl peroxide cleansers, Antibacterial cleansers)are generally used to remove accumulated oil, make-up, sweat, and dirt on the surface of your skin. In doing so, these products generally make it easier for topical acne treatments to be absorbed. However, excessive use of acne cleansers can also lead to irritated dry skin. Most acne patients will only need to cleanse with such products once to twice daily. be absorbed.
Soaps are essentially made of salts of fatty acids. The most commonly used fats come from animal and vegetable sources and include stearic acid, palmitic, oleic, as well as lauric. Soap particles will coat the fat droplets in which dirt is embedded and then will allow these to be removed by water.
Cleansing of the skin helps the skin to maintain a healthy, attractive looking, surface. It removes dust, perspiration, and some of the breakdown products of sebum. Makeup can also be removed.
Mild Cleansers
Different gentle skin cleansers are available for acne, there are several types of mild cleansers that you may use if your skin is irritated or aggravated. There are also several types of specific acne cleansers that you can use for daily skin care, oil-free and non-comedogenic products are usually advisable.
Over cleansing the skin can cause irritation and may aggravate your skin condition, as well as encourage you to use other products that will grease up your skin. This may then complicate your skin care. You may need to use...
Cleansers For Various Skin Types
Oily skin: The selection of cleansers for oily skin should involve using products that rinse off well, both bar soaps and liquid cleansers have been formulated for this purpose. Many of the soap gels and stronger liquid cleansers are helpful for oily skin.
Dry Skin: The use of hard-milled face soaps and gentle synthetic detergents are very appropriate for dry skin. It may be necessary to only use cleansers on the face and body folds, when the ambient humidity is low (e.g in the winter or in the south-western United States).
Normal skin: Most people can cleanse with bar soap daily. The synthetic detergent soaps react better with hard water. Liquid cleansers and soap gels are popular at this time, the advantages, being cleaner dispensers in the bathroom. The cleansing sheets may be used for normal skin as well...
Acne Cleansers
Acne cleansers (Salicylic acid cleansers, Benzoyl peroxide cleansers, Antibacterial cleansers)are generally used to remove accumulated oil, make-up, sweat, and dirt on the surface of your skin. In doing so, these products generally make it easier for topical acne treatments to be absorbed. However, excessive use of acne cleansers can also lead to irritated dry skin. Most acne patients will only need to cleanse with such products once to twice daily. be absorbed.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Treatments for Acne Scars
The objective of scar treatment is to give the skin a more acceptable physical appearance. Total restoration of the skin, to the way it looked before you had acne, is often not possible, but scar treatment does usually improve the appearance of your skin.
A number of treatments are available. The type of treatment selected should be the one that is best for you in terms of your type of skin, the cost, what you want the treatment to accomplish, and the possibility that some types of treatment may result in more scarring if you are very susceptible to scar formation.
It is essential for you to have a frank discussion with the dermatologist. The dermatologist needs to conduct a full examination and determine whether treatment can, or should, be undertaken.
The scar treatments that are currently available include:
• Chemical peel
• Dermabrasion
• MicroDermabrasion
• Laser or resurfacing of scars
• Soft-tissue augmentation
• Intralesional steroid injection (keloids)
• Excisional surgery in selected cases
Chemical peels can improve small, depressed scars and some larger scars. Peeling may also be effective in treating any remaining acne by removing comedones (blackheads and whiteheads). Ice-pick scars and deep fibrotic scars are not treated effectively by chemical peels. Keloids are usually not treated by chemical peels. Repeated and/or deep peels may be necessary to improve deep or extensive scarring.
Dermabrasion was thought to be the most effective treatment for acne scars, and is still a procedure commonly used for that purpose. Under local anesthetic, a high-speed brush or fraise used to remove surface skin and alter the contour of scars. Superficial scars may be removed altogether, and deeper scars may be reduced in depth. Dermabrasion does not work for all kinds of scars; for example, it may make ice-pick scars more noticeable if the scars are wider under the skin than at the surface. Today a combination of dermabrasion and "punch" excision of scar tissue make many ice-pick scars treatable by dermabrasion. In darker-skinned people, dermabrasion may cause changes in pigmentation that require additional treatment.
Microdermabrasion. This new technique is a surface form of dermabrasion. Rather than a high-speed brush, microdermabrasion uses aluminum oxide crystals passing through a vacuum tube to remove surface skin. Only the very surface cells of the skin are removed, so no additional wound is created. Multiple procedures are often required but scars may not be significantly improved.
Laser treatment of acne scars is a newer technology but one that can be very effective in selected patients. The various energy and tissue-penetrating power of different lasers may be used to treat complex scars. For example, the deep tissue penetration of a YAG laser may be used to "sculpt" irregular scarring and the infrared beam of the carbon dioxide laser may be used to tighten collagen fibers in the skin and elevate depressed scars.
Soft-tissue augmentation can correct some atrophic (loss of tissue) scars. Injections of subcutaneous fat or collagen under the scars elevates them to bring the surface of the scars even with the surface of surrounding skin. The procedure may have to be repeated from time to time.
Injection of steroids directly into keloid scars can sometimes result in scar improvement. An intralesional injection can be combined with surgery to reduce the size of scars in carefully selected patients. Keloid surgery should be performed only by a dermatologic surgeon.
In summary, acne scars are caused by the body’s inflammatory response to acne lesions. The best way to prevent scars is to treat acne early, and as long as necessary. If scars form, a number of effective treatments are available. Dermatologic surgery treatments should be discussed with a dermatologist
A number of treatments are available. The type of treatment selected should be the one that is best for you in terms of your type of skin, the cost, what you want the treatment to accomplish, and the possibility that some types of treatment may result in more scarring if you are very susceptible to scar formation.
It is essential for you to have a frank discussion with the dermatologist. The dermatologist needs to conduct a full examination and determine whether treatment can, or should, be undertaken.
The scar treatments that are currently available include:
• Chemical peel
• Dermabrasion
• MicroDermabrasion
• Laser or resurfacing of scars
• Soft-tissue augmentation
• Intralesional steroid injection (keloids)
• Excisional surgery in selected cases
Chemical peels can improve small, depressed scars and some larger scars. Peeling may also be effective in treating any remaining acne by removing comedones (blackheads and whiteheads). Ice-pick scars and deep fibrotic scars are not treated effectively by chemical peels. Keloids are usually not treated by chemical peels. Repeated and/or deep peels may be necessary to improve deep or extensive scarring.
Dermabrasion was thought to be the most effective treatment for acne scars, and is still a procedure commonly used for that purpose. Under local anesthetic, a high-speed brush or fraise used to remove surface skin and alter the contour of scars. Superficial scars may be removed altogether, and deeper scars may be reduced in depth. Dermabrasion does not work for all kinds of scars; for example, it may make ice-pick scars more noticeable if the scars are wider under the skin than at the surface. Today a combination of dermabrasion and "punch" excision of scar tissue make many ice-pick scars treatable by dermabrasion. In darker-skinned people, dermabrasion may cause changes in pigmentation that require additional treatment.
Microdermabrasion. This new technique is a surface form of dermabrasion. Rather than a high-speed brush, microdermabrasion uses aluminum oxide crystals passing through a vacuum tube to remove surface skin. Only the very surface cells of the skin are removed, so no additional wound is created. Multiple procedures are often required but scars may not be significantly improved.
Laser treatment of acne scars is a newer technology but one that can be very effective in selected patients. The various energy and tissue-penetrating power of different lasers may be used to treat complex scars. For example, the deep tissue penetration of a YAG laser may be used to "sculpt" irregular scarring and the infrared beam of the carbon dioxide laser may be used to tighten collagen fibers in the skin and elevate depressed scars.
Soft-tissue augmentation can correct some atrophic (loss of tissue) scars. Injections of subcutaneous fat or collagen under the scars elevates them to bring the surface of the scars even with the surface of surrounding skin. The procedure may have to be repeated from time to time.
Injection of steroids directly into keloid scars can sometimes result in scar improvement. An intralesional injection can be combined with surgery to reduce the size of scars in carefully selected patients. Keloid surgery should be performed only by a dermatologic surgeon.
In summary, acne scars are caused by the body’s inflammatory response to acne lesions. The best way to prevent scars is to treat acne early, and as long as necessary. If scars form, a number of effective treatments are available. Dermatologic surgery treatments should be discussed with a dermatologist
Friday, August 11, 2006
Types of Acne Scars
Generally there are two types of acne scars, defined by tissue response to inflammation: (1) scars caused by increased tissue formation, and (2) scars caused by loss of tissue.
Scars Caused by Increased Tissue Formation
The scars caused by increased tissue formation are called keloids or hypertrophic scars. The word hypertrophy means "overgrowth." Both hypertrophic and keloid scars are associated with excessive amounts of the cell substance collagen. Overproduction of collagen is a response of skin cells to injury. The excess collagen becomes piled up in fibrous masses, resulting in a characteristic firm, smooth, usually irregularly-shaped scar.
The typical keloid or hypertrophic scar is 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter, but some may be 1 centimeter or larger. Keloid scars tend to "run in families" — that is, abnormal growth of scar tissue is more likely to occur in susceptible people, who often are people with relatives who have similar types of scars.
Hypertrophic and keloid scars persist for years, but may diminish in size over time.
Scars Caused by Loss of Tissue
Acne scars associated with loss of tissue—similar to scars that result from chicken pox—are more common than keloids and hypertrophic scars. Scars associated with loss of tissue are:
Ice-pick scars usually occur on the cheek. They are usually small, with a somewhat jagged edge and steep sides—like wounds from an ice pick. Ice-pick scars may be shallow or deep, and may be hard or soft to the touch. Soft scars can be improved by stretching the skin; hard ice-pick scars cannot be stretched out.
Depressed fibrotic scars are usually quite large, with sharp edges and steep sides. The base of these scars is firm to the touch. Ice-pick scars may evolve into depressed fibrotic scars over time.
Soft scars, superficial or deep are soft to the touch. They have gently sloping rolled edges that merge with normal skin. They are usually small, and either circular or linear in shape.
Atrophic macules are usually fairly small when they occur on the face, but may be a centimeter or larger on the body. They are soft, often with a slightly wrinkled base, and may be bluish in appearance due to blood vessels lying just under the scar. Over time, these scars change from bluish to ivory white in color in white-skinned people, and become much less obvious.
Follicular macular atrophy is more likely to occur on the chest or back of a person with acne. These are small, white, soft lesions, often barely raised above the surface of the skin—somewhat like whiteheads that didn’t fully develop. This condition is sometimes also called "perifollicular elastolysis." The lesions may persist for months to years.
Scars Caused by Increased Tissue Formation
The scars caused by increased tissue formation are called keloids or hypertrophic scars. The word hypertrophy means "overgrowth." Both hypertrophic and keloid scars are associated with excessive amounts of the cell substance collagen. Overproduction of collagen is a response of skin cells to injury. The excess collagen becomes piled up in fibrous masses, resulting in a characteristic firm, smooth, usually irregularly-shaped scar.
The typical keloid or hypertrophic scar is 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter, but some may be 1 centimeter or larger. Keloid scars tend to "run in families" — that is, abnormal growth of scar tissue is more likely to occur in susceptible people, who often are people with relatives who have similar types of scars.
Hypertrophic and keloid scars persist for years, but may diminish in size over time.
Scars Caused by Loss of Tissue
Acne scars associated with loss of tissue—similar to scars that result from chicken pox—are more common than keloids and hypertrophic scars. Scars associated with loss of tissue are:
Ice-pick scars usually occur on the cheek. They are usually small, with a somewhat jagged edge and steep sides—like wounds from an ice pick. Ice-pick scars may be shallow or deep, and may be hard or soft to the touch. Soft scars can be improved by stretching the skin; hard ice-pick scars cannot be stretched out.
Depressed fibrotic scars are usually quite large, with sharp edges and steep sides. The base of these scars is firm to the touch. Ice-pick scars may evolve into depressed fibrotic scars over time.
Soft scars, superficial or deep are soft to the touch. They have gently sloping rolled edges that merge with normal skin. They are usually small, and either circular or linear in shape.
Atrophic macules are usually fairly small when they occur on the face, but may be a centimeter or larger on the body. They are soft, often with a slightly wrinkled base, and may be bluish in appearance due to blood vessels lying just under the scar. Over time, these scars change from bluish to ivory white in color in white-skinned people, and become much less obvious.
Follicular macular atrophy is more likely to occur on the chest or back of a person with acne. These are small, white, soft lesions, often barely raised above the surface of the skin—somewhat like whiteheads that didn’t fully develop. This condition is sometimes also called "perifollicular elastolysis." The lesions may persist for months to years.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Causes of Acne Scars
In the simplest terms, scars form at the site of an injury to tissue. They are the visible reminders of injury and tissue repair. In the case of acne, the injury is caused by the body’s inflammatory response to sebum, bacteria and dead cells in the plugged sebaceous follicle. There are two types of true scars: (1) depressed areas such as ice-pick scars, and (2) raised thickened tissue such as keloids.
When tissue suffers an injury, the body rushes its repair kit to the injury site. Among the elements of the repair kit are white blood cells and an array of inflammatory molecules that have the task of repairing tissue and fighting infection. However, when their job is done they may leave a somewhat messy repair site in the form of fibrous scar tissue, or eroded tissue.
White blood cells and inflammatory molecules may remain at the site of an active acne lesion for days or even weeks. In people who are susceptible to scarring, the result may be an acne scar. The occurrence and incidence of scarring is still not well understood, however. There is considerable variation in scarring between one person and another, indicating that some people are more prone to scarring than others. Scarring frequently results from severe inflammatory nodulocystic acne that occurs deep in the skin. But, scarring also may arise from more superficial inflamed lesions.
The life history of scars also is not well understood. Some people bear their acne scars for a lifetime with little change in the scars, but in other people the skin undergoes some degree of remodeling and acne scars diminish in size.
Whether acne scarring is deep or superficial, extensive or scattered, the esthetic result can be less than desirable and even disturbing. Acne scars can give the skin an "old" look. Scars may also contribute to an appearance of age as the skin loses its elasticity over the years.
When tissue suffers an injury, the body rushes its repair kit to the injury site. Among the elements of the repair kit are white blood cells and an array of inflammatory molecules that have the task of repairing tissue and fighting infection. However, when their job is done they may leave a somewhat messy repair site in the form of fibrous scar tissue, or eroded tissue.
White blood cells and inflammatory molecules may remain at the site of an active acne lesion for days or even weeks. In people who are susceptible to scarring, the result may be an acne scar. The occurrence and incidence of scarring is still not well understood, however. There is considerable variation in scarring between one person and another, indicating that some people are more prone to scarring than others. Scarring frequently results from severe inflammatory nodulocystic acne that occurs deep in the skin. But, scarring also may arise from more superficial inflamed lesions.
The life history of scars also is not well understood. Some people bear their acne scars for a lifetime with little change in the scars, but in other people the skin undergoes some degree of remodeling and acne scars diminish in size.
Whether acne scarring is deep or superficial, extensive or scattered, the esthetic result can be less than desirable and even disturbing. Acne scars can give the skin an "old" look. Scars may also contribute to an appearance of age as the skin loses its elasticity over the years.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Acne Scars
Early Acne Scars
After an acne lesion has healed, it can leave a red or hyperpigmented mark on the skin. This is actually not a scar, but rather a post-inflammatory change. The redness or hyperpigmentation is seen as the skin goes through its healing and remodeling process, which takes approximately 6-12 months.
If no more acne lesions develop in that area, the skin can heal normally. Any color change or skin defect still present after 1 year is considered to be a permanent defect or scar.
Treating Early Acne Scars
The post-inflammatory changes caused by acne are part of the skin's natural healing process. There are certain practices and medications that can help facilitate this healing process.
* Unprotected exposure to the sun causes more skin damage and delays healing, therefore wearing a good sunscreen is important.
* Using tretinoin (Retin-A, Renova, Avita) speeds up the skin's remodeling process and helps heal post-inflammatory changes.
* Appropriate formulations of Alpha-Hydroxy Acids (AHAs) and Beta-Hydroxy Acid (BHA) that contain the correct concentrations and are at the appropriate pH also help the skin's remodeling process.
* Picking at scabs should be avoided at all costs. Scabs form to protect the healing process that is going on underneath them. Pulling a scab off before it is ready interferes with the healing and remodeling process, prolonging the time that post-inflammatory changes will be visible.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Acne Prevention
* Wash regularly, possibly with one of the antiseptic washes. These are antiseptic liquid cleansers, sometimes similar to the ones surgeons use on their hands before performing an operation. It is thought that these may be helpful, particularly combined with another form of treatment.
* Avoid covering yourself with thick layers of make up, and if you do, wash it off as soon as you can, certainly do not leave on overnight.
* Apply any medicinal creams you use regularly to the whole of the affected area.
* Try to resist the temptation to squeeze your spots. This can cause the area to become more inflamed and therefore more likely to scar. It can be dangerous to squeeze spots in the area around the cheek and nose, as infection can be caused to spread to more vital internal structures.
* Avoid covering yourself with thick layers of make up, and if you do, wash it off as soon as you can, certainly do not leave on overnight.
* Apply any medicinal creams you use regularly to the whole of the affected area.
* Try to resist the temptation to squeeze your spots. This can cause the area to become more inflamed and therefore more likely to scar. It can be dangerous to squeeze spots in the area around the cheek and nose, as infection can be caused to spread to more vital internal structures.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Natural Acne Treatment Guide
If your acne problem does not resolve after using modern medicine, you may try alternative treatment such as this Natural Acne Treatment Guide. Abstract from http://www.absoluteacneinfo.com/guide.html
This acne guide is the definitive guide to clear skin with no harsh chemicals, no over the counter medications, and definitely no prescription medications. If you are serious about clear skin, then this plan will be very powerful. If you haven't made the shift from acne being an external disease to acne actually being an internal disease, you might need some other information before you decide to proceed with this plan. The focus is on overall health, not masking a symptom.
Note 1: I am not a doctor and do not pretend to be one. Please consult your licensed health care practitioner before making any changes to your health regimen.
Note 2: If you are on prescription medicines the first step is to get off them. Please see our section on the risks and side effects of prescription medicines if you are taking any of them. I personally would not do any internal cleansing while on them. It would be like doing an oil change and replacing the dirty oil with more dirty oil. You can certainly make dietary changes and prepare while you are on prescription medicines.
Acne Guide
There are 4 main sections to this acne guide:
1. Preparation
2. Diet
3. Internal Cleansing
4. Rebuilding
Step 1: Preparation
Preparation? What do we need to prepare for?
The goal of this step is to get your body in a state which makes internal cleansing possible. There are 3 steps:
1. Getting the bowels moving.
2. Parasite cleansing.
Getting the bowels moving
It is absolutely critical that you have multiple bowel movements in a day. Most people go only once every day or two. You are constipated. This is due to the Western diet being very filled with hard to digest, slow moving, acidic foods. The item that slows down the bowel the most is red meat. One bowel movement per meal is ideal. This can take a while to accomplish and it is not necessary at this point.
Also, if it takes you more than 30 seconds to have a full bowel movement and be done, then you are certainly constipated. The natural way is the same way as urinating - it comes out quickly and is done. There should be no 15 minute bathroom visits.
Why is it so important so get the bowels moving? What is not being digested or quickly eliminated is being continually absorbed by the intestines. This means the foods continue to poison your system for days. The colon should be freely moving, not a cesspool for storage of waste.
In addition, it is critical to have quick bowels when you do any internal cleansing. When you cleanse internally, much toxic waste is released. This waste must be removed, and any stagnation in the bowels means these toxins get reabsorbed, defeating the purpose of the cleanse.
Doctors in the past have said, "All disease starts in the colon." This is very accurate. The first way to begin improving health is to improve the colon. And that means getting it moving.
So how exactly do we get the bowels to move faster? Cutting out all refined foods and red meat would do it nicely. Unfortunately, most take quite a while to make this change and many are unwilling to do so at all. That is where herbs come in.
There are numerous herbal remedies, laxatives, prescription medications and all sorts of things intended to cure constipation. However, the goal is to improve bowel function, not to make you have diarrhea every time you need to go to the bathroom.
Parasite Cleansing
Parasites are a very overlooked aspect of health. Parasites are really quite simple though. Just as your dog or a sheep can get infested with a fluke (parasite), so can you. In fact everyone has parasites to some degree or another. In general, the older you are the more likely you are to have a significant amount. Still, young people also need to understand how critical it is to be free of parasites.
There is an easy solution to parasite problems: a herbal formulation intended to remove them. Like bowel products, there are many herbal parasite cleanse formulations available. The one from Dr. Clark is pretty good, and I would certainly recommend it if it wasn't for a superior product available.
There is a Master Herbalist who has his own forum over at Curezone.com. Here is a link to his forum: http://curezone.com/forums/f.asp?f=626&t=50898.2 He makes a herbal parasite cleanse that is by far the best product available. He is the only source for this product. Dr. Clark's product you can find online from many websites.
Step 2: Diet
"Clean up your diet. Your skin is your body's largest organ. As such, it needs proper nutrition to function properly. Just as your heart can get clogged up with too much fat, your skin can get polluted with too much animal and saturated fats. Healthy skin requires large amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, filled with vitamins C, A and E. Healthy skin means limiting meats, sugars and artificial substances that can toxify your skin and clog pores."
American Medical Publishing, Proven Health Tips Encyclopedia
American publishing Company, 1995 Page 164
The word diet brings up countless images of people fasting, eating nothing but salads, and other unpleasant situations. That isn't what you will be asked to do here. The goal of this step is just to eliminate the foods that are most harmful to overall health, and as a result cause most of the acne. There are two things that need to be eliminated from your diet, and two items added to replace what you lost. Where most people go wrong with diets is that they only eliminate. They never replace what is eliminated with something better. This is a major reason for diets not working. When you remove a ton of calories, the body struggles hard to bring them back. This results in the big binge a couple weeks after a diet starts. The bad must be replaced with the good. There should be no void.
First item of elimination: Sugar
"Refined sugar and dietary saturated fats seem to promote acne outbreaks. Eliminating these culprits to as great a degree as is possible from your diet will help decrease acne formation. "
Mary D Eades MD, The Doctors Complete Guide to Vitamins and Minerals
Dell Publishing, 2000
Page 160
Eliminating sugar is critical. (Realize that when I say sugar, I mean the refined sugar that is in nearly every food product, NOT the sugar in actual, real fruit) Most people realize that sugar is not a "health" food. Still, it is consumed in vast quantities by the vast majority of Americans and Westerners. I would suggest looking up the statistics on the amount people consume per year, you will be shocked. A quick Google search will find you the answer.
What most people don't realize is that there are serious health consequences associated with consuming sugar. For 76 ways sugar can ruin your health, check out Dr. Mercola's site, with an article contributed by Nancy Appleton, P.h.D, author of Lick the Sugar Habit. Here is the link: http://www.mercola.com/article/sugar/dangers_of_sugar.htm
The second problem with sugar is that it is in everything. There is almost no product at the grocery store that does not contain it. Eliminating sugar completely takes an extensive and concerted effort which you probably are not up to undertaking yet. If you want to and can, then yes, I recommend eliminating refined sugar 100%. Still, cutting back 80% is very easy and still lets you eat the foods you are used to, and it is good enough for now.
How do you eliminate 80% of the sugar in your diet? Here is how.
1. Stop drinking all sodas, fruit juice, and other drinks filled with sugar. These contain astronomical levels of sugar. Just eliminating these completely would be a big drop in sugar intake for most people. This is an absolutely critical step in treating acne. The old line, "Acne is not caused by sugar!" pronounced all over by dermatologists and websites is a myth. I love the irony of the situation. Most of these websites state something along the following lines, "Myth #1: Acne is not caused by sugar (or diet)!" When in actuality the real myth is acne is not caused by diet. By the way, you'll notice all websites which state this common "Myth" all have a product to promote. In other words, they have a financial interest in making sure no one believes acne is caused by diet. Because if acne was caused by poor diet, then they wouldn't be able to sell any products now would they? For a fantastic article on the Politics of Sugar, click here.
This means no orange juice, apple juice, grapefruit juice, or any other "healthy" juices. These are pasteurized (And usually homogenized) products that eliminate all nutritious value from the juice. The only juice worth drinking is juice directly squeezed from the fruit. I suggest you take a look at the sugar contents of these drinks. A glass of orange juice in the morning and a soda for lunch puts you at over 100 grams of sugar for the day - and that isn't even counting food!
2. The second way to eliminate sugar is stop eating candy, candy bars, etc. The traditional "junk foods" With this and soda you will have eliminated a huge amount of sugar.
Replacing Sugar
So the question is, what do we replace sugar with? The answer is what is known as Superfoods or sometimes they are called Greens Drinks. What are these superfoods? They are nutritional supplements that come in powdered form and have a distinct green color. This is due to their contents. Most superfoods have a mix of ingredients. Here are some common ones: Chlorella, Spirulina, Barley Grass, Wheat Grass. For a great report on the health benefits of Chlorella and Spirulina click here.
Fats - Oils
The next topic of diet I want to discuss with you is fats and oils. Lately there has been a vast amount of attention placed on "good fats" and "bad fats" as well as Omega-3, Omega-6, and Omega-9 balancing. Some people say to eliminate fat completely, others say to eat it in abundance as long as it is "good fat."
However, the problem with all this discussion is that it does not address the core problem that Western peoples are having with fats. Before we can even talk about the proper Omega ratios, we have to talk about hydrogenated oils. Sugar and hydrogenated oils compete for the top spot in the extremely toxic ingredients that are in almost all foods.
"Acne, a common problem in teenagers, results from a combination of hormone stimulation, production of irritating fatty acids by certain bacteria, stress, and poor diet. acne vulgaris (the medical name) is tied to an overproduction of the oil in the sebaceous glands of the skin. More water intake, eliminating fried foods and hydrogenated fats from the diet, and taking extra vitamin A and zinc will often reduce acne outbreaks."
Elson M Haas MD, Staying Healthy With Nutrition
Canterbury books, 1992
Page 749
What exactly are hydrogenated oils? Hydrogenated oils are made (as how the name might suggest) by bubbling hydrogen through a cheap vegetable oil, often soybean. This changes the nature of the oil so that it is no longer liquid at room temperature, but solid. It gives a creamy consistency to foods. What is so bad about hydrogenated oils? I could discuss the health effects for pages, but I will only focus on two.
1. Hydrogenated oils are brain poison. Studies are showing that after eating hydrogenated oils, brain activity decreases.
2. Hydrogenated oils inhibit the absorption of good, healthy oils.
What exactly does this mean? It means that a diet high in hydrogenated oils prevents your body from absorbing healthy oils. Let's say for breakfast you have some of those "tarts that pop" (You know, the ones that go in the toaster and all kids love?) Then, for lunch you have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with crackers or chips. There is 3 sources of hydrogenated oils (tarts, peanut butter, and crackers). Then for dinner you have something healthy - fish and vegetables. So you end the day thinking you ate so healthy. Wrong. The good oils in the fish were not absorbed. The hydrogenated oils had filled up your body's capacity for storing fats, and so the good fats of the hydrogenated oils are wasted. What happens is the body tries to use the hydrogenated oils. It thinks they are real fats and it tries to make do with what it is given. When you eat good fats, the hydrogenated oils are not immediately replaced with the good fats. It takes a few days of not eating hydrogenated oils to get a single serving out of your system. I think at this point a single serving of hydrogenated oils takes about 24 hours for my body to remove. How do I know this? When you get to a certain level of health you will really start feeling the detrimental effects of toxins in your diet. I get a headache right after eating hydrogenated oils and by the next morning it is gone.
Replacing Hydrogenated Oils
Now that we have eliminated hydrogenated oils, we of course have to replace them with something!
The main sources of hydrogenated oils are any snack crackers, trail mixes, cookies (which you already eliminated due to the sugar, right?), peanut butter, and many breakfast foods.
Breakfast is an easy replacement, have a greens drink mentioned above. For lunch you need to avoid the hydrogenated oil peanut butters, most crackers and other similar items.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts have been a part of diets for a very long time. They have a wide range of essential nutrients, and have fantastic fat content. Nuts should be added to your diet immediately. You need to get raw, non-roasted or spiced nuts. The nuts with spices added often have MSG in them, and many packaged roasted nuts contain hydrogenated oils. Just because it is a nut does not mean it is healthy! It needs to be the natural nut, not something that has had all nutrients roasted out of it.
Try raw organic cashews, almonds, macadamias, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts. Remember - raw only!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Coconut Oil
A person who eats lots of vegetable oils will have less MCFA in their oil glands and thus dilute the germ-fighting capacity of the oil. Frequent washings will also remove this oil, exposing the skin to infectious organisms. This may be one of the reasons why acne is common among those in the Western countries, but rare in cultures that eat traditional diets void of processed vegetable oils. Eating less vegetable oil and more coconut oil will help replenish the body's MCFA reserves and help fight acne.
Bruce Fife ND, Saturated Fat May Save Your Life
Healthwise Publications, 1999
Page 114
These are two fantastic sources of quality fats. Extra Virgin Olive Oil often has a disagreeable taste, and so I usually recommend extra virgin coconut oil. You may have heard bad things about coconut oil. Check out this interview of Dr. Mercola by Mike Adams over at NewsTarget.com
Cod Liver Oil
Cod liver oil is the premier source of Omega-3 fats, which can be lacking in a nut dominated diet. The way to take this is as a supplement in capsule form (liquid is also available). This is a very important supplement which gives a vital nutrient lacking in most diets. It is extremely important to take a supplement that is getting the oil from quality fish that are mercury free.
With these three sources of fats you will have a wide range of high quality fats.
Other Items of Elimination
There are a few other ingredients that need to be completely eliminated. Here is a list:
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) - An incredibly toxic ingredient. You are probably aware of this. It needs to be eliminated 100%. When you get to a good enough level of health you'll know if you happen to eat a food with this ingredient almost immediately. In the meantime, watch out for it on labels of foods. Also be very aware of the ingredients "autolyzed yeast extract" and "hydrolzed vegetable protein." These two ingredients contain MSG! Watch out for these ingredients especially in vegetarian alternatives such as vegan hamburgers etc.
Aspartame - If you are still drinking diet soda, it is likely that you are doing far more damage to your body than a regular soda that contains sugar because of this ingredient. Aspartame is a neurotoxin. As noted, the major source is diet soft drinks. You have almost no chance of healing if you continue to ingest this ingredient.
Food Combination
Proper food combination has been coming back more into the mainstream of natural health practices lately, and for good reason. The reason for this is that improper food combination results in a large acid buildup in the body. This forces the body to divert critical minerals (such as calcium) from various parts of the body to bring the system back into the proper pH balance. The body must maintain the proper acid/alkaline balance or it will die very quickly. The body is meant to be slightly alkaline, but if you have acne it is guaranteed that you have an acid system. This needs to be shifted back more towards the alkaline state.
To do this, you need to eat the right foods, and you need to eat them properly combined with the other foods. The above listed suggestions will help significantly. However, if you don't combine correctly it won't do you much good. There are numerous websites that get into all the specifics of proper food combination. I will list here a few that are most critical. If you actually follow these, you will notice improved digestion and should not feel any tiredness after any meal.
• Eat fruits by themselves. Don't combine them with anything else. Especially do not have them after a big meal.
• Combine vegetables with oils OR meats, but not both. So salad with all kinds of vegetables with an olive oil dressing is just fine. But don't add meat at the same meal! If you want meat, leave out the dressing.
• Avoid eating starches with meats. This means no bread or potatoes with steak or chicken or any other meat. This one is very important. Meat is hard enough to digest - don't make it impossible by adding bread to it as well!
Those 3 rules will take you a long way, and are the main offenses in the Western diet. Once you are eating the right foods in the right combinations, you can't go wrong. Still, for quicker results you will need the next step.
Step 3: Internal Cleansing
Internal cleansing is where the big leap in recovery from acne comes. If you jump to this step without some basic diet modifications you will not have much success. After getting your bowels moving through the cleansers mentioned in the preparation stage, the first internal cleansing stage is to do a kidney cleanse.
Kidney Cleanse
The kidneys are the first internal organs to get clogged, and so they must be the first to be cleaned. There is 1 formula that is really fantastic. It is called, quite simply, Kidney Cleanse Formula. It is made by the Master Herbalist over at curezone.com. You can order directly from him or buy it online from RestoreBody.com.
The Liver Flush
The liver flush is an extraordinarily powerful procedure. It is estimated that 90% or more of people have gallbladder and liver stones. These stones clog up the liver and do not allow it to properly deal with the toxins of food ingredients. If you had a 100% properly functioning liver you could essentially eat whatever you wanted for a time, until it clogged up. (Otherwise known as being a child!) Then you hit the stage of the liver and the entire system becoming clogged. ("Puberty") Your body is forced to remove waste and so it uses your skin to do this. These stones are caused by incorrect eating, toxic air, and toxic water.
It stands to reason that if we remove that stones, the liver will function better and so be able to remove toxins and heal your skin.
Heavy Metal Detox
After flushing your liver a few times you will want to start a heavy metal detox. The first step requires you to have any amalgam fillings completely removed by a professional trained to do this so you do not inhale the mercury as it is removed. The fact of the matter is that every amalgam filling leaks mercury with every bite of food into your system. You can never live fully well until all mercury poisoning is removed from your body. You should do a heavy metal detox to get rid of the metal buildup in your body.
Conclusion
If you actually did the bowel, kidney, liver, and heavy metal flushes, your body should be in a vastly more healthy state. Note that it is possible to get these same results simply from a change in diet. Diet is really the only one solution. However, most people can't change their diets sufficiently to see results for a long time. The flushing speeds up the process. What it might take diet 6 months to do, can be done in a week with flushing. Again, be thankful that 20+ years of terrible diets and terrible living can be undone in 6 months!
Step 4: Rebuilding
There are some incredibly important points in this section.
• If you go back to your regular diet of pizza, french fries, and soda, your results WILL NOT LAST!
Don't kid yourself. There is no magic solution. Not prescription medicine, not over the counter medicine, not flushing. Only proper diet can keep you healthy.
This does not mean you can't eat something unhealthy now and then. Some chocolate won't kill you. Neither will pizza. But milk and chocolate cereal for breakfast, processed bread and meats for lunch, and fried foods for dinner will. You have to find substitutes that can work for you.
Rebuilding essentially consists of eating the right foods. The biggest culprits are dairy, refined sugar, hydrogenated oils, and toxic ingredients like MSG or aspartame. The rest you need to test yourself. With your new cleaned up body, you will be able to easily tell what you can handle and what you can't. You might find breads really make you tired. Or that you can't handle some types of fruits.
Make sure you stay up with proper food combining. If you go back to terrible food combinations (ex. meat with potatoes, bread, and salad with heavy dressing) then you are going to have problems staying clear. The body just cannot handle this massive acid overload.
This acne guide is the definitive guide to clear skin with no harsh chemicals, no over the counter medications, and definitely no prescription medications. If you are serious about clear skin, then this plan will be very powerful. If you haven't made the shift from acne being an external disease to acne actually being an internal disease, you might need some other information before you decide to proceed with this plan. The focus is on overall health, not masking a symptom.
Note 1: I am not a doctor and do not pretend to be one. Please consult your licensed health care practitioner before making any changes to your health regimen.
Note 2: If you are on prescription medicines the first step is to get off them. Please see our section on the risks and side effects of prescription medicines if you are taking any of them. I personally would not do any internal cleansing while on them. It would be like doing an oil change and replacing the dirty oil with more dirty oil. You can certainly make dietary changes and prepare while you are on prescription medicines.
Acne Guide
There are 4 main sections to this acne guide:
1. Preparation
2. Diet
3. Internal Cleansing
4. Rebuilding
Step 1: Preparation
Preparation? What do we need to prepare for?
The goal of this step is to get your body in a state which makes internal cleansing possible. There are 3 steps:
1. Getting the bowels moving.
2. Parasite cleansing.
Getting the bowels moving
It is absolutely critical that you have multiple bowel movements in a day. Most people go only once every day or two. You are constipated. This is due to the Western diet being very filled with hard to digest, slow moving, acidic foods. The item that slows down the bowel the most is red meat. One bowel movement per meal is ideal. This can take a while to accomplish and it is not necessary at this point.
Also, if it takes you more than 30 seconds to have a full bowel movement and be done, then you are certainly constipated. The natural way is the same way as urinating - it comes out quickly and is done. There should be no 15 minute bathroom visits.
Why is it so important so get the bowels moving? What is not being digested or quickly eliminated is being continually absorbed by the intestines. This means the foods continue to poison your system for days. The colon should be freely moving, not a cesspool for storage of waste.
In addition, it is critical to have quick bowels when you do any internal cleansing. When you cleanse internally, much toxic waste is released. This waste must be removed, and any stagnation in the bowels means these toxins get reabsorbed, defeating the purpose of the cleanse.
Doctors in the past have said, "All disease starts in the colon." This is very accurate. The first way to begin improving health is to improve the colon. And that means getting it moving.
So how exactly do we get the bowels to move faster? Cutting out all refined foods and red meat would do it nicely. Unfortunately, most take quite a while to make this change and many are unwilling to do so at all. That is where herbs come in.
There are numerous herbal remedies, laxatives, prescription medications and all sorts of things intended to cure constipation. However, the goal is to improve bowel function, not to make you have diarrhea every time you need to go to the bathroom.
Parasite Cleansing
Parasites are a very overlooked aspect of health. Parasites are really quite simple though. Just as your dog or a sheep can get infested with a fluke (parasite), so can you. In fact everyone has parasites to some degree or another. In general, the older you are the more likely you are to have a significant amount. Still, young people also need to understand how critical it is to be free of parasites.
There is an easy solution to parasite problems: a herbal formulation intended to remove them. Like bowel products, there are many herbal parasite cleanse formulations available. The one from Dr. Clark is pretty good, and I would certainly recommend it if it wasn't for a superior product available.
There is a Master Herbalist who has his own forum over at Curezone.com. Here is a link to his forum: http://curezone.com/forums/f.asp?f=626&t=50898.2 He makes a herbal parasite cleanse that is by far the best product available. He is the only source for this product. Dr. Clark's product you can find online from many websites.
Step 2: Diet
"Clean up your diet. Your skin is your body's largest organ. As such, it needs proper nutrition to function properly. Just as your heart can get clogged up with too much fat, your skin can get polluted with too much animal and saturated fats. Healthy skin requires large amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, filled with vitamins C, A and E. Healthy skin means limiting meats, sugars and artificial substances that can toxify your skin and clog pores."
American Medical Publishing, Proven Health Tips Encyclopedia
American publishing Company, 1995 Page 164
The word diet brings up countless images of people fasting, eating nothing but salads, and other unpleasant situations. That isn't what you will be asked to do here. The goal of this step is just to eliminate the foods that are most harmful to overall health, and as a result cause most of the acne. There are two things that need to be eliminated from your diet, and two items added to replace what you lost. Where most people go wrong with diets is that they only eliminate. They never replace what is eliminated with something better. This is a major reason for diets not working. When you remove a ton of calories, the body struggles hard to bring them back. This results in the big binge a couple weeks after a diet starts. The bad must be replaced with the good. There should be no void.
First item of elimination: Sugar
"Refined sugar and dietary saturated fats seem to promote acne outbreaks. Eliminating these culprits to as great a degree as is possible from your diet will help decrease acne formation. "
Mary D Eades MD, The Doctors Complete Guide to Vitamins and Minerals
Dell Publishing, 2000
Page 160
Eliminating sugar is critical. (Realize that when I say sugar, I mean the refined sugar that is in nearly every food product, NOT the sugar in actual, real fruit) Most people realize that sugar is not a "health" food. Still, it is consumed in vast quantities by the vast majority of Americans and Westerners. I would suggest looking up the statistics on the amount people consume per year, you will be shocked. A quick Google search will find you the answer.
What most people don't realize is that there are serious health consequences associated with consuming sugar. For 76 ways sugar can ruin your health, check out Dr. Mercola's site, with an article contributed by Nancy Appleton, P.h.D, author of Lick the Sugar Habit. Here is the link: http://www.mercola.com/article/sugar/dangers_of_sugar.htm
The second problem with sugar is that it is in everything. There is almost no product at the grocery store that does not contain it. Eliminating sugar completely takes an extensive and concerted effort which you probably are not up to undertaking yet. If you want to and can, then yes, I recommend eliminating refined sugar 100%. Still, cutting back 80% is very easy and still lets you eat the foods you are used to, and it is good enough for now.
How do you eliminate 80% of the sugar in your diet? Here is how.
1. Stop drinking all sodas, fruit juice, and other drinks filled with sugar. These contain astronomical levels of sugar. Just eliminating these completely would be a big drop in sugar intake for most people. This is an absolutely critical step in treating acne. The old line, "Acne is not caused by sugar!" pronounced all over by dermatologists and websites is a myth. I love the irony of the situation. Most of these websites state something along the following lines, "Myth #1: Acne is not caused by sugar (or diet)!" When in actuality the real myth is acne is not caused by diet. By the way, you'll notice all websites which state this common "Myth" all have a product to promote. In other words, they have a financial interest in making sure no one believes acne is caused by diet. Because if acne was caused by poor diet, then they wouldn't be able to sell any products now would they? For a fantastic article on the Politics of Sugar, click here.
This means no orange juice, apple juice, grapefruit juice, or any other "healthy" juices. These are pasteurized (And usually homogenized) products that eliminate all nutritious value from the juice. The only juice worth drinking is juice directly squeezed from the fruit. I suggest you take a look at the sugar contents of these drinks. A glass of orange juice in the morning and a soda for lunch puts you at over 100 grams of sugar for the day - and that isn't even counting food!
2. The second way to eliminate sugar is stop eating candy, candy bars, etc. The traditional "junk foods" With this and soda you will have eliminated a huge amount of sugar.
Replacing Sugar
So the question is, what do we replace sugar with? The answer is what is known as Superfoods or sometimes they are called Greens Drinks. What are these superfoods? They are nutritional supplements that come in powdered form and have a distinct green color. This is due to their contents. Most superfoods have a mix of ingredients. Here are some common ones: Chlorella, Spirulina, Barley Grass, Wheat Grass. For a great report on the health benefits of Chlorella and Spirulina click here.
Fats - Oils
The next topic of diet I want to discuss with you is fats and oils. Lately there has been a vast amount of attention placed on "good fats" and "bad fats" as well as Omega-3, Omega-6, and Omega-9 balancing. Some people say to eliminate fat completely, others say to eat it in abundance as long as it is "good fat."
However, the problem with all this discussion is that it does not address the core problem that Western peoples are having with fats. Before we can even talk about the proper Omega ratios, we have to talk about hydrogenated oils. Sugar and hydrogenated oils compete for the top spot in the extremely toxic ingredients that are in almost all foods.
"Acne, a common problem in teenagers, results from a combination of hormone stimulation, production of irritating fatty acids by certain bacteria, stress, and poor diet. acne vulgaris (the medical name) is tied to an overproduction of the oil in the sebaceous glands of the skin. More water intake, eliminating fried foods and hydrogenated fats from the diet, and taking extra vitamin A and zinc will often reduce acne outbreaks."
Elson M Haas MD, Staying Healthy With Nutrition
Canterbury books, 1992
Page 749
What exactly are hydrogenated oils? Hydrogenated oils are made (as how the name might suggest) by bubbling hydrogen through a cheap vegetable oil, often soybean. This changes the nature of the oil so that it is no longer liquid at room temperature, but solid. It gives a creamy consistency to foods. What is so bad about hydrogenated oils? I could discuss the health effects for pages, but I will only focus on two.
1. Hydrogenated oils are brain poison. Studies are showing that after eating hydrogenated oils, brain activity decreases.
2. Hydrogenated oils inhibit the absorption of good, healthy oils.
What exactly does this mean? It means that a diet high in hydrogenated oils prevents your body from absorbing healthy oils. Let's say for breakfast you have some of those "tarts that pop" (You know, the ones that go in the toaster and all kids love?) Then, for lunch you have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with crackers or chips. There is 3 sources of hydrogenated oils (tarts, peanut butter, and crackers). Then for dinner you have something healthy - fish and vegetables. So you end the day thinking you ate so healthy. Wrong. The good oils in the fish were not absorbed. The hydrogenated oils had filled up your body's capacity for storing fats, and so the good fats of the hydrogenated oils are wasted. What happens is the body tries to use the hydrogenated oils. It thinks they are real fats and it tries to make do with what it is given. When you eat good fats, the hydrogenated oils are not immediately replaced with the good fats. It takes a few days of not eating hydrogenated oils to get a single serving out of your system. I think at this point a single serving of hydrogenated oils takes about 24 hours for my body to remove. How do I know this? When you get to a certain level of health you will really start feeling the detrimental effects of toxins in your diet. I get a headache right after eating hydrogenated oils and by the next morning it is gone.
Replacing Hydrogenated Oils
Now that we have eliminated hydrogenated oils, we of course have to replace them with something!
The main sources of hydrogenated oils are any snack crackers, trail mixes, cookies (which you already eliminated due to the sugar, right?), peanut butter, and many breakfast foods.
Breakfast is an easy replacement, have a greens drink mentioned above. For lunch you need to avoid the hydrogenated oil peanut butters, most crackers and other similar items.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts have been a part of diets for a very long time. They have a wide range of essential nutrients, and have fantastic fat content. Nuts should be added to your diet immediately. You need to get raw, non-roasted or spiced nuts. The nuts with spices added often have MSG in them, and many packaged roasted nuts contain hydrogenated oils. Just because it is a nut does not mean it is healthy! It needs to be the natural nut, not something that has had all nutrients roasted out of it.
Try raw organic cashews, almonds, macadamias, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts. Remember - raw only!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Coconut Oil
A person who eats lots of vegetable oils will have less MCFA in their oil glands and thus dilute the germ-fighting capacity of the oil. Frequent washings will also remove this oil, exposing the skin to infectious organisms. This may be one of the reasons why acne is common among those in the Western countries, but rare in cultures that eat traditional diets void of processed vegetable oils. Eating less vegetable oil and more coconut oil will help replenish the body's MCFA reserves and help fight acne.
Bruce Fife ND, Saturated Fat May Save Your Life
Healthwise Publications, 1999
Page 114
These are two fantastic sources of quality fats. Extra Virgin Olive Oil often has a disagreeable taste, and so I usually recommend extra virgin coconut oil. You may have heard bad things about coconut oil. Check out this interview of Dr. Mercola by Mike Adams over at NewsTarget.com
Cod Liver Oil
Cod liver oil is the premier source of Omega-3 fats, which can be lacking in a nut dominated diet. The way to take this is as a supplement in capsule form (liquid is also available). This is a very important supplement which gives a vital nutrient lacking in most diets. It is extremely important to take a supplement that is getting the oil from quality fish that are mercury free.
With these three sources of fats you will have a wide range of high quality fats.
Other Items of Elimination
There are a few other ingredients that need to be completely eliminated. Here is a list:
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) - An incredibly toxic ingredient. You are probably aware of this. It needs to be eliminated 100%. When you get to a good enough level of health you'll know if you happen to eat a food with this ingredient almost immediately. In the meantime, watch out for it on labels of foods. Also be very aware of the ingredients "autolyzed yeast extract" and "hydrolzed vegetable protein." These two ingredients contain MSG! Watch out for these ingredients especially in vegetarian alternatives such as vegan hamburgers etc.
Aspartame - If you are still drinking diet soda, it is likely that you are doing far more damage to your body than a regular soda that contains sugar because of this ingredient. Aspartame is a neurotoxin. As noted, the major source is diet soft drinks. You have almost no chance of healing if you continue to ingest this ingredient.
Food Combination
Proper food combination has been coming back more into the mainstream of natural health practices lately, and for good reason. The reason for this is that improper food combination results in a large acid buildup in the body. This forces the body to divert critical minerals (such as calcium) from various parts of the body to bring the system back into the proper pH balance. The body must maintain the proper acid/alkaline balance or it will die very quickly. The body is meant to be slightly alkaline, but if you have acne it is guaranteed that you have an acid system. This needs to be shifted back more towards the alkaline state.
To do this, you need to eat the right foods, and you need to eat them properly combined with the other foods. The above listed suggestions will help significantly. However, if you don't combine correctly it won't do you much good. There are numerous websites that get into all the specifics of proper food combination. I will list here a few that are most critical. If you actually follow these, you will notice improved digestion and should not feel any tiredness after any meal.
• Eat fruits by themselves. Don't combine them with anything else. Especially do not have them after a big meal.
• Combine vegetables with oils OR meats, but not both. So salad with all kinds of vegetables with an olive oil dressing is just fine. But don't add meat at the same meal! If you want meat, leave out the dressing.
• Avoid eating starches with meats. This means no bread or potatoes with steak or chicken or any other meat. This one is very important. Meat is hard enough to digest - don't make it impossible by adding bread to it as well!
Those 3 rules will take you a long way, and are the main offenses in the Western diet. Once you are eating the right foods in the right combinations, you can't go wrong. Still, for quicker results you will need the next step.
Step 3: Internal Cleansing
Internal cleansing is where the big leap in recovery from acne comes. If you jump to this step without some basic diet modifications you will not have much success. After getting your bowels moving through the cleansers mentioned in the preparation stage, the first internal cleansing stage is to do a kidney cleanse.
Kidney Cleanse
The kidneys are the first internal organs to get clogged, and so they must be the first to be cleaned. There is 1 formula that is really fantastic. It is called, quite simply, Kidney Cleanse Formula. It is made by the Master Herbalist over at curezone.com. You can order directly from him or buy it online from RestoreBody.com.
The Liver Flush
The liver flush is an extraordinarily powerful procedure. It is estimated that 90% or more of people have gallbladder and liver stones. These stones clog up the liver and do not allow it to properly deal with the toxins of food ingredients. If you had a 100% properly functioning liver you could essentially eat whatever you wanted for a time, until it clogged up. (Otherwise known as being a child!) Then you hit the stage of the liver and the entire system becoming clogged. ("Puberty") Your body is forced to remove waste and so it uses your skin to do this. These stones are caused by incorrect eating, toxic air, and toxic water.
It stands to reason that if we remove that stones, the liver will function better and so be able to remove toxins and heal your skin.
Heavy Metal Detox
After flushing your liver a few times you will want to start a heavy metal detox. The first step requires you to have any amalgam fillings completely removed by a professional trained to do this so you do not inhale the mercury as it is removed. The fact of the matter is that every amalgam filling leaks mercury with every bite of food into your system. You can never live fully well until all mercury poisoning is removed from your body. You should do a heavy metal detox to get rid of the metal buildup in your body.
Conclusion
If you actually did the bowel, kidney, liver, and heavy metal flushes, your body should be in a vastly more healthy state. Note that it is possible to get these same results simply from a change in diet. Diet is really the only one solution. However, most people can't change their diets sufficiently to see results for a long time. The flushing speeds up the process. What it might take diet 6 months to do, can be done in a week with flushing. Again, be thankful that 20+ years of terrible diets and terrible living can be undone in 6 months!
Step 4: Rebuilding
There are some incredibly important points in this section.
• If you go back to your regular diet of pizza, french fries, and soda, your results WILL NOT LAST!
Don't kid yourself. There is no magic solution. Not prescription medicine, not over the counter medicine, not flushing. Only proper diet can keep you healthy.
This does not mean you can't eat something unhealthy now and then. Some chocolate won't kill you. Neither will pizza. But milk and chocolate cereal for breakfast, processed bread and meats for lunch, and fried foods for dinner will. You have to find substitutes that can work for you.
Rebuilding essentially consists of eating the right foods. The biggest culprits are dairy, refined sugar, hydrogenated oils, and toxic ingredients like MSG or aspartame. The rest you need to test yourself. With your new cleaned up body, you will be able to easily tell what you can handle and what you can't. You might find breads really make you tired. Or that you can't handle some types of fruits.
Make sure you stay up with proper food combining. If you go back to terrible food combinations (ex. meat with potatoes, bread, and salad with heavy dressing) then you are going to have problems staying clear. The body just cannot handle this massive acid overload.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
7 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Acne Treatment
Excellent skin care plays an important role in treating acne. Following these skin care guidelines can help improve treatment results:
1. Do NOT pop, squeeze or pick at acne.
This can make acne worse by spreading inflammation. It can be dangerous to squeeze spots in the area around the cheek and nose, as infection can be caused to spread to more vital internal structures.
2. Gently wash your face twice a day with a mild cleanser and pat dry. Acne is not caused by poor hygiene, and vigorous washing and scrubbing will not clear your skin. In fact, all that scrubbing can irritate your skin and make acne worse. The way to clear acne is with appropriate acne products and good skin care.
3. While not absolutely essential, steaming and "deep-cleaning" pores is useful both alone and in addition to medical treatment, especially for people with "whiteheads" or "blackheads." Having these pores unclogged by a professional also reduces the temptation to do it yourself!
4. Avoid aggravating your acne. Oily hair, sporting equipment that rubs against your skin and airborne grease—all can irritate and make your acne worse. Ways you can avoid these situations include:
* If you have oily hair, keep it off your face and wash it daily.
* Avoid using hair care products that contain oil, such as pomades and gels.
* Wear cotton clothing or moleskin under sporting equipment to avoid skin-to-equipment contact.
* Avoid covering yourself with thick layers of make up, and if you do, wash it off as soon as you can, certainly do not leave on overnight.
5. Give acne products enough time to do their job. Ask a dermatologist (or pharmacist) how many days do each particular product works. This way you’ll know when you can expect to see clearing and not stop using the product(s) before you see results. Generally, it takes 6 to 8 weeks before you begin to see an improvement.
6. Use medications as directed. “Over medication” than intended for will not improve results. In fact, it can make acne worse by aggravating the skin. Be sure to read all labels and use accordingly or as instructed by a dermatologist.
7. Avoid excess exposure to sunlight, and do not use tanning booths or sun lamps. Contrary to popular belief, tanning does not clear acne; it simply masks acne. Tanning also increases one’s risk of developing melanoma and other skin cancers. Additionally, some acne treatments can increase the skin's sensitivity to sunlight and ultraviolet light from tanning booths and sun lamps. If you have acne, it is important to protect your skin by following sun-protection practices, such as wearing sunscreen and avoiding sunburns.
If after following these guidelines, you are not satisfied with the results from your acne treatment, please visit a dermatologist. Today, almost every case of acne can be cleared, especially with a dermatologist's help.
1. Do NOT pop, squeeze or pick at acne.
This can make acne worse by spreading inflammation. It can be dangerous to squeeze spots in the area around the cheek and nose, as infection can be caused to spread to more vital internal structures.
2. Gently wash your face twice a day with a mild cleanser and pat dry. Acne is not caused by poor hygiene, and vigorous washing and scrubbing will not clear your skin. In fact, all that scrubbing can irritate your skin and make acne worse. The way to clear acne is with appropriate acne products and good skin care.
3. While not absolutely essential, steaming and "deep-cleaning" pores is useful both alone and in addition to medical treatment, especially for people with "whiteheads" or "blackheads." Having these pores unclogged by a professional also reduces the temptation to do it yourself!
4. Avoid aggravating your acne. Oily hair, sporting equipment that rubs against your skin and airborne grease—all can irritate and make your acne worse. Ways you can avoid these situations include:
* If you have oily hair, keep it off your face and wash it daily.
* Avoid using hair care products that contain oil, such as pomades and gels.
* Wear cotton clothing or moleskin under sporting equipment to avoid skin-to-equipment contact.
* Avoid covering yourself with thick layers of make up, and if you do, wash it off as soon as you can, certainly do not leave on overnight.
5. Give acne products enough time to do their job. Ask a dermatologist (or pharmacist) how many days do each particular product works. This way you’ll know when you can expect to see clearing and not stop using the product(s) before you see results. Generally, it takes 6 to 8 weeks before you begin to see an improvement.
6. Use medications as directed. “Over medication” than intended for will not improve results. In fact, it can make acne worse by aggravating the skin. Be sure to read all labels and use accordingly or as instructed by a dermatologist.
7. Avoid excess exposure to sunlight, and do not use tanning booths or sun lamps. Contrary to popular belief, tanning does not clear acne; it simply masks acne. Tanning also increases one’s risk of developing melanoma and other skin cancers. Additionally, some acne treatments can increase the skin's sensitivity to sunlight and ultraviolet light from tanning booths and sun lamps. If you have acne, it is important to protect your skin by following sun-protection practices, such as wearing sunscreen and avoiding sunburns.
If after following these guidelines, you are not satisfied with the results from your acne treatment, please visit a dermatologist. Today, almost every case of acne can be cleared, especially with a dermatologist's help.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Treatment
The aims of treatment are to prevent new spots forming, to improve those already present, and to prevent scarring. Therefore, treatment should focus on three aspects or causes of acne that is to: (1) to unclog pores; (2) to kill bacteria; and (3) to minimize oil (sebum) production.
1) Opening Pores
Cleansing and Skin Care: Despite what you read in popular style and fashion magazines, there is no magic product or regimen that is right for every person and situation.
* Mild cleansers: Washing once or twice a day with a mild cleansing bar or liquid (for example, Dove, Neutrogena and Sebamed are all inexpensive and popular) will keep the skin clean and minimize sensitivity and irritation. The skin needs a certain amount of oil to maintain its natural condition, so avoid aggressive washing with strong soaps.
* Exfoliating cleansers and masques: A variety of mild scrubs, exfoliants, and masques can be used. These products contain either fine granules or salicylic acid in a concentration that makes it a very mild peeling agent. These products remove the outer layer of the skin, and thus open pores.
* Retinol: Not to be confused with the prescription medication, Retin-A, this derivative of Vitamin A can help promote skin peeling.
2) Killing Bacteria
* Antibacterial cleansers: The most popular ingredient in over-the-counter antibacterial cleansers is benzoyl peroxide (eg Oxy and Clearasil Max).
* Topical (external) applications: These products come in the form of gels, creams, and lotions, which are applied to the affected area. The active ingredients that kill surface bacteria include benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, and resorcinol.
Benzoyl peroxide causes red and scaly allergic skin in a small number of people, which goes away as soon as you stop using it. Keep in mind that benzoyl peroxide is a BLEACH, so don't let products containing benzoyl peroxide get on your good colored clothes, shirts, or towels!
3) Reducing Oil
Oil is normal. You can't stop your oil glands from producing it, unless you mess with your hormones or metabolism in ways you shouldn't want to. What you can do is to get rid of oil on the surface of the skin, and reduce that embarrassing shine.
* Use a gentle astringent/toner to wipe away oil. (There are many brands available in pharmacies, as well as from manufacturers of cosmetic lines.)
* Products containing glycolic acid or one of the other alpha-hydroxy acids are also mildly helpful in clearing the skin by causing the superficial layer of the skin to peel (exfoliate).
* Masques containing sulfur and other ingredients draw out facial oil.
* Antibacterial pads containing benzoyl peroxide have the additional benefit of helping you wipe away oil.
1) Opening Pores
Cleansing and Skin Care: Despite what you read in popular style and fashion magazines, there is no magic product or regimen that is right for every person and situation.
* Mild cleansers: Washing once or twice a day with a mild cleansing bar or liquid (for example, Dove, Neutrogena and Sebamed are all inexpensive and popular) will keep the skin clean and minimize sensitivity and irritation. The skin needs a certain amount of oil to maintain its natural condition, so avoid aggressive washing with strong soaps.
* Exfoliating cleansers and masques: A variety of mild scrubs, exfoliants, and masques can be used. These products contain either fine granules or salicylic acid in a concentration that makes it a very mild peeling agent. These products remove the outer layer of the skin, and thus open pores.
* Retinol: Not to be confused with the prescription medication, Retin-A, this derivative of Vitamin A can help promote skin peeling.
2) Killing Bacteria
* Antibacterial cleansers: The most popular ingredient in over-the-counter antibacterial cleansers is benzoyl peroxide (eg Oxy and Clearasil Max).
* Topical (external) applications: These products come in the form of gels, creams, and lotions, which are applied to the affected area. The active ingredients that kill surface bacteria include benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, and resorcinol.
Benzoyl peroxide causes red and scaly allergic skin in a small number of people, which goes away as soon as you stop using it. Keep in mind that benzoyl peroxide is a BLEACH, so don't let products containing benzoyl peroxide get on your good colored clothes, shirts, or towels!
3) Reducing Oil
Oil is normal. You can't stop your oil glands from producing it, unless you mess with your hormones or metabolism in ways you shouldn't want to. What you can do is to get rid of oil on the surface of the skin, and reduce that embarrassing shine.
* Use a gentle astringent/toner to wipe away oil. (There are many brands available in pharmacies, as well as from manufacturers of cosmetic lines.)
* Products containing glycolic acid or one of the other alpha-hydroxy acids are also mildly helpful in clearing the skin by causing the superficial layer of the skin to peel (exfoliate).
* Masques containing sulfur and other ingredients draw out facial oil.
* Antibacterial pads containing benzoyl peroxide have the additional benefit of helping you wipe away oil.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Acne Myths
Myth #1: Acne is caused by poor hygiene. If you wash your skin hard and frequently, you can actually make your acne worse. Acne is not caused by dirt or surface skin oils. In fact most people with acne wash more often than those without the condition, to try to clear away the excess oil produced by their skins. Although excess oils, dead skin and a day's accumulation of dust on the skin looks unsightly, they should not be removed by hard scrubbing. Vigorous washing and scrubbing will actually irritate the skin and make acne worse. The best approach to hygiene and acne: Gently wash your face twice a day with a mild soap, pat dry--and use an appropriate acne treatment for the acne.
Myth #2: Acne is caused by diet. Extensive scientific studies have not found a connection between diet and acne. In other words, food does not cause acne. Not chocolate. Not peanuts. Not oily food. Nonetheless, some people insist that certain foods affect their acne. In that case, avoid those foods. However, a good balanced diet will improve your general well-being and this will be reflected in the condition of your skin. And, according to the scientific evidence, if acne is being treated properly, there's no need to worry about food affecting the acne.
Myth #3: Acne is caused by stress. The ordinary stress of day-to-day living is not an important factor in acne. Severe stress that needs medical attention is sometimes treated with drugs that can cause acne as a side effect. If you think you may have acne related to a drug prescribed for stress or depression, you should consult your physician.
Myth #4: Acne affected by sweating and humid atmosphere. Yes. Up to 15 % of sufferers find their acne flares up when they have been sweating a lot. This is probably due to water swells the partial hair duct obstruction causing a complete blockage and therefore inflammation.
Myth #5: Acne become worse before periods? Yes. Many women notice that their acne gets worse 2 to 7 days before their period starts. This is probably due to changes in their hormone levels at this stage in the menstrual cycle.
Myth #6: Acne make worse by medicine. Some medicines may do this, most commonly corticosteroids and anti-epilepsy drugs. If you think that medicines you are taking have made your acne worse, you should speak to your doctor. Never stop medication without medical advice.
Myth #2: Acne is caused by diet. Extensive scientific studies have not found a connection between diet and acne. In other words, food does not cause acne. Not chocolate. Not peanuts. Not oily food. Nonetheless, some people insist that certain foods affect their acne. In that case, avoid those foods. However, a good balanced diet will improve your general well-being and this will be reflected in the condition of your skin. And, according to the scientific evidence, if acne is being treated properly, there's no need to worry about food affecting the acne.
Myth #3: Acne is caused by stress. The ordinary stress of day-to-day living is not an important factor in acne. Severe stress that needs medical attention is sometimes treated with drugs that can cause acne as a side effect. If you think you may have acne related to a drug prescribed for stress or depression, you should consult your physician.
Myth #4: Acne affected by sweating and humid atmosphere. Yes. Up to 15 % of sufferers find their acne flares up when they have been sweating a lot. This is probably due to water swells the partial hair duct obstruction causing a complete blockage and therefore inflammation.
Myth #5: Acne become worse before periods? Yes. Many women notice that their acne gets worse 2 to 7 days before their period starts. This is probably due to changes in their hormone levels at this stage in the menstrual cycle.
Myth #6: Acne make worse by medicine. Some medicines may do this, most commonly corticosteroids and anti-epilepsy drugs. If you think that medicines you are taking have made your acne worse, you should speak to your doctor. Never stop medication without medical advice.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Who gets acne?
Most of teenagers between the ages of twelve and seventeen have at least an occasional whitehead, blackhead or pimple, regardless of race or ethnicity. It normally goes away on its own sometime in the early twenties. However, the disease is not restricted to any age group; adults in their 20s - even into their 40s - can get acne. Acne can persist into the late twenties or thirties or even beyond. Some people get acne for the first time as adults.
Many of these young people are able to manage their acne with over-the-counter (nonprescription) treatments. While not a life threatening condition, acne can be upsetting and disfiguring. When severe, acne can lead to serious and permanent scarring. Even less severe cases can lead to scarring.
Acne affects young men and young women about equally, but there are differences. Young men are more likely than young women to have more severe, longer lasting forms of acne. Despite this fact, young men are less likely than young women to visit a dermatologist for their acne. In contrast, young women are more likely to have intermittent acne due to hormonal changes associated with their menstrual cycle and acne caused by cosmetics. These kinds of acne may afflict young women well into adulthood.
Acne lesions are most common on the face, but they can also occur on the neck, chest, back, shoulders, scalp, and upper arms and legs.
Normal Acne Distribution
Many of these young people are able to manage their acne with over-the-counter (nonprescription) treatments. While not a life threatening condition, acne can be upsetting and disfiguring. When severe, acne can lead to serious and permanent scarring. Even less severe cases can lead to scarring.
Acne affects young men and young women about equally, but there are differences. Young men are more likely than young women to have more severe, longer lasting forms of acne. Despite this fact, young men are less likely than young women to visit a dermatologist for their acne. In contrast, young women are more likely to have intermittent acne due to hormonal changes associated with their menstrual cycle and acne caused by cosmetics. These kinds of acne may afflict young women well into adulthood.
Acne lesions are most common on the face, but they can also occur on the neck, chest, back, shoulders, scalp, and upper arms and legs.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Types of Acne
There are many variations of acne / pimples, ranging in severity from mild to severely disfiguring, from comedones (blackheads and whiteheads) to nodules and cysts.
The most common form of acne is known as "acne vulgaris", meaning "common acne." Excessive secretion of oils from the sebaceous glands combines with naturally occurring dead skin cells to block the hair follicles. There also appears to be in some instances a faulty keritinization process in the skin leading to abnormal shedding of skin lining the pores. Oil secretions build up beneath the blocked pore, providing a perfect environment for the skin bacteria Propionibacterium acnes to multiply uncontrolled. In response, the skin inflames, producing the visible lesion.
The typical acne lesions are: comedones, papules, pustules, nodules and inflammatory cysts. These are the more inflamed form of pus-filled or reddish bumps, even boil-like tender swellings. Non-inflamed 'sebaceous cysts', more properly called epidermoid cysts, occur either in association with acne or alone but are not a constant feature. After resolution of acne lesions, prominent unsightly scars may remain.
comedo
Papule—A papule is defined as a small (5 millimeters or less), solid lesion slightly elevated above the surface of the skin. A group of very small papules and microcomedones may be almost invisible but have a "sandpaper" feel to the touch. A papule is caused by localized cellular reaction to the process of acne.
Pustule—A dome-shaped, fragile lesion containing pus that typically consists of a mixture of white blood cells, dead skin cells, and bacteria. A pustule that forms over a sebaceous follicle usually has a hair in the center. Acne pustules that heal without progressing to cystic form usually leave no scars.
Nodule—Like a papule, a nodule is a solid, dome-shaped or irregularly-shaped lesion. Unlike a papule, a nodule is characterized by inflammation, extends into deeper layers of the skin and may cause tissue destruction that results in scarring. A nodule may be very painful.
Cyst—A cyst is a sac-like lesion containing liquid or semi-liquid material consisting of white blood cells, dead cells, and bacteria. It is larger than a pustule, may be severely inflamed, extends into deeper layers of the skin, may be very painful, and can result in scarring. Cysts and nodules often occur together in a severe form of acne called nodulocystic. This is a severe form of acne that is often resistant to treatment and likely to leave scars after healing.
The most common form of acne is known as "acne vulgaris", meaning "common acne." Excessive secretion of oils from the sebaceous glands combines with naturally occurring dead skin cells to block the hair follicles. There also appears to be in some instances a faulty keritinization process in the skin leading to abnormal shedding of skin lining the pores. Oil secretions build up beneath the blocked pore, providing a perfect environment for the skin bacteria Propionibacterium acnes to multiply uncontrolled. In response, the skin inflames, producing the visible lesion.
The typical acne lesions are: comedones, papules, pustules, nodules and inflammatory cysts. These are the more inflamed form of pus-filled or reddish bumps, even boil-like tender swellings. Non-inflamed 'sebaceous cysts', more properly called epidermoid cysts, occur either in association with acne or alone but are not a constant feature. After resolution of acne lesions, prominent unsightly scars may remain.
Papule—A papule is defined as a small (5 millimeters or less), solid lesion slightly elevated above the surface of the skin. A group of very small papules and microcomedones may be almost invisible but have a "sandpaper" feel to the touch. A papule is caused by localized cellular reaction to the process of acne.
Pustule—A dome-shaped, fragile lesion containing pus that typically consists of a mixture of white blood cells, dead skin cells, and bacteria. A pustule that forms over a sebaceous follicle usually has a hair in the center. Acne pustules that heal without progressing to cystic form usually leave no scars.
Nodule—Like a papule, a nodule is a solid, dome-shaped or irregularly-shaped lesion. Unlike a papule, a nodule is characterized by inflammation, extends into deeper layers of the skin and may cause tissue destruction that results in scarring. A nodule may be very painful.
Cyst—A cyst is a sac-like lesion containing liquid or semi-liquid material consisting of white blood cells, dead cells, and bacteria. It is larger than a pustule, may be severely inflamed, extends into deeper layers of the skin, may be very painful, and can result in scarring. Cysts and nodules often occur together in a severe form of acne called nodulocystic. This is a severe form of acne that is often resistant to treatment and likely to leave scars after healing.
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