Spectro Derm can be a part of a great regiment for acne sufferers. It contains alpha hydroxy acid, which can prevent blemishes. It can also help eczema. Overall, it's great for troubled skin conditions. Some people recommend that it only be used once a week. But, I have been using it on a daily basis with no irritation.
Spectro Jel can also be an option for acne sufferers.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Teenage Acne
I have having teenage acne, but I hate having adult acne even more. It's as if God said "oh, now that you are an adult, you should suffer some more". It's as if I did not suffer enough as a teenager.
The worst part of having teenage acne, honestly, is the other teenages. The ones with the perfect glow, tiny little pores that you can't even see, and the ones that whine and complain when they have 1 entire acne on their whole face. It was the end of the world for them. They just don't understand other acne sufferers.
I still hear the same thing as an adult. Just the other day, one woman told me that she was embarrased to go shopping because she had one large zit on her nose. So what! Big deal....so I told her to get over it.
By far, the worst part of someone having acne is the peer intimidation.
The worst part of having teenage acne, honestly, is the other teenages. The ones with the perfect glow, tiny little pores that you can't even see, and the ones that whine and complain when they have 1 entire acne on their whole face. It was the end of the world for them. They just don't understand other acne sufferers.
I still hear the same thing as an adult. Just the other day, one woman told me that she was embarrased to go shopping because she had one large zit on her nose. So what! Big deal....so I told her to get over it.
By far, the worst part of someone having acne is the peer intimidation.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Skin Types / Best Product
Skin types range from oily, dry, sensitive, combination, and normal. Understanding your skin type is crucial in choosing the acne prevention / fighting products. Let's break down the different skin types and their characteristics.
Oily
The face is oily all over. This type is usually more prone to acne and breakouts. The T-zone is shiny, and if you have any doubt as to whether your face is oily, just take a blotter and see how much oil you can soak up. You may need to go through several sheets!
Use an alcohol based gel or solution!
Sensitive Skin
Your face is sensitive to just about everything (it seems). You may get red blotches, flaking, or scar easily. The acne treatment for you should be a cream or lotion that provides moisture to your skin.
Dry Skin
Flaking!! You can get products like Ahava Advanced Mineral Beautiful Masque for very dry skin. It moisturizes, giving you that healthy and youthful look.
Combination Skin
You are both oily and dry, what a curse! I have combination skin. Everything except for my nose is oily, and my nose is dry. What is that!?!? I tend to go with the type of skin you have the most. For me, it's oily, so I use acne products designed for oily skin.
In prescribing medication for acne, your doctor will consider the type of your skin. It is very important in choosing the right product. You don't want to overdry your skin, or making it more oily, because your acne may get worse.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Celebrities with Acne
Many Hollywood celebrities are not blessed with perfect skin. It only seems like it due to photobrushing and makeup. I searched the net to find a list of stars who have or had acne problems.
Alician Keys
Cameron Diaz
Jessica Simpson
Britney Spears
Puddy Daddy
Vanessa Williams
Elizabeth Hurley
Brad Pitt
Jennifer Aniston
Maria Sharapova
Renee Zellweger
Tommy Lee Jones
Frankie Muntz
Alician Keys
Cameron Diaz
Jessica Simpson
Britney Spears
Puddy Daddy
Vanessa Williams
Elizabeth Hurley
Brad Pitt
Jennifer Aniston
Maria Sharapova
Renee Zellweger
Tommy Lee Jones
Frankie Muntz
Acne is not BAD!
It may seem a little insensitive to say that having acne is not that bad. But, in the bigger scheme of things, it's not that bad at all. Of course, this excludes long term sufferers of severe acne.
We all had acne growing up, some more than others. I had to think of a few positive things that can come out of having acne.
1) It builds character.
2) People look at you all the time :)
3) You become an expert on pimples
4) You also become an expert on popping pimples
5) You have multiple uses for toothpaste
6) If you ever get rid of your acne, it's a MAJOR transformation
7) You are an expert on cleansers, regiments, etc
Just remember that one day you will grow out of it, and it will just be a distant memory. Do what you can to make life a little easier for yourself, but don't obsess over it. It's true, one day, it will be all better.
We all had acne growing up, some more than others. I had to think of a few positive things that can come out of having acne.
1) It builds character.
2) People look at you all the time :)
3) You become an expert on pimples
4) You also become an expert on popping pimples
5) You have multiple uses for toothpaste
6) If you ever get rid of your acne, it's a MAJOR transformation
7) You are an expert on cleansers, regiments, etc
Just remember that one day you will grow out of it, and it will just be a distant memory. Do what you can to make life a little easier for yourself, but don't obsess over it. It's true, one day, it will be all better.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Dandruff and Acne
It deems that a dry scalp is correlated with acne. This is a bit weird.
I have oily skin, yet a super dry scalp (???!?!?).
When my dandruff is worse, the acne is worse. I just bought T-Gel to bring me some relief to the itchy scalp. It doesn't work that well. Next time, I will try Selsun Blue instead. However, the acne is getting better now that my head is a little bit less itchy.
Who knew, dry scalp, oily skin.....argh...
The Miracle of Toothpaste
How about coating your face in Colgate to get rid of pimples?
Toothpaste is great for getting rid of the odd pimple or acne here and there. Put a dab on your finger tip and dab it on your pimple. I like to lay it on thick.
Over night, it will dry the pimple. The pimple will not disappear over night, but at least it's not a great big eye sore. I find that toothpaste only drys the surface to make it smooth but does not get rid of the acne completely.
The Art of Popping Pimples!
I can't quite explain it, but I love popping pimples. Mind you, I don't have a lot of pimples to pop, but once in awhile, one whitehead pops up from no where, and I am ecstatic! A lot of people actually share this thrill, it's just most people don't talk about it.
There is a correct of popping pimples.
You are supposed to be careful about touching any part of your face with your hands. So, wash your face and your hands with soap before hand. The best way I find is to take a needle, light a match or lighter, and sterilize the needle. Then, ever so gently, you can prick the tip of the pimple. When you are squeezing, it's better to not use bare hands, as you don't want any bacteria to get into the open wound. Push until the liquid turns clear.
Viola, that's it!
Once, I read an article about a world famous facialist who got to where she was because she had a love for popping pimples in her teenage years. It's a fascinating obsession!
There is a correct of popping pimples.
You are supposed to be careful about touching any part of your face with your hands. So, wash your face and your hands with soap before hand. The best way I find is to take a needle, light a match or lighter, and sterilize the needle. Then, ever so gently, you can prick the tip of the pimple. When you are squeezing, it's better to not use bare hands, as you don't want any bacteria to get into the open wound. Push until the liquid turns clear.
Viola, that's it!
Once, I read an article about a world famous facialist who got to where she was because she had a love for popping pimples in her teenage years. It's a fascinating obsession!
Friday, February 03, 2006
The Best Ways To Get Rid Of Acne
By John Mancini
Acne is a much greater problem than you may realize. More than 25% of the population will contract acne at some point during their adult lives. Acne can vary in severity and the length of time a patient suffers. Very bad acne can lead to nasty scarring that is very difficult to get rid of around the face, neck, shoulders, arms and back. Treating it early is one way to try to prevent this and there are several ways to get rid of acne. Recent developments and the improvement in technology and medical research have found dermatological cures that really do seem to work for most people. However, you should be aware that just because a treatment will get rid of acne for one person doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you.
Acne seems to be closely related to increased levels of hormones. For this reason many women suffer from acne at the same time each month during their menstrual cycle. A doctor may prescribe a birth control pill that balances hormone levels and therefore works effectively to get rid of acne.
Short treatments of intense light have been proven to be very effective in helping your get rid of acne. usually conducted over a four week period many patients have shown excellent progress, especially when compared to medicines and other techniques.
Antibiotics can work well with some patients, but the body quickly builds up an immunity to most antibiotics rendering them useless. Also, while antibiotics might work to get rid of acne they can also produce undesirable side effects in users. You may become more light sensitive or suffer from dizziness or nausea.
There are a number of cleansing lotions and moisturizers that can be bought over the counter in chemists or supermarkets. These have a varied degree of success and some will work better than others. Unfortunately they can be expensive, especially if you need to try several before you have any success.
Acne is a much greater problem than you may realize. More than 25% of the population will contract acne at some point during their adult lives. Acne can vary in severity and the length of time a patient suffers. Very bad acne can lead to nasty scarring that is very difficult to get rid of around the face, neck, shoulders, arms and back. Treating it early is one way to try to prevent this and there are several ways to get rid of acne. Recent developments and the improvement in technology and medical research have found dermatological cures that really do seem to work for most people. However, you should be aware that just because a treatment will get rid of acne for one person doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you.
Acne seems to be closely related to increased levels of hormones. For this reason many women suffer from acne at the same time each month during their menstrual cycle. A doctor may prescribe a birth control pill that balances hormone levels and therefore works effectively to get rid of acne.
Short treatments of intense light have been proven to be very effective in helping your get rid of acne. usually conducted over a four week period many patients have shown excellent progress, especially when compared to medicines and other techniques.
Antibiotics can work well with some patients, but the body quickly builds up an immunity to most antibiotics rendering them useless. Also, while antibiotics might work to get rid of acne they can also produce undesirable side effects in users. You may become more light sensitive or suffer from dizziness or nausea.
There are a number of cleansing lotions and moisturizers that can be bought over the counter in chemists or supermarkets. These have a varied degree of success and some will work better than others. Unfortunately they can be expensive, especially if you need to try several before you have any success.
Acne Laser Treatment
By Tanya Curry
Despite so much of efforts acne scars turned out to be extremely difficult to treat. In the past dermatologists have used several methods such as excision, punch grafts, and chemical peels as treatments. But we all know that the results of these therapies have not turned out to be fruitful and theses therapies have always given room to additional scarring to occur. Over the past several years, dermatologists have been working with acne laser treatment which the results now show is turning to be extremely beneficial and giving excellent results.
A variety of ways have been used to do acne laser treatment but the two major methods that have been proposed are:
Direct absorption of visible light energy by porphyrins. In this acne laser treatment light energy is absorbed by bacterium triggering production of toxic singlet oxygen which damages or destroys the bacteria. Almost any visible light source can be used, including narrow-band light sources such as the ClearLight and Blu-U, assorted IPL devices (broadband light) copper vapor lasers, pulse dye lasers and various orange/red light lasers or light sources. One very important factor is that these lights have absorption peak of porphyrins so the laser waves have the advantage of penetrating deeper in to the skin, but do not activate porphyrin as well.
Many researches have proven that to get good results of acne laser treatment combining the use of the pulsed dye technology with carbon dioxide laser vaporization can turn out to be an efficient way in treating scars. Atrophic acne scars where there is a breakdown of the skin have been found to respond most favorably to carbon dioxide laser resurfacing. The number of treatments necessary depends on the type of lesion and each individual's collagen and wound healing response. Usually two or more treatments are needed for cystic acne scars. But one think that one needs to be clear about in this acne laser treatment is that the pulsed dye laser procedure is typically performed without general anesthesia. Local anesthesia is usually administered with a topical anesthetic cream, intralesional injections or nerve blocks. The immediate result may produce a purplish coloring. The treated scars are then evaluated 6-8 weeks later, where another treatment, at the same or slightly higher strength may be necessary.
The main reason for the increasing demand of acne laser treatment is its safety factor because acne laser treatment eliminates the risks of prolonged antibiotic use and retinoid therapy can be avoided, as well as the expense and inconvenience of prolonged topical treatments, acne medications, creams, gels, etc. Whether or not acne laser treatments should be used as first-line treatment for acne, or even for prevention of acne, remains unclear at this time.
Despite so much of efforts acne scars turned out to be extremely difficult to treat. In the past dermatologists have used several methods such as excision, punch grafts, and chemical peels as treatments. But we all know that the results of these therapies have not turned out to be fruitful and theses therapies have always given room to additional scarring to occur. Over the past several years, dermatologists have been working with acne laser treatment which the results now show is turning to be extremely beneficial and giving excellent results.
A variety of ways have been used to do acne laser treatment but the two major methods that have been proposed are:
Direct absorption of visible light energy by porphyrins. In this acne laser treatment light energy is absorbed by bacterium triggering production of toxic singlet oxygen which damages or destroys the bacteria. Almost any visible light source can be used, including narrow-band light sources such as the ClearLight and Blu-U, assorted IPL devices (broadband light) copper vapor lasers, pulse dye lasers and various orange/red light lasers or light sources. One very important factor is that these lights have absorption peak of porphyrins so the laser waves have the advantage of penetrating deeper in to the skin, but do not activate porphyrin as well.
Many researches have proven that to get good results of acne laser treatment combining the use of the pulsed dye technology with carbon dioxide laser vaporization can turn out to be an efficient way in treating scars. Atrophic acne scars where there is a breakdown of the skin have been found to respond most favorably to carbon dioxide laser resurfacing. The number of treatments necessary depends on the type of lesion and each individual's collagen and wound healing response. Usually two or more treatments are needed for cystic acne scars. But one think that one needs to be clear about in this acne laser treatment is that the pulsed dye laser procedure is typically performed without general anesthesia. Local anesthesia is usually administered with a topical anesthetic cream, intralesional injections or nerve blocks. The immediate result may produce a purplish coloring. The treated scars are then evaluated 6-8 weeks later, where another treatment, at the same or slightly higher strength may be necessary.
The main reason for the increasing demand of acne laser treatment is its safety factor because acne laser treatment eliminates the risks of prolonged antibiotic use and retinoid therapy can be avoided, as well as the expense and inconvenience of prolonged topical treatments, acne medications, creams, gels, etc. Whether or not acne laser treatments should be used as first-line treatment for acne, or even for prevention of acne, remains unclear at this time.
One of the Best Modern Acne Treatments
I remember the first time that I saw that there was laser treatment for acne I instantly got a picture in my mind of a James Bond movie in which he was tied up and a laser was cutting into his clothes. I though to my self I would rather live with acne than to use laser as an acne treatment. I have learned a lot sinse then and have found that for many people laser treatment could turn out to be the acne cure that they have been searching for.
The skin is the largest organ on our bodies and along with the other major organs in our bodies is used to eliminate waste. Acne, in layman's terms occurs when our pores get clogged with the natural oil that our bodies produce as well as dirt. This happens most often in the onset of puberty when the hormones are developing and also very prevalent in pregnant women. There are however many different types of acne and therefore an acne treatment that may work for one person will not work for another.
There are so many acne products on the market today. There are also a great many home remedies for acne books about with different recipes to try as well as natural treatments being touted as possible acne cures. Acne medications are more popular today than they have ever been in the past. People are also using antibiotics as an acne treatment more today than in the past so much so that the body often gets resistant to it so antibiotics are not the best acne treatment.
Laser acne treatments for severe forms of acne work by the laser killing off the bacteria that is responsible for causing the acne to begin with. Lasers used for mild acne treatments like simple blackheads and whiteheads targets the serum producing glands to simply unplug the follicle to release the serum trapped inside by heating the top layer and shrinking the oil gland. This effects the top area of the skin leaving the deeper layers of the skin virtually unaffected and able to heal without incident.
It is now believed that laser treatments are a cure for acne. There are various types of laser acne treatments available but usually there is only one or two that are the best treatment for your acne problem because everyone's skin is not the same. A new and modern natural acne treatment of the century is laser surgery because of its design to gently target and cure mild to serious cases of acne.
Just because laser treatment is now being touted as the best new cure doesn't mean that it is. It is more expensive than any of the acne products out on the market. Acne medications are often within the price range of most people plagued with acne while laser acne treatments are not. In the end the individual will have to decide what is the best acne treatment for themselves.
The skin is the largest organ on our bodies and along with the other major organs in our bodies is used to eliminate waste. Acne, in layman's terms occurs when our pores get clogged with the natural oil that our bodies produce as well as dirt. This happens most often in the onset of puberty when the hormones are developing and also very prevalent in pregnant women. There are however many different types of acne and therefore an acne treatment that may work for one person will not work for another.
There are so many acne products on the market today. There are also a great many home remedies for acne books about with different recipes to try as well as natural treatments being touted as possible acne cures. Acne medications are more popular today than they have ever been in the past. People are also using antibiotics as an acne treatment more today than in the past so much so that the body often gets resistant to it so antibiotics are not the best acne treatment.
Laser acne treatments for severe forms of acne work by the laser killing off the bacteria that is responsible for causing the acne to begin with. Lasers used for mild acne treatments like simple blackheads and whiteheads targets the serum producing glands to simply unplug the follicle to release the serum trapped inside by heating the top layer and shrinking the oil gland. This effects the top area of the skin leaving the deeper layers of the skin virtually unaffected and able to heal without incident.
It is now believed that laser treatments are a cure for acne. There are various types of laser acne treatments available but usually there is only one or two that are the best treatment for your acne problem because everyone's skin is not the same. A new and modern natural acne treatment of the century is laser surgery because of its design to gently target and cure mild to serious cases of acne.
Just because laser treatment is now being touted as the best new cure doesn't mean that it is. It is more expensive than any of the acne products out on the market. Acne medications are often within the price range of most people plagued with acne while laser acne treatments are not. In the end the individual will have to decide what is the best acne treatment for themselves.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Exercise Helps Reduce Severe Acne
By Robert Kokoska
Daily exercise can be extremely beneficial to your overall skin health and can also help clear it of acne too.
Regular exercise increases the flow of blood and oxygen to the skin cells. When you sweat, your body expells toxins through the skin with ease from the opened pores. Sweating effectively cleans the pores from dirt, dead skin cells and excess sebum.
When you exercise, your kidneys and liver work more effectively in removing toxins from the body. Stress is also reduced from exercise and both of these are known causes of acne.
It is a good idea after exercising to take a shower. This washes away the sweat and any other waste material ejected from the body. It also prevents the growth of bacteria which is attracted to sweat.
After exercise be sure to drink plenty of water. Water is essential for ridding the body of toxins and to replace all the water lost from sweating. Acne has been shown to occur in people who aren't drinking enough water.
Almost all exercises are great and the more you sweat the better. Walking, jogging, cycling, swimming and team sports are all suitable. If you can, try to exercise outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine.
Swimming is excellent due to being in water which helps to fully cleanse the pores. It is important to rinse yourself after swimming to clean off the chlorine on your body which can leave your skin really dry.
One of the best exercises for acne is using a mini-trampoline. Jumping on a mini-tramp is beneficial for your lymphatic system. Your lymph is controlled by movement and operates best when exercising.
The lymph provides the cells with the nutrients it needs and is also responsible for removing and eliminating cell waste and toxins. If the lymph is insufficienty activated, the cells swim in their own waste which can block pores and when bacteria starts to grow in blocked pores it causes acne.
It has been reported that rebounding can increase the flow of your lymph by up to 30 times. It has also been stated that rebounding is possibly the best exercise ever invented because it has so many benefits.
Not only does exercise benefit the skin, it also has emotional and mental benefits. It is good for stress relief as stated earlier but also good for keeping the mind focused and active. Apart from exercise, proper sleep and relaxation are also good for reducing stress.
Daily exercise can be extremely beneficial to your overall skin health and can also help clear it of acne too.
Regular exercise increases the flow of blood and oxygen to the skin cells. When you sweat, your body expells toxins through the skin with ease from the opened pores. Sweating effectively cleans the pores from dirt, dead skin cells and excess sebum.
When you exercise, your kidneys and liver work more effectively in removing toxins from the body. Stress is also reduced from exercise and both of these are known causes of acne.
It is a good idea after exercising to take a shower. This washes away the sweat and any other waste material ejected from the body. It also prevents the growth of bacteria which is attracted to sweat.
After exercise be sure to drink plenty of water. Water is essential for ridding the body of toxins and to replace all the water lost from sweating. Acne has been shown to occur in people who aren't drinking enough water.
Almost all exercises are great and the more you sweat the better. Walking, jogging, cycling, swimming and team sports are all suitable. If you can, try to exercise outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine.
Swimming is excellent due to being in water which helps to fully cleanse the pores. It is important to rinse yourself after swimming to clean off the chlorine on your body which can leave your skin really dry.
One of the best exercises for acne is using a mini-trampoline. Jumping on a mini-tramp is beneficial for your lymphatic system. Your lymph is controlled by movement and operates best when exercising.
The lymph provides the cells with the nutrients it needs and is also responsible for removing and eliminating cell waste and toxins. If the lymph is insufficienty activated, the cells swim in their own waste which can block pores and when bacteria starts to grow in blocked pores it causes acne.
It has been reported that rebounding can increase the flow of your lymph by up to 30 times. It has also been stated that rebounding is possibly the best exercise ever invented because it has so many benefits.
Not only does exercise benefit the skin, it also has emotional and mental benefits. It is good for stress relief as stated earlier but also good for keeping the mind focused and active. Apart from exercise, proper sleep and relaxation are also good for reducing stress.
Factors That Do Not Cause Acne
By Paul Cris
The following are the factors, which are not correlated to acne development even if a number of people perceive it to be so:
1. Heredity: If the parents have undergone the acne problem, it does not affect the skin texture of the children. However, if the problem was serious then it may continue with the children to a smaller extent. You may be sharing this problem with at least one person in your family, as it is the most widespread problem.
2. Diet: There are many parents who try to keep their kids away from junk food such as burger, pizzas, pastries, etc. It is a fact that these items are not healthy but neither do they contribute to acne growth.
3. Dirt: You need not rinse your skin continuously to get rid of acne. On the contrary it may cause the skin to dry and cause irritation. Even the sweat flowing from your body does not substantially cause acne. The blackhead is just rusted oil and it is not dirt.
4. Stress: Most of the teenagers feel inferior and pluck the pimples and therefore make the problem a lot worse. But the routine stress as such does not result in acne. It is an incorrect concept that calming down makes the pimples disappear.
5. Hormone Pills: They are not effective in curbing the growth rate of acne. Most of the woman rush to treat themselves with different hormone pills which is wrong and unnecessary
The following are the factors, which are not correlated to acne development even if a number of people perceive it to be so:
1. Heredity: If the parents have undergone the acne problem, it does not affect the skin texture of the children. However, if the problem was serious then it may continue with the children to a smaller extent. You may be sharing this problem with at least one person in your family, as it is the most widespread problem.
2. Diet: There are many parents who try to keep their kids away from junk food such as burger, pizzas, pastries, etc. It is a fact that these items are not healthy but neither do they contribute to acne growth.
3. Dirt: You need not rinse your skin continuously to get rid of acne. On the contrary it may cause the skin to dry and cause irritation. Even the sweat flowing from your body does not substantially cause acne. The blackhead is just rusted oil and it is not dirt.
4. Stress: Most of the teenagers feel inferior and pluck the pimples and therefore make the problem a lot worse. But the routine stress as such does not result in acne. It is an incorrect concept that calming down makes the pimples disappear.
5. Hormone Pills: They are not effective in curbing the growth rate of acne. Most of the woman rush to treat themselves with different hormone pills which is wrong and unnecessary
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