Acne can effect anyone-of either sex and of any age. Speaking from experience, acne can really effect your confidence. As a beauty therapist, I am often asked how to treat acne and what products are best. After receiving a few e-mails since starting up my blog, I've decided to do a blog post about it.
Acne is very complex and honestly the term "acne" is often mis-used. It can be so frustrating and disheartening trying out varies different products and even medications. I remember when I got adult acne at 23, I was devastated!! My upper back, jaw line and the sides of my cheeks were covered in spots and even acne cysts- no make up would hide it. I felt that everyone was staring at my skin ( which they werent! ) and my confidence went to an all time low. My mum was so supportive and even stayed up a few nights with me researching the best way to treat acne! Nowadays there are so many treatments and great products that treat acne.
If you suffer from acne then educating yourself about the causes and treatments of acne is key!
What Causes Acne Vulgaris?
Hormones called androgens are released during puberty which drive your oil glands to produce oil or sebum. An overproduction of this oil can lead to blocked follicles and pores resulting in anything from a blackhead to a cyst! There are varying degrees of acne, mild moderate and severe. Just because you have a blackhead does not mean you have acne! Each follicle in the skin is connected to a gland which produces oil- the oil,called sebum, is supposed to keep you skin soft and supple but over production of sebum and over stimulation of the oil gland can cause too much oil to be produced-the oil cannot flow out of the pore and instead gets blocked along with dead skin cells- eventually causing a "spot". The majority of acne sufferers develop it during puberty and "grow out it" as their hormones balance out, but there is a minority of people that can develop it later in life. Propionbacterium is a bacteria that lives on the skin deep inside the pores-its a very slow growing bacteria which feeds off sebum. Several strains of this bacteria have been linked to acne vulgaris. When a bacteria is in the body, our immune system goes into overdrive and releases white blood cells.....which can actually cause inflammation ( swelling, redness ) In turn, its actually the immune systems response to the bacteria that results in inflammatory acne. Everyones immune reaction is different, some more sensitive than others. Studies have shown that the bacteria doesnt have to be alive to trigger this immune system, even dead bacteria which is lying in the pore can lead to an immune reaction. It is important to remember that acne is not infectious...even when bacteria is involved.
There are a number of avenues you can take when it comes to deciding how to treat your acne. For the purpose of this blog, I am going to concentrate on ingredients, treatments and products that have worked for me. ( rather than medication! ) Obviously visit your doctor or dermatologist if you have an extreme case of acne but if not why not give these ideas a go.....
What you can do at home...............
First step is to kill that bacteria!! How? Disinfectant....thats how! Clean, clean, CLEAN your skin PROPERLY! Get your self your own wash bag....for all your products and for your own face cloth. If you wear make up on a daily basis, make sure to cleanse this off thoroughly before you use your specific disinfectant. Boots do a fabulous range of cleansers, no nasty ingredients and perfect for those who have sensitive skin.....wash your skin with your face wash rather than your face cloth....what do I mean by that? allow the cleansing ingredients in your face wash to cleanse your skin-rather than scrubbing your skin with your face cloth! Be gentle. I know its tempting to scrub the hell out of your skin but thats a definite no no-it will only over stimulate the skin...your pores will get pissed off with you and you don't want that! lol Even if you don't wear make up, you should always cleanse your skin twice-believe me if you could see the crap that builds up on your skin during the day/night you would cleanse!
Now that you have cleansed your skin, its is now prepped and ready for disinfecting it. The best best BEST ingredient for this is benzoyl peroxide...sounds scary but it's not. This will kill the bacteria deep in the pore. Start off with a face wash containing a low percentage, its better to start off with a low percentage rather than bombarding your skin with a high one. 2% or 3% is perfecto. The product I used is Panoxyl 2.5. I used to apply this to the area of my acne, not just the individual spots. Your skin has to be mega clean before you apply this, it may sting, especially if the area you are applying it to has broken skin. Remember you can apply this to the back aswell...... just make sure that you have cleansed your back too before applying it.
Your skin will flake and become quite dry while your using benzoyl peroxide....this is normal, just make sure you use a moisturiser or even better a sun screen. It is VITAL that you moisturise your skin.....if you don't, then your skin will just fight back and you'll go back to square one. I cannot stress this enough, I know when i was going through this, moisturising my skin was the last thing I thought my skin needed but trust me...using benzoyl peroxide really drys out the skin so moisturise moisturise MOISTURISE!! Image skincare do an amazing sunscreen moisturiser, its like heaven in a bottle and smells delicious!
If you have mild acne,then use benzoyl peroxide only twice, three times a week- anything more will only aggravate your skin-and again you will go back to square one. Skin science, skin cells, acne etc is very complex, you need to realise the importance of using these products and ingredients correctly before you even use them. Moderate acne sufferers can use it every second day and Severe acne sufferers can use it twice a day, everyday until the acne has significantly decreased. Slowly ween your skin off the product until you are only using it when you need it.
The Next Step......
Once your acne is under control and you have been using the benzoyl peroxide for a number of weeks, its time to introduce exfoliating ingredients. Now that the bacteria had been treated, its time to get inside that pore and scoop out the crap! Alpha Hydroxy Acids and Beta Hydroxy Acids are the way to go. Salicylic Acid is a MUST. Just like the benzoyl peroxide, it is so important to use salicylic acid correctly. I have come across plenty of products claiming they contain salicylic but the blunt truth is, many of these products are not the correct ph or percentage. Image certainly have the best range for acne skin....their medicated acne masque is amazeballs as part of your weekly skin routine. It has the most advanced technology and ingredients in the industry, if you can get your hands on it then do, it really is a miracle worker! The ingredients in this masque are cosmeceutical- meaning that they are formulated to get deep deep into the pore. If you have moderate-severe acne, then this is the product I would highly recommend......
An alternative to this is this Dermalogica face masque. Even though this brand doesn't use cosmeceutical ingredients, it is perfect for those who have mild acne and feels amazingly refreshing on the skin!
I really hope this post helps at least one of my readers. I feel quite strongly that education is key- understanding acne and why certain ingredients work will make your treatment so much easier!
I will post the second part of this blog post soon ...other wise the post will be mega long. In the next part of my acne posts, I will concentrate on the professional treatments that are available noways for acne so stay tuned for that one!
Like always drop me a mail on facebook or at porcelain.lady@yahoo.co.uk
xxx
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