As a sufferer of acne from my early teens, I can greatly empathise with individuals who has to put up with this regrettable skin problem. One of my recollections relating to having acne was as a 15 year old working at my first job as a 'check out chick' at Woolworths. I was serving a mother and her young daughter asked me "what is wrong with your face?" Of course I was utterly humiliated. Whilst it was of small comfort that the mother apologised copiously for her daughter's question, it didn't hide the fact that my acne was completely visible and completely obvious.
My acne treatment journey took me to the extreme point of being on Roactaine twice, going on the contraceptive pill, altering my diet and trying every known acne skin care known. So I can relate to the frustration and embarrassment people feel with this skin problem.
Quite a few years on now, I no longer suffer from acne as a issue, but I do have some acne scars (although this could have been more severe) and I do still get zits. Currently, I work for an Australian Natural Skin Care company. I would like to share with you some general skin care tips I've picked up while working in the industry to help with your acne treatment.
For young, oily, acne prone skin I would recommend the follow regime:
1. Use a face wash with lactic and glycolic acids (AHAs) morning and night. Lactic and Glycolic Acids help to remove dead skin cells that can block pores.
2. Exfoliate two to three times per week to clear clogged pores which create blemishes
3. Use a forumulated blemish gel morning and night to fight bacteria causing pimples and to keep down redness
4. Look for an oil free moisturiser to use morning and night. Oil free creams are suitable for oily to combination skin. It is important to moisturise to keep skin hydrated (hydration is still needed for oily skin as it is water based, not extra oil)
5. Buy a MSM Cream to also apply to reduce rawness and redness related to cystic pimples.
For pimple prone skin it is better to avoid cleansing your face with soaps or cleansers which are quite drying to the skin. Regrettably these can cause the opposite effect, where removing too much oil from the skin causes the skin producing even more oil to counterbalance, further blocking pores and producing more pimples. Some very well recognised acne treatment products do exactly this.
For really oily skin, it is advised to use moisturisers without any oil in them. Adding further oil to the skin could cause more blocked pores.
It is necessary to exfoliate or use a mask 1 - 2 times a week to clear your pores. As pimples are generally clogged up pores, this will help prevent pimples from forming.
Especially for women close to 'that time of the month' it is a good idea to use a blemish gel twice a day to ward off blemishes. A quality blemish gel will include an anti-bacterial forumulation to clear out pimple causing bacteria and vitamins A, B3 and B5 which are well recognized in clearing existing acne.
Usually it is well-advised to not squeeze blemishes, but itsmuch like telling a child with chicken pox not to scratch. If you must do so, one suggestion would be dissolving some salt in a container of warm water. Wet a cotton ball in the container, remove excess water and put it on top of the pimple for 3 minutes. Repeat again after wetting the cotton ball for a further minute. Then use two cotton pads to apply pressure around the outside of the pimple, but avoid squeezing it together. Hopefully that will provide relief with as little damage to the skin as possible.
Finally, I would propose seeing your doctor. Sometimes acne can be caused from an underlying cause or hormonal imbalance. Whilst the right quality skin care products will help, until you manage the root of the problem, it will not stop your acne permanently.
My acne treatment journey took me to the extreme point of being on Roactaine twice, going on the contraceptive pill, altering my diet and trying every known acne skin care known. So I can relate to the frustration and embarrassment people feel with this skin problem.
Quite a few years on now, I no longer suffer from acne as a issue, but I do have some acne scars (although this could have been more severe) and I do still get zits. Currently, I work for an Australian Natural Skin Care company. I would like to share with you some general skin care tips I've picked up while working in the industry to help with your acne treatment.
For young, oily, acne prone skin I would recommend the follow regime:
1. Use a face wash with lactic and glycolic acids (AHAs) morning and night. Lactic and Glycolic Acids help to remove dead skin cells that can block pores.
2. Exfoliate two to three times per week to clear clogged pores which create blemishes
3. Use a forumulated blemish gel morning and night to fight bacteria causing pimples and to keep down redness
4. Look for an oil free moisturiser to use morning and night. Oil free creams are suitable for oily to combination skin. It is important to moisturise to keep skin hydrated (hydration is still needed for oily skin as it is water based, not extra oil)
5. Buy a MSM Cream to also apply to reduce rawness and redness related to cystic pimples.
For pimple prone skin it is better to avoid cleansing your face with soaps or cleansers which are quite drying to the skin. Regrettably these can cause the opposite effect, where removing too much oil from the skin causes the skin producing even more oil to counterbalance, further blocking pores and producing more pimples. Some very well recognised acne treatment products do exactly this.
For really oily skin, it is advised to use moisturisers without any oil in them. Adding further oil to the skin could cause more blocked pores.
It is necessary to exfoliate or use a mask 1 - 2 times a week to clear your pores. As pimples are generally clogged up pores, this will help prevent pimples from forming.
Especially for women close to 'that time of the month' it is a good idea to use a blemish gel twice a day to ward off blemishes. A quality blemish gel will include an anti-bacterial forumulation to clear out pimple causing bacteria and vitamins A, B3 and B5 which are well recognized in clearing existing acne.
Usually it is well-advised to not squeeze blemishes, but itsmuch like telling a child with chicken pox not to scratch. If you must do so, one suggestion would be dissolving some salt in a container of warm water. Wet a cotton ball in the container, remove excess water and put it on top of the pimple for 3 minutes. Repeat again after wetting the cotton ball for a further minute. Then use two cotton pads to apply pressure around the outside of the pimple, but avoid squeezing it together. Hopefully that will provide relief with as little damage to the skin as possible.
Finally, I would propose seeing your doctor. Sometimes acne can be caused from an underlying cause or hormonal imbalance. Whilst the right quality skin care products will help, until you manage the root of the problem, it will not stop your acne permanently.
About the Author:
Irene McDonald is the director for an Australian Natural Skin Care Company. Her passion to improve Australian's skin condition and self confidence has lead to the last 9 years of research and development of her natrual skin care line.
No comments:
Post a Comment