5 Reasons Why You Are Suffering From Acne

Although the actual cause of acne is unknown, there are a number of factors that are deemed causative agents, hence there are broadly referred to as the causes of acne and these are the reasons why you have this common skin condition known as acne. The following 5 factors are the common reasons for the development of acne in individuals.

                                                                                                

1. Hormones, unlike what you have been told your acne may not necessarily be as a result of poor hygiene, or overexposure to the harsh elements or not using a specific topical cream. In most cases the cause of acne is purely as a result of a hormonal imbalance that results in over production of oils. Now the body produces oils readily in our sebaceous glands. This oil is essential for the lubrication of the skin and hair (grown in the hair follicles). When hormonal imbalances occur due to puberty, stress or other environmental or biological factors, the sebaceous / fat glands produce sebum in excess overwhelming the pore thus preventing the adequate release in a timely manner. In essence what happens is that more oils or fat is produced than is being released through the pore resulting in a build up inside the pores that results in acne or the black head that we squeeze out of the our skin.

2. Poor Hygiene- Now this is not to contradict the first point but to mention that in the absence of a hormonal problem the other most common problem that also cause acne is not being hygienic. The talk of poor hygiene in this case refers to a poor method of facial cleansing. Acne may result when we fail to slough away the dead skin particularly on areas that are prone to acne such as the face, the back and the chest. This dead skin if allowed to be left on our skin clogs or blocks the pore, preventing oil or fat (produced our sebaceous gland) from escaping out to do its job of lubricating the skin. The fat remains in our pores and result in the swollen appearance that we characterize as acne.

3. Over cleansing the importance of this point is to ensure that you strike balance between proper cleaning and over cleansing. Scrubbing the skin usually our face aggravates the skin intensifying the problem, hence you notice although you embark on a rigid regimen of scrubbing your face the acne persists or gets worst. When we over cleanse we run the risk of rupturing the skin exposing it to bacterial infection. Resulting in what is seen as acne ‘break out’.

4. Medication- certain medications are known to have a number of side effects but acne can be a side effect of many medication use. Although this is not a main cause of acne, it has been found to be a causative factor but ones intolerance to specific medication can be determined by investigation with the assistance of a medical practitioner this problem would be effectively managed. 

5. Genetics Studies have shown that teenagers with acne have a family history of this condition either one or both of their parents have reported to suffer from this skin condition in the past or at present.

There you have it 5 reasons why you are suffering from acne. What is important to note however is that regardless of the reason, there are numerous methods and products that are proven to offer relief.

5 Steps To Choosing The Right Facial Cleanser For Your Acne Prone skin

1.       Get free samples, search online and sign up to have samples delivered to your home. Or you could go to your neighborhood store in search of free samples and collect them and try them out at home. Getting free samples is important because it allows you to get a feel of the cleanser and how it works on your face without having to spend money, so in the event that it doesn’t quite work for you, there is no hard feelings, because you haven’t invested anything financially into the product.

2.       Always ensure you select a facial cleanser that is compatible with your skin type, for example if you have combination type skin, choose a cleanser for normal or combination skin. Having a compatible cleanser ensures that your skin does not dry out in the process of being cleansed. Over drying seems to be as bad for the skin as not cleansing at all. An excessively dried skin is not the goal of acne treatment, since having some oils on the skin is important, for the overall look and complexion of the skin.

3.       Chose a cleanser for acne prone skin. Do not underestimate the need to have a cleanser that is specially formulated for acne, this is essential in fighting acne, since it not only cleans the face but a number of them are formulated to reduce the amount of oil present on the face, and as we know excess oil is an important contributor to facial acne.

4.       Check out reviews. This is important not only to acne treatment but in general. In regards to acne you want to see what persons are saying because you want to ensure that other acne sufferers have not experienced any adverse side effects from using the cleanser. Now bear in mind that some persons may be allergic to ingredients in the products so a negative review from them is not that important to you but you want to ensure that the majority of persons using the product have had good experiences with it, in terms of helping to clear up their acne. 

 5.  Choose a product that has science behind it. What does this mean? Well we all want to ensure that the product we use actually does what it claims to do. In most cases we have no way of knowing except when we use the product ourselves. However if you select a cleanser that the manufacturers have taken the time to tell you what it does and what makes it work then you will have something to work with.

Cleansing Acne Prone Skin

Everyone suffering from acne knows something about cleansing their acne prone skin. But knowing a bit is just not enough, with acne and I believe with any condition in general we need to have enough of the right sets of information. Here I will attempt to make your quest for info a bit easier by giving you some important information on cleansing the skin, especially skin that has acne.

Why should acne sufferers cleanse their skin?
To many this might be obvious but if you aren’t clear on the reasons for cleansing here goes. Cleansing basically means to wash in an attempt to get rid of impurities that may accumulate on the skin. This cleansing is usually accomplished with the use of products called ‘cleansers’ that are specially formulated to remove dirt and grime, so why should you cleanse the face ? well its to get rid of this grime since a clean face goes a long way towards being an acne clear face.

When should you cleanse?
Cleansing should be done twice per day usually in the mornings after waking up and at nights before going to bed. These times are important since at night, it’s the end of the day and you want to get rid all the unwanted environmental pollutants (before you sleep) that came into contact with the face during the day. This is essential since, when we sleep we renew our skin so you want to ensure that the face has the right external environment for this renewal.
Cleansing in the morning is important to remove any secretion may have made its way to the surface of the skin. Additionally cleaning in the morning removes excess oils that were accumulated in the pores during the night and gives the face a renewed glow for the new day.

What to do if the cleansing cause the skin to become dry?
The thing about some cleansers is that they have the tendency of causing excessive drying of the face. If that occurs, you should reduce the frequency of times per day you cleanse. So if you clean you face twice per day and notice excessive drying simple reduce it to once per day preferable at nights and just wash you face with water only in the mornings. If this does not reduce the drying use the cleanser every other day and if this doesn’t work change your facial cleanser altogether to one that would cause less drying, preferable one that is formulated for your skin type because in most cases excessive drying occurs if you already have dry skin and you use a regular acne cleanser. The regular acne cleansers are formulated to reduce the amount of oil on the face, so these may not be appropriate for your skin type.

So cleansing acne prone skin is very important but care must be taken to ensure that this is done in a way that is beneficial to the skin, because over cleansing may actually exacerbate the acne problem while under cleansing may actually not help the situation at all.

Is It Really Important To Cleanse Tone and Moisturize?

If you have done any research on acne or any skin care regimen, especially if it’s related the skin on your face, I’m sure you might have heard that you need to CLEANSE TONE and MOISTURISE. But what do those things really mean and do they actually work?

CLEANSE

Well let’s talk about cleansing, this is basically washing the face to get rid of dirt, dust, bacteria etc. It can be done with over the counter cleansers, you usually get at your local store. But the idea of cleansing is basically to rid the face of unwanted matter that may have come from the environment and can lead to clogging of pores and the build up of bacteria and we don’t want that. So there you see the importance of cleansing. Its pivotal that cleansing be done on a daily basis. Some say cleanse twice per day, but I say cleanse as you see fit taking into consideration whether you face is over drying or not, because if that is the case you may need to cleanse just once per day or use a different cleanser. One that is less intense.

TONE

Toners are usually referred to as astringent because they soothe and tighten the skin. They are formulated to remove excess oil from the skin and also reduce the appearance of large pores. So in essence toners act as a compressor for the pores so that they are not left open for them to be blocked by any pore clogging agent, (dirt, fat etc)

MOISTURISE

Consistent use of acne products that contain benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid can cause dry and flaky skin. Moisturizers balance out our complexion by adding essential moisture without making your skin oily. It reduces this dry rough skin and also diminishes the appearance wrinkles if you have any. Some facial cleansers may also dry out skin in their attempt to unclog pores and remove dirt, so even healthy skin needs moisturizer.

So to answer the question,'Is it really important to CLEANSE, TONE and MOISTURISE' YES it is actually very important to CLEANSE, TONE & MOISTURISE, and to do so on a daily basis. You will love the look of your skin if you do.

4 Important Things to Consider Before Starting Acne Treatment

1.       The type of acne condition you have. This for some is a no brainer but all so often persons find a product that other persons claim to have found success with, and just decide to use it hoping for similar results. As I have mention in my free ebook, it is pivotal that you know the type of acne you have before you can decide how to treat it. This is important since different forms of acne require different types of treatment regimen. Treatment may in some cases require a doctor’s prescription while others may just call for an over the counter acne treatment product.

2.       Your skin type. As we all might know by now all skin types are not created equal, some of us have oily skin, sensitive skin, other have dry, while yet others may have what is referred to as combination skin- a term used to describe individuals with part of their face oily usually forehead nose and chin (the T-zone), and the remainder of the face dry and flaky in some instances. Of these skin types dry and sensitive skin may be the most difficult to treat. These require a little more attention however as long as a systematic approach is adhered to treatment will be successful. One problem persons sometimes have is that most acne treatment cause drying of the skin and if you already have  dry skin this would pose a challenge however in my post treating acne for dry skin I outline some strategies that would reduce the level of dryness as well as fight acne.

3.       Allergic reactions to active ingredients in acne products.  Some individuals may develop skin allergies to the active ingredient in products used to treat acne, this may cause persons to avoid using products altogether, however this doesn’t have to be the case since it is unlikely that you would be allergic to all the active products that fight acne. With this in mind all you have to do is use acne products that do not have the ingredient you are allergic to. The active ingredients are salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, sulfur etc. What is important to note is that each product usually has only one active ingredient, so this make product selection a bit easier.

4.       Your budget. My budget? You must be thinking well what does that have to do with fighting acne? Well it has a lot to do with fighting acne. Anybody that is successfully managing acne would tell you that it requires a consistent approach for treatment to work, so you basically have to invest a bit over a period of time in order to have sustained results, so when embarking upon a treatment regimen you need to ensure that you could afford or have the means to order more products once the ones you are using are finished, and more importantly be able to reorder similar products. So if you can afford a $100 product this month but don’t think it would be possible to accumulate that amount of money when the product is finished, its better you invest in a cheaper product so that you would be able to keep using the same product over a period of time. Because consistency is key when treating acne.

There you have it my 5 important things to consider before starting acne treatment. I do hope you find this information very helpful.

Does Wearing Makup Cause Acne?

Many people wonder whether wearing make up would cause severe acne. The answer to that question could be both ‘Yes’ and ‘No’.

Both yes and no you might be wondering, how is that possible? Well let me explain further by showing you how wearing makeup could cause acne, and how it may actually help in fighting it

Makeup in the forms of powders, liquid or whatever is its composition usually results in a film effect over your face. What this does is that it in essence covers the pores of the skin basically blocking them, resulting in an increase in acne breakout. So looking at it from that perspective, yes makeup can cause acne or at least result in it being a bit more severe.

I also mentioned that the answer could also be ‘no’ and that would depend on the composition of the makeup. The good news is that not all cosmetics are believed to block the pores. Some cosmetic companies claim that they produce makeup that are as they call it, Noncomedogenic. The term noncomedogenic or sometimes referred to as non-occlusive simple means that the cosmetics are so formulated so that they do not block the pores of our skin. Although there has not been much scientific evidence to support the claims that noncomedogenic cometics actually help to prevent acne break outs, it makes common sense to believe that as long as a product is proven to not block the pores, it’s a good product to use if you are acne prone. Hence it’s one more thing to add to you arsenal of acne fighting products. The way I see it is that, we are going to wear makeup regardless of whether or not we have acne, so why not use those that are formulated not to block our pores. For me it’s a no brainer.

 So here’s my recommendation as it regards to make up. Wear them because as we all know they enhance us and hide any little flaws we might have but choose one that is noncomedogenic. Because when it comes right down to it we need to do the very best we can for our skin.

                                                                             

Treating Acne Can Be Achieved Without Using Acne Treatment Products?

Some people may think that this is an erroneous statement but allow me to explain. We have all been bombarded by acne products that ‘we should use’ but did you know that you can actually manage acne without products that are intended for acne?

Well just let me tell you of my own experience. Sometime ago I ran out of acne products and getting the ones I have been accustomed to proved difficult, so I decided that hey I don’t have my acne product but I had an Olay line of products, I would use that in the mean time. It was made up of a simple facial scrub a night cream and a day cream. I decided to use these products consistently because I have grown accustomed to the fact that consistency is the key for most things to show result. My reason for using this was to improve the look of my face, particularly to make it look a little more radiant and reduce the acne scars I had developed. Since I wasn’t getting rid of the pimples I thought well at least I could try to improve on the appearance of my face.

So I used the scrub cleanser twice a day, at mornings when I wake and at nights before going into bed. I followed every night with the night cream and in the mornings with the day cream, that was after scrubbing of course. The scrub I used was not very abrasive and so it didn’t leave my skin damaged in anyway. To my surprise after about 2 weeks my acne had improved in fact the acne were so few that it was as if I were using some fancy acne product. Additionally my face looked radiant and the marks were beginning to fade, I was pleasantly surprise.

The improvement on my face was so noticeable that I was even complimented on how well it looked. After about one month there was remarkable improvement on my skin. That taught me a valuable lesson about acne. That lesson was that as long as you are persistent and committed to working on your skin it usually improves, even if you don’t follow what is considered the norm.

Please don’t get me wrong acne treatment products are great in effectively clearing acne in a relatively short space of time, but in the absence of these products there should be nothing preventing you from doing the best for you skin, and believe me when you try your best it always pays off. Mind you any brand of product would work just fine, I happened to have Olay at the time. So don’t despair if you are experiencing breakouts or stubborn acne, just know that as long as you are diligent they will eventually go away.