As a sufferer of acne from my early teens, I can definitely sympathise with anyone who have to contend with this regrettable skin problem. One of my memories relating to having acne was as a 15 year old working at my first job as acheck out operator at Woolworths. I was serving a mother and her young daughter asked me "what is wrong with your face?" Of course I was utterly mortified. Whilst it was of some comfort that the mother apologized profusely for her daughter's question, it didn't hide the fact that my acne was completely visible and entirely obvious.
My acne treatment journey took me to the extremes of being on Roactaine twice, going on the contraceptive pill, altering my diet and trying every known acne product available. 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 scaring (although this could have been more pronounced) and I do still get zits. At the moment, I work for an Australian Natural Skin Care company. I would like to share with you some general skin care advice 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 procedure:
1. Use a face wash with lactic and glycolic acids (AHAs) twice a day. Lactic and Glycolic Acids help to remove dead skin cells that can block pores.
2. Exfoliate 2 - 3 times a week to clear clogged pores which develop acne
3. Use a forumulated blemish gel twice a day to fight bacteria causing pimples and to reduce inflammation
4. Buy an oil free moisturiser to use twice a day. Oil free creams are suitable for oily to combination skin. It is necessary to moisturise to keep skin hydrated (hydration is still needed for oily skin as it is water based, not additional oil)
5. Shop for a MSM Cream to also apply to reduce tenderness and redness associated with cystic pimples.
For pimple prone skin it is better to avoid cleaning your face with soaps or cleansers which are quite drying to the skin. Regrettably these can stimulate the opposite effect, where taking away too much oil from the skin causes the skin to produce even more oil to compensate, further blocking pores and creating more blemishes. Some very well recognised acne skin care products do exactly this.
For really oily skin, it is best to use moisturisers without any oil included in them. Adding more oil to the skin can further block pores.
It is necessary to exfoliate or apply a mask one to two times a week to clear your pores. As zits are generally clogged up pores, this will help prevent pimples from forming.
Specially for women close to 'that time of the month' it is a good idea to apply a blemish gel twice a day to avoid zits. A quality blemish gel will feature an anti-bacterial forumulation to kill pimple causing bacteria and vitamins A, B3 and B5 which are well recognized in treating existing acne.
Usually it is advised to not squeeze pimples, but itsmuch like telling a person with chicken pox not to scratch. If you must do so, one suggestion would be dissolving some salt in a bowl of warm water. Wet a make up pad in the bowl, squeeze out excess water and put it on top of the zit for 3 mins. Repeat again after wetting the cotton ball for another minute. Then use two cotton ear buds to apply pressure around the outside of the blemish, but not squeezing it together. Hopefully this will give relief with as little damage to the skin as possible.
Finally, I would propose consulting with your doctor. Sometimes acne can result from an underlying cause or hormonal problem. Whilst proper quality skin care products will help, until you manage the root of the problem, it will not permanently stop your acne.
My acne treatment journey took me to the extremes of being on Roactaine twice, going on the contraceptive pill, altering my diet and trying every known acne product available. 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 scaring (although this could have been more pronounced) and I do still get zits. At the moment, I work for an Australian Natural Skin Care company. I would like to share with you some general skin care advice 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 procedure:
1. Use a face wash with lactic and glycolic acids (AHAs) twice a day. Lactic and Glycolic Acids help to remove dead skin cells that can block pores.
2. Exfoliate 2 - 3 times a week to clear clogged pores which develop acne
3. Use a forumulated blemish gel twice a day to fight bacteria causing pimples and to reduce inflammation
4. Buy an oil free moisturiser to use twice a day. Oil free creams are suitable for oily to combination skin. It is necessary to moisturise to keep skin hydrated (hydration is still needed for oily skin as it is water based, not additional oil)
5. Shop for a MSM Cream to also apply to reduce tenderness and redness associated with cystic pimples.
For pimple prone skin it is better to avoid cleaning your face with soaps or cleansers which are quite drying to the skin. Regrettably these can stimulate the opposite effect, where taking away too much oil from the skin causes the skin to produce even more oil to compensate, further blocking pores and creating more blemishes. Some very well recognised acne skin care products do exactly this.
For really oily skin, it is best to use moisturisers without any oil included in them. Adding more oil to the skin can further block pores.
It is necessary to exfoliate or apply a mask one to two times a week to clear your pores. As zits are generally clogged up pores, this will help prevent pimples from forming.
Specially for women close to 'that time of the month' it is a good idea to apply a blemish gel twice a day to avoid zits. A quality blemish gel will feature an anti-bacterial forumulation to kill pimple causing bacteria and vitamins A, B3 and B5 which are well recognized in treating existing acne.
Usually it is advised to not squeeze pimples, but itsmuch like telling a person with chicken pox not to scratch. If you must do so, one suggestion would be dissolving some salt in a bowl of warm water. Wet a make up pad in the bowl, squeeze out excess water and put it on top of the zit for 3 mins. Repeat again after wetting the cotton ball for another minute. Then use two cotton ear buds to apply pressure around the outside of the blemish, but not squeezing it together. Hopefully this will give relief with as little damage to the skin as possible.
Finally, I would propose consulting with your doctor. Sometimes acne can result from an underlying cause or hormonal problem. Whilst proper quality skin care products will help, until you manage the root of the problem, it will not permanently stop your acne.
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.
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