As a sufferer of acne from my early teens, I can definitely sympathize with people who has 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 a 'check out chick' at a supermarket. 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 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 extreme point of being on Roactaine not once, but twice, going on the contraceptive pill, altering my diet and trying every known acne skin care around. So I can understand the frustration and embarrassment people feel with this skin problem.
Quite a few years on now, I no longer suffer from acne as a problem, but I do have some acne scaring (although this could have been more pronounced) and I do still get pimples. Presently, 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 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 produce acne
3. Use a targetted blemish gel twice a day to fight bacteria causing pimples and to reduce inflammation
4. Purchase an oil free moisturiser to use twice a day. Oil free creams are good for oily to combination skin. It is essential 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 rawness and redness related to cystic pimples.
For acne 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 removing too much oil from the skin makes the skin produce even more oil to counterbalance, causing blocking pores and creating more blemishes. Some very well recognized acne treatment products do just this.
For really oily skin, it is well-advised to use moisturisers without any oil used in them. Adding more oil to the skin could cause more blocked pores.
It is really important to exfoliate or use a mask one to two times a week to clear your pores. As blemishes are mainly clogged up pores, this will help prevent blemishes from forming.
Particularly for women around 'that time of the month' it is a good idea to apply a blemish gel morning and night to avoid zits. A quality blemish gel will have an anti-bacterial forumulation to kill zit promoting bacteria and vitamins A, B3 and B5 which are well recognized in treating existing acne.
Usually it is advised to avoid squeezing zits, 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 bowl of warm water. Wet a make up pad in the container, remove excess water and hold it on top of the zit for 3 minutes. Repeat again after wetting the cotton ball for a further minute. Then use two cotton balls to apply pressure on the outside of the pimple, but not squeezing it together. Hopefully that will provide relief with as little irritation to the skin as possible.
Finally, I would propose consulting with your doctor. Sometimes acne can result from an underlying issue or hormonal problem. Whilst the right quality skin care products will help, until you deal with 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 not once, but twice, going on the contraceptive pill, altering my diet and trying every known acne skin care around. So I can understand the frustration and embarrassment people feel with this skin problem.
Quite a few years on now, I no longer suffer from acne as a problem, but I do have some acne scaring (although this could have been more pronounced) and I do still get pimples. Presently, 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 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 produce acne
3. Use a targetted blemish gel twice a day to fight bacteria causing pimples and to reduce inflammation
4. Purchase an oil free moisturiser to use twice a day. Oil free creams are good for oily to combination skin. It is essential 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 rawness and redness related to cystic pimples.
For acne 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 removing too much oil from the skin makes the skin produce even more oil to counterbalance, causing blocking pores and creating more blemishes. Some very well recognized acne treatment products do just this.
For really oily skin, it is well-advised to use moisturisers without any oil used in them. Adding more oil to the skin could cause more blocked pores.
It is really important to exfoliate or use a mask one to two times a week to clear your pores. As blemishes are mainly clogged up pores, this will help prevent blemishes from forming.
Particularly for women around 'that time of the month' it is a good idea to apply a blemish gel morning and night to avoid zits. A quality blemish gel will have an anti-bacterial forumulation to kill zit promoting bacteria and vitamins A, B3 and B5 which are well recognized in treating existing acne.
Usually it is advised to avoid squeezing zits, 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 bowl of warm water. Wet a make up pad in the container, remove excess water and hold it on top of the zit for 3 minutes. Repeat again after wetting the cotton ball for a further minute. Then use two cotton balls to apply pressure on the outside of the pimple, but not squeezing it together. Hopefully that will provide relief with as little irritation to the skin as possible.
Finally, I would propose consulting with your doctor. Sometimes acne can result from an underlying issue or hormonal problem. Whilst the right quality skin care products will help, until you deal with 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.
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