Posts Tagged ‘how to’

Acne is Not the Same as Spots

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

There are various forms of acne, named according to how or why the acne started. Some of the types of acne are: acne conglobata (chronic boils); acne fulminans (an extreme form of conglobata); acne cosmetica (caused by cosmetics); acne keloidalis nuchae (from shaving); acne medicamentosa (caused by starting or stopping a medication); acne rosacea (redness on the face); baby acne; hormonal acne; cloracne and the common variety, acne vulgaris (also known as ‘puberty spots’). In this article, we will concentrate on acne vulgaris.

Acne vulgaris may be described as: ‘an inflammatory disease of the skin, caused by changes in the pilosebaceous units (skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and its associated sebaceous gland). Acne lesions are commonly referred to as pimples, spots or zits’ (from Wikipedia).

Acne is most often found in Western teens, although it does occur in every country in the world, so there could be a genetic predisposition to it. It is possible that it may be an abnormal reaction to quite average levels of testosterone. For most sufferers, the condition lasts only until adulthood, probably only a few years or at most ten. For others, however, it can be a life-long recurring problem. It most often affects the face, upper-chest, upper-arms and back. However, an occasional spot is not the same as acne.

Acne vulgaris shows itself in different many forms, including: whiteheads, caused by pores that are completely blocked, trapping sebum (oil), bacteria, and dead skin cells, causing a white spot on the surface; blackheads, caused by pores which are only partially blocked, allowing some of the trapped sebum, bacteria, and dead skin cells to slowly drain to the surface (the black colour is not caused by dirt, but is a reaction of the skin’s own pigment, called melanin, with the oxygen in the air); papules, which are inflamed, red, tender lumps with no head and pustules, which are similar to whiteheads, but are inflamed, and appear as red circles with a white or yellow centre.

Whiteheads do not often last for a long time; blackheads do last a long time and pustules are what people usually refer to as spots or zits. Severe acne vulgaris is characterized by nodules and cysts. A ‘nodule’ is a rather larger and much more painful kind of pustule and can often last for months. Nodules are large, hard bumps just under the skin. They often cause scarring and should never for any reason be squeezed, since this could make them last for months longer.

A ‘cyst’ may appear similar to a nodule, but it is full of pus and has been defined as having a diameter of at least 5mm and, again, can cause scars and cause irritation. Squeezing an acne cyst may cause a more severe infection and more acute inflammation which can last quite a lot longer than if it had not been squeezed. Skin experts have ways of reducing the swelling and preventing scarring with both nodules and cysts. It is just not true that acne sufferers are not careful about washing.

In fact, over washing can exacerbate acne. There are many, many fake ‘treatments’ on the market and many, many old wives’ tales, but any good dermatologist would tell you that there is no known cure for acne and that the patient should follow a strict regimen of cleansing until the acne just ‘goes away’ of its own accord.

Are you experiencing trouble treating acne? If you are or you’d like to find out more about acne, please go to our website entitled http://treating-acne-scars.com

Acne Does Not Equal Zits

Monday, October 12th, 2009
by Frank Williams

There are several different types of acne, depending on how or why the acne arose. Some of the forms of acne are: acne conglobata (chronic boils); acne fulminans (an extreme form of conglobata); acne cosmetica (caused by cosmetics); acne keloidalis nuchae (from shaving); acne medicamentosa (caused by starting or stopping a medication); acne rosacea (redness on the face); baby acne; hormonal acne; cloracne and the common variety, acne vulgaris (also known as ‘puberty spots’). In this article, we will concentrate on acne vulgaris.

Acne vulgaris may be defined as: ‘an inflammatory disease of the skin, caused by changes in the pilosebaceous units (skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and its associated sebaceous gland). Acne lesions are commonly referred to as pimples, spots or zits’ (from Wikipedia).

Acne is most usually found in white Western teenagers, although it is to be found in every country in the world, so there may be a genetic weakness to it. It is possible that it could be an exceptional reaction to quite normal levels of testosterone. For most afflicted, the condition lasts only until the age of twenty or so, probably only a few years or at the most ten. For other people, however, it may be a life-long problem. It most often appears on the face, upper-chest, upper-arms and back. However, an occasional spot is not the same as acne.

Acne vulgaris manifests itself in many forms, including: whiteheads, caused by pores which are completely blocked, trapping sebum (oil), bacteria, and dead skin cells, causing a white appearance on the surface; blackheads, caused by pores which are only partially blocked, allowing some of the trapped sebum, bacteria, and dead skin cells to slowly drain to the surface (the black colour is not caused by dirt, but is a reaction of the skin’s own pigment, melanin, with the oxygen in the air); papules, which are inflamed, red, tender bumps with no head and pustules, which are similar to whiteheads, but are inflamed, and appear as red circles with a white or yellow centre.

Whiteheads do not often last for a long time; blackheads do last a long time and pustules are what people call spots or zits. Severe acne vulgaris is distinguished by nodules and cysts. A ‘nodule’ is a much larger and more painful sort of pustule and can sometimes last for months. Nodules are large, hard bumps just under the skin’s surface. They often result in scarring and should never for any reason be squeezed, since this could cause them to last for months longer.

A ‘cyst’ can appear similar to a nodule, but it is pus-filled, and has been defined as having a diameter of at least 5mm and, again, can leave scars and cause pain. Squeezing an acne cyst may cause a deeper infection and more painful inflammation which will last very much longer than if it had been left alone. Skin experts have ways of lessening swelling and preventing scarring with both nodules and cysts. It is not true that acne sufferers are not careful about their hygiene.

In fact, over washing can exacerbate acne. There are many, many false ‘cures’ on the market and many, many old wives’ tales, but any good dermatologist would tell you that there is no known cure for acne and that the patient should follow a religious regimen of cleaning until the acne just ‘goes away’ of its own accord.

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Cleansing is Not Enough to Cure Skin Acne

Monday, October 5th, 2009
by Sara Preston

Skin acne is all too common for adolescents. This skin condition is mainly due to the excessive production of oil glands result to blockage of oil ducts that produces the ugly blackheads, whiteheads and pimples and in some severe cases, inflamed and cyst-like sacs underneath the skin. Most have acne on their faces while a few have these on their backs.

When you have an acne problem on your face, especially for teenagers and young adults, the reflex is to hide from the crowd. There are numerous cases where people lose their self-confidence merely because of this skin problem especially when the irritation has gone from mild to severe. Although certain types of foods are not attributed to acne, most will tell you that it is hereditary while most are simply caused by bad hygiene.

In order to impede the severity of acne on your skin, you can employ some acne skin care regimen that can be effective and inexpensive. There are acne or general skin cleansers available in the market to remove excess oil, make-up and dirt from your skin. You can also try some mild soap and facial cleansers for immediate cleansing of the skin from sweat. Make sure that the cleansers do not have adverse effects on your skin. You can also use some sunscreen when outdoors in order not to further aggravate the skin condition.

But when you are already experiencing this skin irritation and feels the inflammation and pain caused by these pimples, you should still continue the cleansing agents but make sure that you also consult a dermatologist. Before trying anything on your face, check with your doctor if this is applicable to your skin condition especially if you are planning to have an oral medication. Remember that what worked for your sibling or friend may not worked for you at all due to your skin type.

For those patients with mild cases of skin acne, dermatologists would recommend facial creams and cleansers that are needed to be applied daily. Some would also recommend oral treatments like antibiotics. These prevent the ugly scarring, limit the outbreak of blackheads and whiteheads and lessen the inflammation.

If the immediate relief and topical treatments are not working for you, then you may already have a severe case of acne that would require a more intensive treatment. Severe acne causes inflammation, deep cysts and scarring. You may have to undergo more procedures to solve your skin crisis.

If not treated properly, skin acne may leave dark marks, pits or pock marks or scars that are hard to recover from aside from the embarrassment associated with bad skin.

Although regular cleansing is not an infallible acne skin care treatment, having good hygiene will definitely be better for your skin.

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Be Acne Free

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
by Sara Preston

Adolescence is the usual age group attacked with a skin condition called acne. Generally, acne is often synonymous to pimples but skin acne is actually a condition that also includes blackheads and whiteheads. Pimples which have pus inside are also different from the cyst like formation on the skin.

When you have an acne problem on your face, especially for teenagers and young adults, the reflex is to hide from the crowd. There are numerous cases where people lose their self-confidence merely because of this skin problem especially when the irritation has gone from mild to severe. Although certain types of foods are not attributed to acne, most will tell you that it is hereditary while most are simply caused by bad hygiene.

Developing a good hygiene is one major thing you can do in order to prevent acne. Using sunscreens and foundations can also prevent the formation of skin problems. As an adolescent, you should already be using some mild cleansers for your face to clean excess oil, sweat and dirt. A lot of soap and facial creams are available depending on your skin type.

But when you are already experiencing this skin irritation and feels the inflammation and pain caused by these pimples, you should still continue the cleansing agents but make sure that you also consult a dermatologist. Before trying anything on your face, check with your doctor if this is applicable to your skin condition especially if you are planning to have an oral medication. Remember that what worked for your sibling or friend may not worked for you at all due to your skin type.

If it is still on the mild stages, creams and lotions can be applied on the affected areas. These can be bought over the counter or without prescription. But if you realize that it doesn’t do any good on your skin after weeks of usage, you better check with your doctor so he or she can recommend the best oral treatment or antibiotics for you. Antibiotics that have salicylic and sulfur content will most likely work well for your acne problem.

However, there are severe cases wherein these topical and antibiotic treatments are no longer applicable. There are oral medications recommended by doctors but this usually means a long term treatment. These treatments manage to control oil production and skin inflammation that causes obvious skin damage.

If you are too irritated with skin acne, you may be tempted to touch it often. Picking and popping pimples will only cause more damage to your skin. The acne skin care that you have been doing will simply be futile if you do not behave properly.

It’s not the time get hardheaded. Follow what the dermatologist tells you so you live your live again acne-free.

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Strategies for Curing Acne

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

Most sufferers of acne try to treat their itchy skin with creams, face washes, expensive soaps, lotions and treatments. However, the easiest way to treat acne is by changing your diet and avoiding acne-causing things such as fried food. A healthy regimen, rich in natural unprocessed foods such as vegetables, fruits, grains and beans is the first recommendation for curing acne.

Foodstuffs containing trans-fatty acids, milk, milk products, margarine, shortening and synthetically hydrogenated vegetable oils, as well as oily foods, should consumed. It seems the prevalence of acne in the United States is caused by the typical American diet. Americans tend to eat fried food in large quantities, usually cooked in the most harmful of fats and oils.

However, not all fats are bad, but the fats that typical Americans eat make them more prone to develop acne and other skin problems. Items that can irritate are ice cream, cheese, bacon, and milk. Furthermore, acne cannot really be treated using creams and soaps because the root cause of the condition lies beneath the skin.

Pimples, spots or zits and blemishes are caused by bacteria and other irritants lying underneath the skin’s oil glands and hair follicles, which are usually produced by insufficient hygiene, scratching or squeezing and poor diet.

This poor diet could be a result of too high an amount of items such as processed, fatty, fried and sugary foods in your diet. A diet that is healthy for your skin emphasizes raw or lightly cooked vegetables, especially green, leafy vegetables that contain valuable trace minerals and fibre. Fresh green vegetables are essential, however you should also eat more lean protein sources, such as fish and chicken and complex carbohydrates, such as rice, whole-grain bread and potatoes in your diet.

These fibre-rich foods will help ensure a healthy gastrointestinal tract, which is so vital to the management of acne. You should eat three healthy meals every day in order to provide you with sufficient important nutrients and lower your craving for sugary or/and oily, fried food.

Furthermore, you should eat much more food that is rich in vitamin A, such as apricots, watermelons, and broccoli, along with lean beef, nuts, legumes and whole grains, because they are rich in zinc, which is also be helpful in reducing acne breakouts. It is also imperative to drink lots of water to help clean out of the body all the poisons which encourage the development of acne.

Are you having trouble treating acne? If you are or you would like to find out more about acne, please go to our website called http://treating-acne-scars.com

Treating Acne Scars

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
by Gail Jones

Acne scars are a sad reminder of the having suffered pimples or even acne. They are intolerable because of their apparent permanence and their non-complimentary look. Normally speaking, acne scars are rather difficult to treat, but tissue regeneration is not impossible these days with all the fantastic technological developments.

In general terms, when referring to acne scarring, we mean the healed lesions resulting from an acne infection. While most scarring is temporary and will probably disappear on its own in time, scarring from the more severe forms of acne can be permanent.

Acne scarring can be prevented if the patient sees a doctor when it is in the incipient stage, especially if nodules or cysts accompany the red pustules on the skin’s surface. If the breakouts of acne have marked your skin, you will have to approach the issue from another perspective, which usually involves surgery.

Laser resurfacing is one possibility of removing the damaged skin areas and stimulating the natural regeneration of the tissue underneath. The procedure requires only local anaesthesia and can take between a few minutes and an hour depending on the extent of the damage.

Fractional laser therapy is one of the most recent forms of removing acne scarring. It involves surgical intervention at deep skin layers. The treatment is superior to both dermabrasion and laser resurfacing in terms of quality and involves a very reduced healing period. Nevertheless, fractional laser therapy lies within the reach of only those few lucky sufferers, who can afford it, since it is the most expensive acne treatment available these days.

Sometimes, further sessions are necessary to improve the condition of the upper layers of skin, before they can tackle the deep level treatment of the acne scar. The doctor may inject collagen into the scars in order to raise the normal skin level or she/he may recommend micro-dermabrasion for the very same purpose. Trying to perform chemical peels for acne treatment at home could be a bad idea given the risk of aggravating the condition by irritating the scars even more.

As for the forms of acne scarring, they can be classified according to the formation pattern. Scarring can result because of an increase of tissue or due to a loss of tissue They both have an adverse impact on the way the face looks. Specialists’ evaluation of the nature of the scars is a very important factor in deciding on the adoption of one form of treatment or the other.

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Treating Acne Scars

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
by Jessa Wright

Though acne scarring is quite common ,in most cases there are ways to help prevent and reduce scarring.The best way to treat acne scarring is to start early and continue for as long as is necessary.

Acne scarring occurs when the skin of the blemish is injured. This happens from squeezing mostly. When the blemish is cleared up the scar is whats left. Science does not know why some persons scar worse that others, but the tendency seems to be genetic.

Wouldn’t it be great if doctors could determine who is most at risk for acne scarring? Then they could zero in on treatment options and take a very deliberate approach to avoiding acne scarring. Until then, acne sufferers have to treat acne with the currently available options, and hopefully avoid acne scarring as much as they can.

Acne scarring shows many different forms. For all of them, the most effective way of managing acne scarring is to prevent its occurrence in the first place.

Scarring and hyper-pigmentation is not always related to severe forms of acne. It can result from large or small pimples. Not all acne scarring can be avoided, no matter how careful one is.

Dermatologists frequently see patients with significant acne scarring because patients delay seeking medical attention for acne and many practitioners procrastinate over using effective antiscarring options.

Is there any easy solution to getting rid of moderate acne scarring without having to get involved in surgical processes such as dermabrasion? Not really. All solutions take diligence.

While you can greatly improve the appearance of acne scarring, you should know that it can never be totally gone. It is a time consuming and multistep procedure, but one that generally has considerable success.

There are a few non-surgical treatments for acne scarring. They include: cover-ups, collagenosis, injectables, topical creams and chemical peels.

Be reassured that the physician is not abandoning you, and remains interested in treating your acne scarring even though he may refuse to do anything until your active acne is cleared up. Acne scarring is a very complex problem and has no simple solution. Your physician will have you address the active acne first, before scarring treatments.

Surgery for acne is usually done on the underlying layers of skin. There should be no stitches or other visible marks. Although there are quite a number of different remedies for acne scarring repair, your physician will probably be strongest in suggesting surgery.

Dermabrasion, is another method for treating acne scarring which uses a rotating wire brush or spinning diamond instrument to wear down the surface of the skin. This, along with microdermabrasion, peels and other seriously exfoliating treatments can help greatly with the reduction of pore appearance and any leftover acne scarring or other skin imperfections due to acne. But, you will tend to look worse before you look better.

Laser treatments are popular. As they are performed by professionals they are quite expensive.What a laser treatment is, actually is a controlled burn to remove a layer of skin and with it the acne scarring.

If you do still have active acne, you will have to address clearing that up before you can pursue any treatment for your acne scarring. There are cleaners you can use. What is so exciting about these facial cleansers however is the fact that they reduce redness, eliminate swelling and regenerate skin cells, all of which are essential in the removal of acne scarring.

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Are Acne Scars Permanent?

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
by Gail Jones

Acne scars are a sad reminder of the having suffered pimples or even acne. They are intolerable because of their apparent permanence and their non-complimentary look. Generally speaking, acne scars are rather difficult to treat, but tissue regeneration is not impossible these days with all the fantastic technological developments.

In general terms, by acne scars, we mean the healed lesions resulting from an acne breakout. While most scarring is temporary and will probably disappear on its own over time, scars from the more severe forms of acne can be permanent.

Acne scars can be prevented if the sufferer sees a doctor when it is in the incipient stage, particularly if nodules or cysts accompany the red pustules on the skin’s surface. If the bouts of acne have marked your skin, you will have to approach the issue from another perspective, which usually involves surgery.

Laser resurfacing is one possibility of removing the damaged skin areas and stimulating the natural regrowth of the tissue beneath. The procedure requires only local anaesthesia and can last between a few minutes and an hour depending on the extent of the problem.

Fractional laser therapy is one of the most recent methods of eliminating acne scars. It involves surgical intervention at deep skin layers. The therapy is superior to both dermabrasion and laser resurfacing in terms of quality and has a very reduced healing period. Nevertheless, fractional laser therapy lies within the reach of only those few lucky sufferers, who can afford it, since it is the most expensive acne treatment currently available.

Sometimes, other sessions are necessary to improve the condition of the upper layers of skin, before they can tackle the deep level treatment of the acne scar. The doctor may inject collagen into the scars in order to raise the normal skin level or she/he may recommend micro-dermabrasion for the very same purpose. Trying to perform chemical peels for acne treatment at home could be a bad policy given the risk of aggravating the condition by irritating the scars even further.

As for the forms of acne scars, they can be classified according to the formation pattern. Scars can result because of an increase of tissue or due to a loss of tissue They both have an adverse impact on the way the face looks. Specialists’ evaluation of the nature of the scars is a very important factor for the decision of adopting one type of treatment or another.

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Acne Scars

Saturday, August 15th, 2009
by Gail Jones

Acne scarring are a sad reminder of the having suffered pimples or even acne before. They are intolerable because of their apparent longevity and their non-complimentary look. Normally speaking, acne scars are rather hard to treat, but tissue regeneration is not impossible nowadays with all the amazing technological advancements.

Generally speaking, by acne scars, we mean the healed lesions caused by an acne infection. While most scarring is temporary and will probably disappear naturally over time, scars from the more severe forms of acne can become permanent.

Acne scarring may be avoided if the patient visits dermatologist when the acne scarring is in an early stage, especially if nodules or cysts accompany the red pustules on the skin’s surface. If the bouts of acne have scarred your skin, you will have to approach the problem from a different perspective, which most of the time means surgery.

Laser resurfacing is one possibility of removing the damaged skin parts and stimulating the organic regeneration of the tissue beneath. This operation only requires local anaesthetic and can take between a few minutes and an hour depending on the extent of the damage.

Fractional laser therapy is one of the most recent forms of eliminating acne scarring. It involves surgical intervention at deep skin layers. The treatment is superior to both dermabrasion and laser resurfacing in terms of quality and involves a very reduced healing period. Nevertheless, fractional laser therapy lies within the reach of only those few fortunate people, who can afford it, since it is the most expensive acne treatment available so far.

It can happen that additional sessions are required to improve the condition of the upper layers of skin, before they can tackle the deep level treatment of the acne scarring. The doctor may inject collagen into the scarring in order to elevate the normal skin level or she/he may suggest micro-dermabrasion for the same reason. Trying to carry out chemical peels at home could be a bad policy because of the risk of aggravating the condition by irritating the scars even further.

As for the types of acne scars, they can be classified according to the formation pattern. Scars can result because of an increase of tissue or due to a loss of tissue They both have an adverse impact on the way the face looks. Specialists’ evaluation of the nature of the scars is an extremely important factor in deciding on the selection of one type of therapy or another.

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Acne Skin Problems

Thursday, August 13th, 2009
by Gail Jones

Acne is one of the most common skin problems to afflict mankind and it affects all people irrespective of age, caste, colour or gender. Acne is an extremely embarrassing and troublesome problem, because it is so noticeable and off-putting. Acne can be described as red eruptions on the skin, usually filled with a white puss, causing discomfort and pain. The most common form of acne is called acne vulgaris or puberty spots.

Acne vulgaris can be defined as follows: … an inflammatory disease of the skin, caused by changes in the pilosebaceous units (skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and its associated sebaceous gland) . Acne lesions are commonly referred to as pimples, spots or zits - [source: Wikipedia]. It is an upsetting affliction that we do not seem to have complete control over. However, there are various methods in which to treat acne: you can try medication from a skin specialist or you can try home or natural treatments.

Home remedies are less time consuming, less expensive and have no side effects. However, they do require a little more patience, since a few routines have to be followed diligently in order to get rid of the problem for good. A natural remedy for acne is equally efficacious as any medication. Here are a few natural remedies to cure your acne. To start with, your daily consumption of water ought to be a minimum of eight to ten glasses. This helps you to cleanse your system and destroy the harmful bacteria that give rise to acne.

A surfeit of oily food also leads to acne, therefore fried and spicy food should be strictly avoided. A near complete abstinence of fried and fatty food will have a marked, beneficial effect on an outbreak of acne. Furthermore, including chromium and zinc in your diet also helps to cure acne. There has to be the correct balance of diet and skin care.

A solution of grated nutmeg with unboiled milk regularly daubed on the afflicted area also helps to cure acne. Cinnamon powder mixed with honey is just as efficacious in eradicating. The cooled liquid from boiled Neem leaves applied to acne works as a disinfectant. [The Neem Tree is a tall, usually evergreen East Indian tree (Azadirachta indica) widely cultivated in tropical Asia for its timber, resin, bitter bark, and aromatic seed oil, which is used medicinally and as an insecticide (source: ‘Free Online Dictionary’)].

The infected area should be cleansed with anti-acne soap at least three or four times a day. Make-up should be strictly avoided when suffering from acne. Make-up makes acne worse. Acne should never be squeezed as it may cause infection or / and make it spread. Squeezing your acne may also lead to permanent scars on your skin, which leaves your skin looking unsightly. Don’t let your hair touch the acne-infected area too.

Your hair ought to be kept tied back to prevent contact with the acne. Pillow covers should be washed on a daily basis to prevent the germ spreading. The regular cleansing of your skin should be done to keep it free from bacteria. Besides this, a healthy lifestyle ought to followed with a proper, balanced diet, exercise and sleep. Remember if you take good care of yourself, ailments will have trouble affecting you, especially a small thing like as acne!

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