As a sufferer of acne from my younger years, I can greatly sympathise with anyone who has to put up with this regrettable skin condition. 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 embarrassed. Whilst it was of some comfort that the mother apologized copiously for her daughter's question, it didn't conceal 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 around. So I can understand the frustration and embarrassment people feel with this condition.
Quite a few years on now, I no longer suffer from acne as a problem, but I do have some acne scars (although this could have been more severe) and I do still get pimples. At the moment, 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 routine:
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 two to three times per week to clear clogged pores which develop pimples
3. Use a targetted blemish gel morning and night to target bacteria causing pimples and to reduce inflammation
4. Purchase an oil free moisturiser to use morning and night. Oil free moisturisers are suitable 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 extra oil)
5. Purchase a MSM Cream to also use to reduce soreness and redness related to cystic pimples.
For acne prone skin it is best to avoid cleaning your face with soaps or cleansers which are quite drying to the skin. Unfortunately these can stimulate the opposite effect, where taking away too much oil from the skin makes the skin producing even more oil to counterbalance, further blocking pores and creating more pimples. Some very well recognised acne skin care products do exactly this.
For really oily skin, it is best to use moisturisers without any oil used in them. Adding further 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 mainly clogged up pores, this will help prevent zits 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 pimples. A quality blemish gel will have an anti-bacterial forumulation to kill zit promoting bacteria and vitamins A, B3 and B5 which are well recognised in clearing existing acne.
Usually it is well-advised to avoid squeezing blemishes, 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 container of warm water. Wet a cotton ball in the container, remove excess water and hold it over the blemish for 3 minutes. Repeat again after wetting the cotton ball for another minute. Then use two make up pad to apply pressure on the outside of the pimple, but avoid squeezing it together. Hopefully that will give relief with as little damage to the skin as possible.
Finally, I would advise consulting with your doctor. Sometimes acne can be caused from an underlying cause 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 extremes of being on Roactaine twice, going on the contraceptive pill, altering my diet and trying every known acne product around. So I can understand the frustration and embarrassment people feel with this condition.
Quite a few years on now, I no longer suffer from acne as a problem, but I do have some acne scars (although this could have been more severe) and I do still get pimples. At the moment, 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 routine:
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 two to three times per week to clear clogged pores which develop pimples
3. Use a targetted blemish gel morning and night to target bacteria causing pimples and to reduce inflammation
4. Purchase an oil free moisturiser to use morning and night. Oil free moisturisers are suitable 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 extra oil)
5. Purchase a MSM Cream to also use to reduce soreness and redness related to cystic pimples.
For acne prone skin it is best to avoid cleaning your face with soaps or cleansers which are quite drying to the skin. Unfortunately these can stimulate the opposite effect, where taking away too much oil from the skin makes the skin producing even more oil to counterbalance, further blocking pores and creating more pimples. Some very well recognised acne skin care products do exactly this.
For really oily skin, it is best to use moisturisers without any oil used in them. Adding further 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 mainly clogged up pores, this will help prevent zits 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 pimples. A quality blemish gel will have an anti-bacterial forumulation to kill zit promoting bacteria and vitamins A, B3 and B5 which are well recognised in clearing existing acne.
Usually it is well-advised to avoid squeezing blemishes, 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 container of warm water. Wet a cotton ball in the container, remove excess water and hold it over the blemish for 3 minutes. Repeat again after wetting the cotton ball for another minute. Then use two make up pad to apply pressure on the outside of the pimple, but avoid squeezing it together. Hopefully that will give relief with as little damage to the skin as possible.
Finally, I would advise consulting with your doctor. Sometimes acne can be caused from an underlying cause 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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