Friday, May 16, 2008

What can you do about acne ???

The three basic causes of acne are addressed by anything that : (1) unclog pores; (2) kill bacterias; and (3) minimize oil.
But first a word about . . .
Lifestyle: Moderation and regularity are good things, but not everyone can sleep eight hours, eat three good meals, and drink eight glasses of water a day. You can, however, still control your acne even if your routine is frantic and unpredictable. Probably the most useful lifestyle change you can make is to apply hot compresses to pustules and cysts , to get facials ,and never to pick or squeeze pimples. Playing with pimples, no matter how careful and clean you are, nearly always makes bumps stay redder and bumpier longer. People often refer to redness as “scarring,” but fortunately it usually isn't, in the permanent sense. It's just a mark that takes months to fade if left entirely alone. Acne scar treatments require that a person's skin is free of active acne, so if you still break out you will have to address that first.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Did you know????


  • Keeping the face clean checks the bacterial growth in skin. For this, washing your face regularly with a medicated soap, and using alcohol-based astringent in your daily face cleaning routine is very helpful in checking the growth of bacteria and thus avoiding the onset of acne as well as checking the infection from spreading.

  • Many of the cosmetics contain chemicals which produce oiliness of the skin or trigger acne. One must be careful before applying any new cosmetics on the acne-prone skin.

  • If you are taking medication to treat your acne, then give medicines time to work and wait for at least two or three months to get a clear skin. Acne may look like an overnight pop-up, but actually formation of acne is a long process and takes about a couple of months before breaking out on the skin. Likewise medicines for treating acne should be given enough time to reduce acne and scarring.

  • Diet plays a vital role in acne prevention and eating the wrong foods or junk food can quickly worsen the condition of acne. As far as acne prone skin is concerned, two major causes of acne are foods containing processed sugar and a lot of fat.

Treatment options available

  • Topical antibiotics
  • Oral antibiotics
  • Topical retinoids
  • Topical benzoyl peroxide
  • Oral retinoids
  • Salicylic acid
  • Zinc
  • Nicotinamide
  • LASERS
  • Phototherapy
  • Photodynamic therapy