Karen’s Free Health and Fitness Tips

Acne is a skin condition that affects both young men and young women alike. Not only that, acne is increasingly occurring in adults, and is an embarrassing problem for millions of men and women well into their thirties and forties. Has acne gotten worse over the past twenty years, or are we just imagining it?

Is it because we now have the internet and information is shared much more readily and easily that we know the true depth of the acne problem, or has it really become somewhat of an epidemic?

Well, my personal opinion is that acne has gotten much more widespread, especially in adults, and there may be any number of reasons for that, but at the heart of acne there is a culprit that can be both our friend, and in the case of acne, our enemy.

It’s the male hormone (or androgen), testosterone. More specifically, it’s a specific testosterone called DHT, or Dihydro Testosterone. This specific hormone, when produced in excessive amounts by the body, whether it be a female or male body, creates an environment for the oil glands to go into overdrive producing the natural oils that normally protect and moisturize the skin.

With 80% of the population suffering from acne at some point in their lives it is not surprising that the internet is awash with instant cures. Most commonly you see advertisements for creams and cleansers which claim to deliver you from your painful and embarrassing affliction

But most of these products don’t cure acne. They don’t deal with the causes of acne. They merely attempt to deal with the symptoms of acne, unable to cope with the fresh bacterial infections lurking under the skin which will break out in new spots and pimples, undeterred by any cream. Even if a cream is helpful for one person it may not have the same effect on another person and could make the skin worse for that person.

Acne is all about changes in hormones which is why acne is so often turbulent during the teenage years. You can help to reduce or even eliminate outbreaks of acne if you discover how to keep your body ‘in balance’ and therefore keep acne at bay. You can cure your acne naturally from the ‘inside-out’, not by applying some external ‘miracle cure’.

Here are some simple tips about natural remedies for acne.

As you might already know, acne is a skin disorder that can occur in virtually anyone at almost any stage of his or her life, regardless of gender, age or skin type. There are several homemade acne treatments that are known to be effective in helping you cure your acne or at least control it. In this article I’m going to reveal 4 simple but effective homemade acne remedies that can help you have a cleaner smoother skin. The following tips will help you keep your skin clean from oil, which is one of the main causes of this disease.

1- Wash your skin with glycerin based soaps or sorbitol based cleansers

In order to keep your skin oil free and clean from dirt it is very important to periodically wash your face water using glycerin based soap. By using glycerin based soap or sorbitol based face cleanser, you will get rid of all your skin’s oil without over-drying or irritating it. Also another reason for using these types of soaps is that they also balance the acidity of your skin, this creates a hostile environment for bacteria to grow resulting in a cleaner face.

2- Oatmeal facial mask

By the time a woman reaches her early teens, she can usually tell when it is coming. It takes only a few times of completing the cycle to be able to learn how your body reacts and responds to that infamous monthly visitor, the period or menstrual cycle. Besides the bloating, cramping, mood swings, and crabbiness, many women suffer from acne before menstrual period.

Acne is a normal problem encountered by nearly all teenagers, but acne before menstrual period can increase the occurrence for teenage girls. Moreover, this problem can continue long into adulthood, causing pimples well into women’s 30’s.

There are many different treatments that will help with this problem. Some work better than others and some can be combined to dramatically decrease the amount of appearing acne before menstrual period. These can include medications, lotions, facial scrubs, and even a special acne diet.

Most medications for acne are available only by prescription. These can include oral medicines that are taken daily or medicated lotions that are rubbed into the skin. Over-the-counter types of prevention include facial and body scrubs to keep the skin clean and free of some bacterias that help increase acne.

For a large number of teenagers and young adults, acne is more than a skin disorder; it is a very painful condition that usually affects the social life of such individuals. With the obsession of the media on physical appearance, many teenagers and young adults get frustrated feeling that they can not be as attractive as the models, actors, and singers they see on television. This is chiefly due to the outbreak of acne pimples on their skins.

If your acne condition is termed as “mild” meaning that you only get a little amount of pimples on your face, then it seems the best treatment for you would be a topical medication which is usually referred to as an over the counter acne treatment. There are quite a number of over the counter products to choose from as they come in various forms like: creams, ointments, soaps and facial pads.

Acne breakouts can occur on people of all ages, beginning between the ages of ten and thirteen. There are many over-the-counter and prescription treatments for acne, as well as acne natural treatments. Acne occurs not only on the face and neck, but can also be prevalent on the back, with an occasional pimple on a limb on buttock. Bouts of acne appear in the form of whiteheads and blackheads when the pores of the skin become clogged. Nodules or cysts are deeper lumps that can be more difficult to get rid of.

There is the misconception that acne only occurs in teenagers, whereas it can occur for people even into their forties. Many people have a tendency to squeeze blackheads and whiteheads in an effort to get rid of them. This is not considered one of the most effective acne natural treatments, as harmful bacteria can then get into the lesion left and cause infection. Approximately 40% of teenagers require the professional treatment and prescription of a doctor to treat their acne break outs.

If you want to get rid of acne redness, reading this article can help you get started in your acne treatment program. Unfortunately a large percentage of the population suffer from acne at some point in their life. Acne redness can be particularly embarrassing as it gives the face (or other affected area) a permanent flush and is very noticeable. Many people still suffer from acne redness even after the spots have disappeared - this can be due to scarring or irritation of the skin. There is hope though and various treatments ranging from natural treatments to even surgery - but I advise the natural approach if possible!

To get rid of acne redness you will need to tackle the acne itself first and do your best to tackle the root of the problem. Acne is usually brought about by hormonal increases, lack of skin hygiene but can also be caused and aggravated by nutritional deficiencies, food allergies, intolerances, poor diet and bad skin care. Acne redness can be made worse by picking of spots and skin agitation. Very often one can benefit from increasing skin hygiene by properly cleansing the skin twice daily with an antiseptic wash and avoiding squeezing spots! There are some effective skin care products for acne which can help but this is only a surface handling - to resolve acne for good, you need to dig a bit further and get to the true cause of the problem. Also, avoid harsh skin products which may be drying out your skin too much and causing further agitation and redness of the skin.

Recently I cam across a question about acne. Someone wanted to know if rubbing alcohol would cure acne. Such ideas about acne are widespread. It is not only rubbing alcohol, but also whites of eggs, toothpaste, tanning and other miracle cures for acne. Let us find out if rubbing alcohol will help.

Acne- why it forms?

Once you understand why acne forms, you can decide what will help. Because of hormonal changes in the body, the sebaceous glands that are always open start getting blocked. Because of this block the sebum that is produced by the glands gets accumulated inside the gland. This is the beginning of acne. If the gland were open the sebum would have gone out on the skin. We now have a gland that is everyday getting bigger with more sebum. The bacteria P.acnes loves this sebum and begins multiplying in the gland. This infects the gland. Now we have a gland that is full of sebum, dead cells and bacteria. The body sends white cells to fight the bacteria. So pus also gets inside the gland. This inflating gland that is called a pimple, bursts when it can no more hold the matter inside. You land up with acne scar.

Doctors, until now, did not believe that Acne was genetic, or ‘inherited’. Because of much research, they are changing their points of view in favor of genetics. But what does this mean to you? Do you really care if acne is genetic or not? It actually means a lot. If scientists can find a genetic factor which causes acne, then they are not far from a final cure for this condition.

At the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta, Georgia, researchers have spent countless hours working with families and even twins to find the answer to this question. What did they discover? That acne did in fact seem to run in families and they found that 81% of the time, that was true.

Look through your family. You will find one if not many who suffered or are suffering from the same condition. Many times you will see the scarring; the sometimes physical effects of severe acne years after the eruptions have disappeared.

It seems logical that if we look like our families, have the same birthmarks, freckles, etc. that we would also have the same pre-disposition to acne. Now that we all believe that this could really be a factor, what does that mean? Are you stuck with acne forever because of this? Definitely not!