Archive for October, 2009

A new laser treatment that changes your skin is all the buzz in Hollywood, and it’s now available in the Triad. WXII 12’s Kimberly Van Scoy reports.

Everyone knows how irritating and embarrassing acne and breakouts can be. While there are a variety of treatments, but it can be hard to find the best acne treatment for you. Some of the most popular treatments include bactericidal, natural acne treatments, and hormonal therapy. Keep reading to learn more about the most common types of acne treatments.

The most popular method of treating acne is the use of a topical bactericidal. These are widely available and contain a chemical known as benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide is oxidizer-essentially mild bleach. It works as a keratolytic, dissolving the keratin that causes blocked skin pores. Also, this medicine helps prevent new breakouts from happening. Topical bactericidals are found in either an ointment form or as a wash. Ointments should be applied to the affected area twice daily. Don’t overuse either form, as this could cause dry and irritated skin.

If you’re one who wants to try a more natural or homemade acne treatment, you will be pleased to know that there are a variety of natural remedies that can aid in the treatment of acne. Some of the most popular include Tea Tree Oil and Witch Hazel. Tea tree oil is an anti-bacterial oil produced from the leaves of an Australian shrub called Melaleuca Alternifolia. Just put a bit on a cotton swab and dab at the affected areas. It will leave your skin tingling with a cool, fresh sensation. Witch hazel is a great natural astringent to use even if you have sensitive skin. It’s very soft and won’t strip your skin’s moisture. You can also try other natural oils, such as Bergamot and Lavender oils, which are also natural anti-bacterial drying agents. And for those of you who have oily skin, you can use rosewood oil to reduce the amount of sebum (natural oil) your skin produces.

For females, hormonal treatment for acne is also an option. Balancing hormone levels can reduce the frequency and intensity of outbreaks. Birth control pills often reduce acne due to the combination of controlled estrogen and progestogen. They are particularly effective when high levels of androgens are detected in the blood. Contraceptives, however, have many side effects. They should not be taken without the guidance of a physician to make sure the type of pill is a good match for you.

Out of all the acne treatments available, bactericidals are definitely the most widely used. However, the amount of people who are trying natural acne remedies is increasing all the time. Finding the right acne treatment product is really just a system of trial and error. Just hang in there and you’re sure to find a treatment that works for you!

The information highway, especially online, is loaded with all kinds of answers to find an acne cure. You will see everything from someone giving you 12 steps to get rid of your acne in 3 hours to someone else telling you to put mud on your face and the next morning your acne will be gone.

So what is the real truth about finding an acne cure?

Everyone believes they have the answer. But is that the truth? Well, sometimes it is and sometimes what they are selling or trying to get you to believe has some validity to it. But most times, it’s a bunch of words used to fill up a page.

Is there really such a thing as an acne cure?

Not in the way that you think. But even with that being so, the answer is yes! There is an acne cure but it takes a bit of time and consistency. Unfortunately, there isn’t an absolute, bonafide miracle drug, cream or cleanser on the market just yet, but I have high hopes that there will be. Until then, be logical; use common sense. Your acne starts inside your body not on the outside of your body, so to help this condition and find an acne cure, you really should start from the inside out.

Where do I begin to find an “inside out” acne cure?

If you follow the advice below, you will get rid of your acne and it will stay away.

1. A Diet for acne – Yes, unfortunately, this is on the top of our list. Many will tell you that eating fried chicken and chocolate sundaes do nothing to contribute to your blemishes and you can find an acne cure without giving these up.

No matter what anyone says, including a dermatologist, eating like this and trying to find an acne cure is almost impossible, unless you take antibiotics or some other strong internal medication. Even then, when you get off of them, the acne comes back.

Include in your diet, Vitamin A, E, Selenium and Zinc. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and add some good fiber to your diet also. Drink plenty of water. This will set up an environment in your body to be able to counteract the bacteria that is causing your acne and prohibiting you from finding an acne cure. And as an extra bonus besides having beautiful, glowing skin you will feel better also!

2. Use correct medications – Make sure that when you purchase over the counter medications, cleanses and creams that you are aware of exactly what you are buying. If not, ask for help or go online before you go to the store and get reviews on certain products. Make sure you are aware of your skin type: oily, dry or normal. Also, be aware if you have any allergies to products. When looking for these products to find an acne cure, read the labels and try to get products that are as natural as you can find. Lastly, check the ingredients and buy the product that has the highest percentage of benzoyl peroxide and/or salicylic acid. They are two of the most effective ingredients to find an acne cure.

3. Try herbal and homeopathic remedies – Alternative therapies, medicines and remedies can be amazing when it comes to finding an acne cure. And they do not harm your health. But remember, when you are dealing with this kind of remedy, it is a hit or miss situation. It may take time to find what works perfectly with you and your skin type. But it is well worth spending the time because more than not, you will find an acne cure for life.

Follow the above plan and you will find an acne cure and in the short run, get your condition totally under control. If you cannot follow the above regimen your condition worsens see your family doctor or a dermatologist. The longer you leave your acne unchecked the more chance you are taking to have acne scars which can be permanent.

Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that acne is a common condition that almost everyone has to deal with at some point in their life. Teenagers and young adults have a particular struggle with acne, as hormones and stress are especially common during those ages, which produces acne breakouts. So, are you currently dealing with acne? If so, you may have tried several popular (and expensive!) store-bought treatments, but you might find that you can get great results from natural acne treatments. This article is going to talk about some effective all-natural remedies you can try.

Of course, acne always pops up at the worst times, although we’re not so sure there ever is a good time to have acne! But for those last-minute, emergency treatments, there are a few things you can try without having to run to the store and shell out for an expensive name-brand product.

The first all natural acne treatment is found in almost every bathroom, but the thought of putting toothpaste on your face could seem a bit…odd. That’s right—toothpaste! Put a generous amount of toothpaste on each pimple right before bed. The toothpaste will help dry up the excess oil and greatly reduce redness while you sleep. Of course you can put toothpaste on your acne in the day time, just make sure you’re able to leave it on for a while so that it has plenty of time to soak up the excess moisture from the pimple. A good tip for those red pimples is to apply a bit of Visine eye drops. It won’t treat the pimple, but it will get rid of the redness.

Did you know that Neosporin could help you? Neosporin is an antibiotic that will kill the bacteria in the area you apply it to. Before bedtime, you should apply it to the acne in order to cause it to have a short life span. Honey is something that has natural antibacterial properties in it and it is perfect to use in the homemade acne treatment. In the end, some of the other types of homemade acne remedies you could use consists of baking soda, garlic, ice cubes, crushed aspirin (our favorite to use), potatoes and much more.

A lot of people think that medical acne treatments are enough for their acne cure but in reality, proper acne skin care matters much more and plays a vital role in every acne cure success. The first thing you should realize is to avoid oil based skin care products because these will clog up pores and will result in more acne breakouts. You should only choose water based make-ups, moisturizers, and other skin care products because these won’t cause any clogging of pores.

Another very important acne skin care is to avoid rubbing, pressing, picking, or squeezing of pimples because this will spread out the bacteria in other areas that will cause further pimple outbreaks. You can kill the bacteria on the surface of your skin by applying lemon juice that is diluted in water. Its antiseptic quality is the most effective acne cure in most cases.

Applying tea tree oil and mint toothpaste as well as the juice of a raw papaya can help cure pimples because these natural ingredients will penetrate deep down inside the pores and dry out pimples fast. If you have an active acne outbreak, this acne skin care regimen will certainly eliminate them in no time.

In addition to proper acne skin care, you should also consider rethinking your daily diet. A diet that is high in fatty and oily foods will just disrupt your acne cure practice because these foods affect your glands to produce excessive oils thus leading to further acne outbreaks.

You should drink plenty of water and vegetable or fruit juices because they will help in flushing out the toxins of your body. Vitamin A rich foods also help in rejuvenating your skin. You can find this essential vitamin in tomatoes, peaches, watermelons, squash, and carrots.

The acne cure stage doesn’t stop when the pimple outbreaks are gone since you still have to deal with the acne scars that resulted from it. You can use cucumber and other fruit and vegetable facial packs to cure your pimple scars. In addition, rubbing potato slices all over your face can also help in getting rid of blemishes and acne scars. This is one of the main secrets of acne skin care.

Even if you have found effective acne cure commercial products in the market, when you don’t have the proper acne skin care, your acne will just resurface on your skin. It is very important for us to know these acne skin care regimen to avoid acne from coming back. A lot of people are now enjoying acne free lives because they have perpetually followed every guideline on this article.

I’m sure thousands of people suffering from acne still have no clue about how acne skin care can help them cure their acne. These simple and easy to follow steps are the only way they can get rid of their skin condition. If you know someone suffering from acne, you can help them discover the hidden gem secrets of acne skin care.

It’s embarrassing having acne, especially when you notice that people are joking and staring at them. It’s humiliating and can hurt your feelings. Also, trying to get rid of them can be a hassle and frustrating. So, what I’m going to do is share with you some acne cure secrets.

That way, you will have more confidence and clean skin that people will notice.

The acne cure secrets are:

1. Washing your face is the first way to cure your acne. You should wash your face at least twice a day. Make sure you wash your face in the morning and at night before bed. The soap you should use is a glycerin or sorbitol soap. An example of this kind of soap is neutrogena.

2. Another acne cure is to use tea tree oil. You should use tea tree oil after you wash your face. The tea tree oil will help get rid of the bacteria that’s on your face that cause acne.

3. Drinking water is another acne cure. You should drink plenty of water. Drink at least 8 cups of water a day. Also, be sure to drink one to two cups of water first thing in the morning.

4. Another way to cure your acne is to use apricot juice. Rub apricot juice to your face for ten minutes a day. You can do this everyday or at least until you satisfied with the results.

Make sure you don’t touch your face with your hands if they’re oily or dirty. This will make your acne worse. Also, during the day, when your gets oily, make sure you wipe your face with facial tissue. You can also wash your face with water to help get rid of the oil.

These are the acne cure secrets. If you have acne, you need to do something about it now. If you wait too long, they could possibly spread over your body, including your back and chest.

About 98% of the total world population had encountered acne at least once in their lives, whether they were in their teenage years or as an adult. This high encounter rate is due to the fact that all of us experience hormonal changes within our system. Hormones are responsible for the development of certain areas of our body and they keep on changing to provide a perfect balance within.

Acne cure comes from different sources such as acne medication, skin care, commercial products, and other specialized treatments. The most commonly used among these acne cure sources is the acne medication that can be bought over the counter even without the prescription of a medical professional.

Acne medication comes in many forms as well such as topical medications and oral medications. The topical acne medications are formulated into bactericidal, antibiotics, and retinoid treatments. Each one’s effects vary from person to person. A mild acne sufferer can use these topical products for their acne cure and they say that these have little or no side effects at all.

Natural treatment remedies for acne cure like tea tree oil, zinc, Aloe Vera, lemon juice, and lime juice are also very effective. These natural remedies can easily be bought from the store nearest you and they’re cheap alternatives to acne medications as well. Some acne medications such as ibuprofen, azelaic acid, and refocoxib help in lessening the pimple inflammation brought by acne. These elements kill the bacteria on the surface of the skin as well.

These aforementioned acne medications are just a few over the counter products you can buy from the pharmacy. The only downside of about finding the best acne medication for your case is the extensive research and manual experiment whether these products will prove to be effective on your acne cure or not. Some acne cases are caused by constant hormonal imbalance. When this happens to be your problem, you will need to consult a doctor for the appropriate acne medication to treat the hormonal imbalance within you. Some doctors will prescribe contraceptive pills to women suffering from acne because the pills help bring back the balance to their hormones.

Most of the effective acne medication products contain benzoyl peroxide, a compound that kills bacteria-causing acne on the surface of the skin as well as deep inside the pores. You can find it in the form of gel, cream, bar soaps, facial foams, and other acne cure skin care products. Benzoyl peroxide can effectively cure acnes that are moderate to moderately severe. Another effective ingredient is the salicylic acid which works like benzoyl peroxide but in a milder form. This can be used in acne cure for mild to moderate acne especially for those who have sensitive skin types.

Always remember that finding the acne medication on your own can be a tough challenge because of the hit and miss outcome of each product used. If you want a faster acne cure, you can consult a dermatologist about your skin condition because they have years of experience as well as extensive medical study to back up their diagnosis.

It’s a terrible way to find the acne cure that works for you. Many times you end up spending a lot of money only to find out that nothing is helping. Not only is this expensive but can also be very frustrating as well. I know sometimes it seems like an endless road. You get all excited because you think you found your acne cure, only to find out once again it didn’t work.

One of the biggest problems is too much trial and error and not enough commitment to one product. Many of the acne treatments clearly state it can take up to 90 days to work but still people end up jumping from product to product week after week in hopes of finding that immediate acne cure. Another issue is not following directions. Many people believe if they double up in many cases the treatments will work faster. Well to be honest in most cases you are just making things worse in your acne cure.

Way too often too many people depend solely on the medication for their acne cure. However in most cases lifestyle changes are also needed to take place. In fact many times medicinal ingredients aren’t even needed if you figure out the lifestyle change that needs to take place. Now maybe you shouldn’t be thinking of an acne cure but rather removing the causes that are bringing on your acne. That’s the problem. Most people never think of what might be causing the acne before going searching for an acne cure.

Medication alone isn’t going to entirely work if you don’t take some further steps to curing your acne. It’s a must to wash your face a few times a day. Try to avoid makeup as it only clogs the pores. Drinking lots of water and eating fresh fruit will definitely help in your acne cure. Something that most people don’t know is that exercise removes toxins and stress from your body so it too is very important in your acne cure path.

Your hair and hands contain oils that are serious contributors to the break out of acne. In saying this I guess for a while you want to keep your hands and hair away from your fade for a while to see what happens. Everyone pops their pimples instead of letting them heal. Well this does two things. It spreads the bacteria and causes scaring.

So some simple lifestyle changes, diet and some over the counter medication in most cases can be the key to your acne cure. However there are cases where the acne is just that severe and you may have to see a doctor to get some more powerful acne medications. Acne in its worst form can be very painful. If it gets this bad then you do need to get in and see your doctor to help relieve the situation and have him help you with your acne cure.

To choose the best acne treatment is a tricky task because not all acne is the same.  There are a number of different types of acne, and there is no common treatment that is equally effective for each.  Nor are there treatments that work with each form of acne in the same way, since the treatment depends a great deal on the severity of the condition.

One of the more effective acne treatments is benzoyl peroxide, which is the active ingredient behind many different topical treatments such as Clearasil Max and ProActive. However, you have to be careful with benzoyl peroxide on your face because it could cause irritation of your skin.  It is better used on thicker skin, and is therefore widely used for treating back acne. It not only possesses antibacterial properties but also promotes the flaking of dead surface skin cells.

One of the problems with acne is that a treatment that one person finds effective might not be so for another. Each person has to find an acne treatment that is most effective for their own condition. Some of the milder forms of acne can be treated simply with a mild facial cleanser.  If you follow this up with a commercial antibacterial acne treatment, then you will have as good a chance as any of controlling your condition or even of curing it. 

If your acne is deeper and more persistent, a treatment needs to be designed to effectively reduce the production of sebum.  This is the oil that is believed to be responsible for most acne conditions.  This treatment approach would be an effective way of preventing the acne from getting worse and possibly even stopping it altogether.  One prescription for achieving this is called isotretinoin (e.g. Accutane), a Vitamin A based treatment. It will only be prescribed by a doctor if the acne is severe and persistent, and is not suitable for anybody with liver problems.

With regard to topical acne creams, Vitamin A (retinol) can be effective, although a proportion of the population contract dry and flaking skin when they use it. In fact that is how it works:  by promoting flaking off of the top skin cell. It is basically a topical form of the oral isotretinoin, but not as strong. It is not the perfect treatment, and like most acne treatments, it will suit some more than others.

Antibiotic treatments can be effective, particularly when used in conjunction with skin-shedding applications such as benzoyl peroxide or retinol. However, most topical treatments will show few benefits for at least six months.  So you are looking at long-term treatments rather than the quick fix. In fact there really are no quick fixes for acne, although laser treatment can produce rapid results in serious cases.

Oral contraceptives have been found to work for women with acne.  A combination of the testosterone suppressant, cyproterone acetate and the hormone ethinylestradiol (eg. Dianette) have been found to be an effective treatment. It works by suppressing the male hormones (that all women have) and with it, the production of sebum.

There is really no such thing as the best acne treatment because each works differently with different people.  This simply indicates the difficulty in understanding the true causes and nature of the condition.  The way for you to find the best acne treatment is start off with the milder treatments and work up.  Thus, antibacterial soaps and body scrubs should be followed with topical over the counter acne creams.  If these don’t work, then your physician might suggest a prescription treatment, and eventually, with a bit of persistence on your part, you will come across an acne treatment that suits you. The best acne treatment for an individual is the one that works.

Any teenager will tell you that an outbreak of acne is one of the worst things that can happen to their social standing as well as their own self esteem. So with the high priority most teens put on staying acne-free, is there any hope in our future for an acne cure? Unfortunately, scientists and doctors will tell you a cure for acne is unlikely. However, there are some practices you can develop to help prevent breakouts. These include things such as washing your face twice daily, avoiding touching your face, using prescription or over-the-counter creams, taking oral antibiotics and exfoliating the skin.

In order to understand how these preventative measures help acne, you must first understand how acne develops. The skin of the face is covered with small openings – or pores – that allow nutrients to pass back and forth through the skin. Acne forms when dead skin cells, dirt or cosmetics block these pores. This blockage causes oils, which are usually excreted onto the skin to help make it smooth and supple, to back up in the pores causing an inflamed bump. Hormones excreted by the body during the teen years can make acne even worse by causing the oil glands to work overtime. To make things worse, bacteria can grow inside these bumps which can infect other pores if the acne is scratched or picked at. Acne can be triggered by stress, hormones, or an unhealthy diet. Scientists are uncertain why one teen will suffer from acne and another will not, but they believe it may be tied to genetics or heredity. Since it is unsure what exactly causes acne, it is more important to concentrate on preventing breakouts rather than an acne cure.

You may need to use over-the-counter or prescription medications to help clear your existing acne and keep new acne from forming. While choosing an acne medication, be wary of products that promise an acne cure. Remember, there is no cure for acne. Your acne will not go away overnight. Even with the strongest creams and cleansers, it will take at least two weeks to start to see improvement in your acne.

Prevention can be as simple as cleaning your face twice daily with a gentle cleanser to keep oils and dirt from building up. Some experts also suggest exfoliating the skin to encourage dead skin cells to flake off. This way the cells don’t stay on your face and block your pores. Along with keeping your skin clean, it is also a good idea to eat a healthy diet. Although eating a healthy diet does not guarantee you will have an acne free face, it is always best for your body and your skin to eat a balanced diet. With no acne cure in sight, prevention can save you the embarrassment of unsightly pimples.

Remember, there is currently no miracle cure for acne; in fact, there is no acne cure at all. Concentrate on clearing the acne you have, and keeping new spots from appearing. Sometimes acne prevention is indeed the best acne cure.