Skin Zen » Treating Acne

Three Essential Black Head Prevention Tips

GuestPoster — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 04:24:05 +0000

Nearly everyone in the world is familiar with black heads. They are a very common type of skin blemish that form when dirt and dead skin cells mix with oil produced by your skin to clog up the pores of your face. As the plugged surfaces of the pores are exposed to oxygen, they become black, which gives this type of blemish its characteristic name.

Black heads can be quite stubborn once they have started to appear. When trying to remove them, great care must be taken to avoid damaging the skin and causing infection. Here are three safe and effective black head removal tips that you can rid yourself of black heads:

Morning and Evening Cleansing

The first step in black head prevention is to keep your skin free of accumulated oil and debris. This is best accomplished by washing your face once in the morning and once in the evening. Take care not to cleanse your face too much, or you might dry out your skin to the point where it stimulates your sebaceous glands to produce yet more oil for re-lubrication.

Exfoliation Treatments

Excess oil is one of the causes of black heads, and another cause is the dead skin cells that build up on the surface of your face. A gentle exfoliation treatment once or twice per week will help to prevent the accumulation of dead cells and other debris, which gets rid of much of the raw material that can easily clog up pores.

Oil Blotting Pads

You can purchase oil-absorbent pads very cheaply at any drugstore or pharmacy. They work very well for keeping control of your oily skin during the course of the day. Whenever your face starts feeling a bit oily, you can pull out an absorbent pad and soak up the excess oil.

Ever since marketers discovered how to make money from black head removal products, good information on black head prevention has been hard to find. But prevention is much smarter and easier than removal – so try using these three techniques to keep your complexion clear and free of black heads.

Acne Scar Home Remedies

Ava — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:35:51 +0000

You have probably heard of several acne scar home remedies. Sure, there are stories of them all over the internet. But the question is, are they just stories, or do they actually work?

If you have finally overcome your insomnia, but now want to resolve the leftover scarring then you might want to have a look at acne scar home remedies to get rid of those scars.

There are lots of commercially available solutions. These tend to be pretty harsh on your skin though. If you choose chemical peels, you will be chemically removing a layer of your skin. If well done and if your skin is not too sensitive, a chemical peel can give lasting benefits. But for some people, something goes wrong and they are left with worse scarring than before.

Another option is laser resurfacing. This uses light to remove or blur the signs of acne scars. This will make them less noticeable. This is an expensive and a successful way to minimize scarring.

Home remedies are more effective on relatively light scarring. Natural remedies rely on the body’s own healing process to heal the scars. The actual remedies that we use are therefore intended to help the body to get back to its normal condition in which it can heal itself.

This is a gentler and often slower way of removing scars but it can be more effective in the long term. It involves considering how you will look and feel in 20 or 30 years time, not only right now.

Many natural remedies for acne scars rely on food products. The nutrients that they contain can nourish the skin and help it to regain its natural beauty. In this respect you can either take the nutrients internally or externally, or both.

Taking a long hard look at your diet is one of the best things that you can do for your skin. Cut out refined sugar. Do not cook with oil or eat fried foods, because cooked oils contain free radicals that will suck up all the good antioxidants you are taking in, and stop them getting to your skin.

Add into your diet all foods that are high in antioxidants. These include raw vegetables, salad and fresh fruits. Try eating ‘all raw’ for breakfast and lunch – for example, a big fruit smoothie for breakfast, fresh fruit for snacks, and a big salad with nuts and avocado for lunch. Do this for 6 months and you should see an improvement in your skin.

You can also use face packs made with sliced or blended vegetables that are high in antioxidants. Tomatoes and cucumber are a good combination. Cucumber is well known as a skin remedy as it tightens and tones the pores. Tomatoes have a very high antioxidant component. However, do not use tomato on your skin if you are allergic to it.

Fresh aloe vera juice can be a very effective way to treat acne scars. Aloe vera is a succulent plant that you can keep in a pot indoors. You will need a leaf about 2 inches wide. Remove it from the plant and peel it. Put the flesh in a blender and puree it. Then apply it as a face pack twice a day for at least 5 minutes each time. The puree will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, but take it out an hour before using it to let it revive to room temperature. This is great for scars and also for healing and preventing pimples.

Tea tree oil is an antibacterial that can help prevent scarring and clean the skin to give it the best chance of healing scars that are already present. Use this in addition to other acne scar home remedies.

How To Get Rid Of Blackheads On Your Nose

Ava — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:13:39 +0000

Blackheads on your nose can be a major annoyance. Blackheads seem to never go away, and can lead to pores becoming permanently enlarged and will get worse as you get older. Can anything be done about blackheads on your nose?

Blackheads are caused by overproduction of oils (sebum and keratin) by the sebaceous glands in the skin. These substances solidify and darken on contact with air, blocking the pore and creating a plug that can be hard to remove.

People often think that the black color at the surface is dirt, but it is not. It is caused by oxidation. You cannot wash it away with soap. However, there are other treatments that you can try.

First, you can buy preparations from the drugstore that claim to get rid of blackheads. These vary in their active ingredients and how they work. Some dry out the skin, which can look alright in the short term but only leads to more oil production.

Other products contain salicylic acid which is believed to dissolve keratin. In fact, aspirin is mostly salicylic acid so if you are not allergic to aspirin you can make a home blackhead removal face mask by making a paste from a soluble aspirin tablet and a few drops of water. Mix with honey to help adhesion if you wish. Apply to the affected area and leave for 15-20 minutes before rinsing off with water. Then moisturize, otherwise the skin can become too dry.

Most people can use the aspirin face mask a couple of times per week, but test on a very small area first to make sure that your skin can take it. In most cases any redness associated with acne will improve after using this mask, so if your redness is worse after the aspirin, this is a sign that salicylic acid is too harsh for your skin and you should not use it.

Do not use any other type of painkiller, only 100% pure soluble aspirin.

Some people prefer to physically remove the blackhead. If you want to do this, please do it gently. The best way is to give the face a steam bath to open the pores, then take a tissue and use your fingers (not your nails) to press against the sides of the blackhead. Be sure to close the pores again afterward either with an astringent wash or cold water.

Another method is to use a blackhead removal strip which adheres to the blackheads and pulls them out. These seem to work for some people and not others, depending on the texture and oiliness of your skin generally.

We are all unique, so always consult a health professional or dermatologist before trying any treatments for acne and nose blackheads.

Steam As An Acne Treatment

Steam As An Acne Treatment

Ava — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:52:47 +0000

Steam is one of the easiest natural treatments you can use to treat acne. How does steam actually treat acne, and will it work for you? Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of treating your acne with steam treatment.

There are two ways to take a steam bath for your acne. One is to use a sauna or steam room. The other, for facial acne only, is to steam at home. Let’s take the second one first.

Steam At Home Acne Treatment

This is a very simple treatment where you take a bowl of hot water and a sheet or large cloth. Never use plastic – this is very important – you could suffocate if you put plastic over your head. Only use fabric that you can breathe through.

Fill the bowl with hot water and put your head over it, facing the water. Put the cloth over your head to hold in the steam.

Don’t have the water too hot. This means do not use boiling water from the kettle. Only use hot water from the tap.

You can stay for about 10 minutes (but just 5 minutes the first time to check for any adverse reaction). Then wipe your face with an astringent such as witch hazel or apple cider vinegar to clean off any oils that have been drawn out of the pores by the steam and close the pores. Test for any allergy to these products by applying them to a small area first. Cold water can also act as an astringent.

Steam Room Acne Treatment

If you want a more controlled way of treating acne with steam, you can either take a sauna that will treat the whole body, or you can take a facial steam treatment from a specialist.

If you like to use a sauna, be sure to wash or rinse away all the impurities from the skin and then close the pores with cold water.

Professional treatments are available from some dermatologists, beauty parlors or commercial saunas. These will have you lie on your back with the eyes and hair protected, and steam will be directed at your face. The advantage of this is that the temperature is controlled at the best level for acne.

The professional steam session will usually be followed by cleansing and perhaps a face mask whose properties will be selected to suit your skin type.

How Does It Work?

Steam treatment can help cases of acne in two ways:

First, it opens the pores and hair follicles and causes sweating that can wash away any dirt and bacteria in the pores.

Second, it stimulates blood circulation to the skin. This brings oxygen and nutrients to the skin which helps it to resist infection.

Are There Any Bad Effects?

A few people with very sensitive skin may find they have a bad reaction to the steam, especially if it is too hot. In a very small number of cases it can even aggravate the acne. Consult a dermatologist to check if steam is recommended for your own acne.

It is normal for the skin to be red straight after. The redness should disappear within about a half hour, but this can vary from person to person. So do not plan any social events immediately after your steam for acne treatment.

Cystic Acne – Treatments For Cycstic Acne

Ava — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:49:29 +0000

Without a doubt, cystic acne is the most painful, disfiguring form of acne you can be inflicted with. Also known as nodulocystic acne, it creates cyst-like lumps under the skin that are in fact inflamed nodules. These are bigger than the small whiteheads or pimples of other varieties of acne vulgaris (common acne) although like those pimples, they usually contain white pus.

Cystic acne is rarer than other types of acne, but still it is fairly common.

Contrary to popular belief, acne is not caused by a lack of personal hygiene. The direct cause is an excess of sebum or oily fluid in the pores of the face, neck, chest, or back. The sebum blocks the pores which then become inflamed or infected.

Acne usually begins at puberty. It is believed that hormonal changes or imbalances in adolescents are the reason why there is an excess of sebum in the first place.

Even though hygiene issues are not the cause, if you have acne it is important to keep the area clean and try not to touch the pimples, to prevent the infection spreading.

Probably the worst feature of cystic acne is the scarring that it leaves behind. If a nodule or cyst is not treated immediately with medication it can leave a scar that in some cases will be permanent. In other cases it leaves a ‘macular scar’ which is not a true scar but an area of redness that will slowly fade within about 6 months.

It is better not to try to pop the pimples of cystic acne, especially when they are deep. You will often fail to extract the pus, making the cyst look worse and probably creating a bigger scar.

There are some medications that can have a remarkable effect on cystic acne in up to 90% of cases. The main one is Isotretinoin. This is a product that is derived from vitamin A. It is marketed under various brand names – one of the most common in the US is Accutane, but there are many other names for it.

You can also get an Isotretinoin product that is not taken internally but is used as a topical cream applied directly to the cysts. Brand names for this include Isotrex and Isotrexin.

These products can act very fast to clear up cysts and prevent scarring if taken quickly enough. However, always take medical advice before beginning to take a product like Isotretinoin. It is not safe for everyone, e.g. pregnant women should not take it. Consult with your dermatologist or doctor to find the best product for your acne.

Vitamin A is found in many fresh raw fruits and vegetables including most of the ones that are colored red, orange and yellow – for example, carrots. Increasing these in the diet may help to prevent future breakouts. Be careful if considering supplementing with vitamin A for cystic acne, however. It is possible to overdose with this vitamin.