The moment you spot those pimples on your face that was flawless so far, might cause you to question on such ‘sudden’ eruptions. Well, at the surface, it might seem that the pimples were sudden as you wake up to those pimples on an otherwise fine morning. Let us face it. They are not sudden. They are an outcome of continuous exploitation by you on your health and this is your body’s language to let you know. To learn how to get rid of acne, you need to understand certain facts about acne, which will guide you to finding effective solution. However, you need to accept that just as the skin condition was not a sudden happening, the cure cannot be achieved overnight.
What Is Acne?
Acne is a skin condition that mostly affects teenagers, though it could cross the barriers of age to affect those in their 50s as well. The glands that secrete oil over perform because of which the pores are clogged and results in the skin condition. While not on the list of serious medical conditions, acne could shatter your self-confidence and when it is severe, the lesions could be painful. Acne occurs mostly on the face, neck and chest. It could also occur on your back. Acne affected areas are characterized by pimples, blackheads and whiteheads.
What Causes Acne?
The obvious reason for occurrence of acne is the over performing oil glands. If viewed in a broader sense, hormone changes cause acne. However, the factors that bring about the changes in hormone levels are lack of nutrition and vitamins, lack of exercise, use of cosmetics without wise restraint and stress. For women, changes in hormone levels occur at various stages namely puberty, menstrual cycles, during pregnancy and menopause. Birth control pills induce acne as well.
How To Get Rid Of Acne?
When you first spot acne, you need to act fast at home using natural remedies and adhering to some simple rules like making changes in your diet and lifestyle. Here are some important tips for you to get rid of acne.
Curing acne and preventing further breakouts of acne necessitate a combination of various types of treatments. There has to be a perfect blend of various treatments to overcome acne. Let us see the aspects we need to consider and the forces we need to strengthen our fight against acne.
The essentials to fight acne include:
- Simple changes in routine activities.
- Dietary changes
- External applications
- Dermatologists’ options, in cases of severe acne.
- Regular exercise
SIMPLE CHANGES IN ROUTINE ACTIVITIES
1) Never Touch Your Pimple
Much as you might be tempted, never touch your pimple. The germs on the fingers will result in further inflammation and before you realize you will have pimples and acne all over your face.
2) Keep Your Face Clean – Off Dirt And Cosmetics
If you have forehead acne, you need to wash your face at least twice a day. Wearing hats and headbands could drive sweat and dirt into the pores on your forehead, which you know will result in blockages and acne. Before you wear your hat on, wash your face off dirt. Ensure that your hat is clean as well. Yet another activity you need to check is resting your forehead on your palm. The pressure could drive sebum into your pores and result in forehead acne. Ensure your cosmetics are oil free.
3) Handling Your Hair
Some of the hair care products have chemicals that aggravate skin conditions. Moreover, dirty hair can itself affect sensitive skin. Hence, it becomes necessary to ensure your hair is clean, healthy and in its place. Do your hair in such a way that it is away from the face.
4) Addressing Back Acne
Some of the simple steps to address back acne include bathing in salt water, using a cleanser, which is to treat acne on your back and changing your bedspreads frequently. After bathing in salt water, apply non-comedogenic oil free sunscreen and lie down on your stomach out on the warm sunlight for a few minutes. Try this out once in a week for better results. The cleanser for back acne has to be rubbed over the affected area for around 60 seconds before you have your shower. It cleanses the skin and keeps it dirt free. Keep your bed clean as the dirt collected in the bedspreads could cause breakouts. Change bedspreads frequently.
5) Stick On To Cotton
If you have body acne or chest acne, the best attire for you would be cotton clothing. Cotton will absorb sweat, which is instrumental in causing breakouts. Wearing cotton could keep the body cool.
6) Avoid Perfumes
Your perfumes might cause breakouts and hence if you have chest acne, avoid using perfumes on your chest.
DIETARY CHANGES
While some claim that diet has no role in curing acne, it would do well to remember that a proper diet goes a long way in addressing various medical conditions including hormone changes. Have a diet that is rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals and go for foods that keep your skin healthy. Here are some suggestions.
1) Eat Foods That Encourage Healthy Bowel Movement
Fruits and vegetables are to be a regular part of your diet. Foods rich in protein and omega fats have a role too. Avoid coffee and tea. Go for green tea.
2) Vitamins For Acne
You can rely on vitamins to have a healthy skin. Vitamin A contributes to skin health by helping with reproduction of cells. Vitamin C ensures skin tone. If you have acne scars, you could have Vitamin E as it helps the skin to recover from such scars. It prevents scaring as well. Olive oil could be the right choice if you want to increase your intake of Vitamin E.
3) Increase Fresh Juice Intake
The health benefits of consuming fresh juice cannot be more emphasized. Ensure that you have a fair share of apples, carrots and cucumbers to stimulate lymphatic system. Consuming fresh juice is a great way to address cystic acne.
4) Stinging Nettle
Evidences point out that Stinging Nettle Tea aids in preventing acne breakout. Hence, you could consider including it in your diet.
EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS
1) Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is used to treat acne naturally. Use cotton to dip in the lemon juice and then clean the pimples and scars using the cotton soaked in lemon juice. Go for this treatment at bedtime. This is not going to produce result in one day but you will find your skin improving gradually.
2) Aloe Vera
Aloe vera works well for acne. You could use it as a conditioner to address red acne on your skin. The effects of aloe vera on acne has been proved. While aloe vera cannot cure acne, it reduces the symptoms associated with acne such as inflammation, swelling and redness. Outbreaks of acne can be prevented successfully by using aloe vera regularly. It could be used as an external application and the juice of aloe vera can be consumed as well.
3) Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Organic apple cider vinegar can be mixed with distilled water on an equal proportion. Using clean cotton, dip into the solution and apply it on the pimple thrice a day. You could leave the solution on the skin overnight to treat acne scars. Apple cider vinegar has both antibacterial properties and antiseptic properties. It is a wonderful skin toner.
4) Neem
Everything about neem is medicinal. Right from its root to its leaf, neem tree is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral and owing to its anti-inflammatory property, it is used to address various types of skin conditions. You could use neem oil on the affected area. Since neem is available in various forms, you could use it the way it would best suit you. Neem soaps, neem spray and various types of products are made of neem.
5) Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is considered very effective for acne. Even the severe cystic acne can be treated using tea tree oil. The oil aids in fighting acne breakouts. You could apply tea tree oil directly on the scars using cotton. You could mix some drops of the oil with your cleanser and / or moisturizer. While applying on face, take care not to go near the eyes. For body acne and chest acne, you could add a few drops of the oil to the water.
6) Kukui Nut Oil
Kukui nut oil works well for acne. The oil comprises of anti-oxidants along with vitamins and hence it aids in speeding up acne cure. It penetrates fast and since the skin absorbs it fast, it will not block the pores.
7) Lavender
Lavender is good for treating excessive oil on skin surface as well as to destroy bacteria that cause breakouts. To apply lavender externally, it could be added with olive oil or almond oil in the ration of 1:4.
8) Sandalwood
Sandalwood helps to address severe acne. It is a great moisturizer as well. The antiseptic properties of sandalwood help in cleansing the pores of the skin. It destroys bacteria.
DERMATOLOGISTS’ SUGGESTIONS
If your acne needs medical intervention, you may have to fix an appointment with your dermatologist. You might be suggested oral antibiotics if the acne is mild. These antibiotics could cause side effects such as nausea, headache and stomach problems.
If the skin condition is severe, your doctor may suggest Photodynamic Therapy, popularly called PDT. This therapy aids in reducing breakouts of cystic acne. The treatment works by shrinking the oil glands and killing the bacteria.
Isotretinoin is yet another treatment suggested by dermatologists. While this treatment might cure cystic acne permanently, it could cause severe side effects. Pregnant women are strictly advised against going for this as it could harm the fetus.
REGULAR EXERCISE
If you wonder what exercise could do to your skin condition, here is some food for thought for you. Exercise plays a major role in keeping you healthy. As the basic factor assigned to the cause of acne is hormonal changes, you will find that exercise helps to deal with hormonal changes. Exercise keeps you fit and a properly designed exercise taking into account your age and physical condition will enhance the performance of the internal organs. Yoga is a wonderful practice that could help improve your health. Breathing techniques in yoga practices will make your skin glow. Skin is a mirror that reflects your health and the performance of the internal organs. Do some justice to them by accommodating exercise in your schedule.
Some Temporary Solutions
Any skin condition cannot be cured in a day. You need to meticulously work towards it to achieve the results. However, there are parties to attend, official meetings to conduct and here, you would not want to be present with acne dominating your face and depressing your mind. You need a temporary solution so that you can attend the party or the meeting without any hesitation. Here are some suggestions to help you.
Cure Or Conceal
You spot an eruption and you have a meeting the next day. Go for benzoyl peroxide. Apply it on the affected area and leave it overnight. Even if it fails to cure completely, you could use a makeup concealer to cover the blemish until your skin returns to normal. You could use masks that contain sulfur, as it aids in unclogging the pores.
If it is important that the acne does not show the next day, you may contact your beautician to have the bacteria killed using high frequency machine. You will notice that the pimple gets smaller in size and the inflammation reduced.
You will find the information promising and reassuring to your mind that was disturbed to the core. While all the above-mentioned treatments are effective, you need to face the fact that the cure will not come by in a day. What you see on your skin in the form of acne is an indication that your health is not as sound as it has to be. Though you now think of how to get rid of acne, the solution lies in bringing yourself to great shape. Hence, you need to be patient and work towards gaining health and losing acne.
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