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Do you have acne?

Acne may be the scourge of adolescent years, but it can follow people into middle age and beyond.

Acne is really a catchall term for a variety of symptoms such as pimples, whiteheads, and blackheads. It’s a condition where the pores of skin become clogged and the person gets inflamed and non-inflamed lesions.

So what’s the cause of all the clogging?

Heredity – at least for the most part. Acne is genetic – it tends to run in families, and it is an inherited defect of your pores. If both your parents had acne, three out of four of your brothers and sisters will get it too.

Stress, sun exposure, seasonal changes, and climate can all cause an acne attack. Certain types of makeup and taking birth control pills can also cause a breakout.

Here are some simple things you can do to keep acne at bay…

Change Your Make-up
In adult women, make-up is the major factor in acne outbreaks, especially oil based products. It’s the oil that causes the problem. The oil is usually a derivative of fatty acids that are more potent than your own fatty acids. Use a non-oil-based make-up if you are prone to acne.

Read the labels
Cosmetic products that contain lanolins, isopropyl myristate, sodium lauryl sulphate, laureth-4 and D & C red dyes should be avoided. Like oil, these ingredients are too rich for the skin.

Wash Properly
Wash your make-up off thoroughly every night. Use a mild soap twice a day and make sure you rinse the soap entirely off your face. Rinse six or seven times with fresh water.

Use Less Make-up
Whatever make-up you use, try to cut down on the amount you put on.

Leave Well Alone
Don’t squeeze pimples or whiteheads. A pimple is an inflammation, and you could add to the inflammation by squeezing it, which could lead to an infection. A pimple will always go away in one to four weeks if you leave them alone.

Know When to Squeeze
Most pimples are best left alone, but there is one kind that you can squeeze to help get rid of it. If the pimple has a little central yellow pus head in it, then a gentle squeeze will make it pop open very nicely. Once the pus pops out, the pimple will heal more quickly.

Attack Blackheads
You can also get rid of blackheads by squeezing them. A blackhead is a very blocked pore, and a gentle squeeze will help rectify this.

Give Dry Skin Extra Care
Dry skin can be sensitive to some over the counter skin treatments, so please use these treatments with care. Start with the lower strength products first, and then increase the concentration slowly.

Stay Out of the Sun
Acne medications may cause adverse reactions to the sun, so minimize you exposure until you know what the reactions going to be. If you’re avoiding medications because of their often terrible side effects, then getting 10 to 20 minutes of sun exposure on your acne can be an excellent thing to do.

Use One Treatment at a Time
Don’t mix treatments. Use only one at a time because treatments may cause adverse reactions if mixed together.

Stop the Spread of Acne
Apply acne medication about half an inch around the affected area to help keep the acne from spreading. Acne moves across the face from the nose to the ear, so you need to treat beyond the inflamed area. Most people make the mistake of treating only the pimples and not the outlying areas of skin. This is wrong.

If you are an acne sufferer, then I trust this information will be very helpful to you. Thanks for reading my article.

Of the many health challenges that I help people overcome through natural methods, one of my favorites is acne. It’s a favorite because I have yet to meet a person who hasn’t recovered from acne, no matter how severe the case, with appropriate changes in diet and lifestyle. Once a person identifies and addresses the root causes of acne, it predictability melts away.

There is nothing quite like seeing the relief and happiness that people experience as they recover from acne that they have suffered with for months or years. I will never forget one gentleman – a professor at a top naturopathic school – whose chronic acne completely disappeared within two weeks of following my suggestions. Tears filled his eyes as he spoke about the many years he suffered with acne despite trying numerous creams, cleansers, nutritional supplements, and oral drugs.

Many people in developed countries suffer with acne at some point in their lives. Rather than identify and address the root causes of acne, many people turn to creams, cleansers, and sometimes drugs to relieve their symptoms. While these approaches may produce temporary results for some, they rarely lead to lasting improvement because they do not take into account dietary and lifestyle factors that cause acne to begin with.

These symptom-based approaches reminds me of a time when my kitchen faucet broke off and a powerful geyser of water exploded upward, taking a bite out of the ceiling. My first reaction was to cram the broken faucet in place. It took every last bit of my strength to hold this faucet down against the upward force of water. If I budged even a bit, water would shoot out in all directions with incredible force. Being the quick thinker that I am, I stood there for about five minutes, growing exhausted from holding this faucet down. It finally dawned on me that I had to reach down underneath the sink and turn off the water supply. During the few seconds it took for me to let go of the broken faucet and reach down to turn off the water supply, it was like having an open fire hydrant in my kitchen. The kitchen and I ended up soaked, but it sure felt great to know that no more water would come flying out of the broken faucet!

When I see people use creams, cleansers, and drugs to deal with acne, I can’t help but think that they are trying awfully hard to solve their problem, just as I struggled to hold the water down with the broken faucet, when a more effective and permanent solution exists. You can use creams, cleansers and drugs to deal with acne with temporary and limited success, but wouldn’t it be way better to keep acne from developing in the first place? I’m sure that once you identify and address the root causes of acne, you will feel just as relieved and happy as I did when I made that final turn on the water supply valve.

Here are my guidelines to solving acne naturally:

1. Avoid the worst triggers of acne; pasteurized dairy products, fried and deep-fried foods, hydrogenated oils, sugar, salty snacks, preservatives like sulphates, and highly processed foods that contain gluten.

2. Eat mainly whole, unprocessed foods, with vegetables making up at least 50% of the total volume of your diet. Specifics of your ideal diet depend on a variety of factors, including your body type, ethnic background, health history, and current health status.

3. Get enough sleep to feel refreshed when you wake up. It is during deep, restful sleep that your body is able to most efficiently repair damaged skin.

4. Do not rub your acne with abrasive towels or loofahs. Aggressively rubbing your acne can cause the underlying infection to spread, which can result in new spots. Sometimes, abrasive rubbing can create enough irritation to cause an infection that leads to acne. Instead of rubbing your face dry after washing, make it a habit to pat dry or even air dry.

5. Use as little soap and make-up as possible. Using soap on a daily basis is only necessary if you work with gas, coal, or oil. For most people who don’t wear make up, washing with cold water is enough to have clean and healthy skin. Washing with only cold water is what people have done through most of world history.

6. If your weather allows, expose your skin to sunshine each day, even if it’s for a few minutes. Just be sure not to burn yourself. Natural sunlight has remarkable healing and recuperative powers for your skin.

7. Consider taking a high quality probiotic. Having lots of good bacteria living in your intestines will provide protection against toxins that can contribute to acne formation. Lots of good bacteria in your intestines is also helpful for your immune system, which plays a significant role in maintaining healthy skin. My wife and I use Dr. Ben Kim’s Greens.

8. If you are not seeing changes as quickly as you would like, consider doing a short water or juice fast, which can accelerate healing of your skin.

In many cases acne can be avoided. There are lots of ways to avoid acne. Ways to avoid acne include dietary changes, skin care and home treatments.

This article will have information that explores ways to avoid acne.

Ways to avoid acne #1: Use a cleansing diet to get rid of the impurities in your system.

Ways to avoid acne #2: Clean your skin everyday.

Ways to avoid acne #3: Use a benzoyl peroxide lotion to keep blemishes at bay.

Ways to avoid acne #4: Check your cosmetics, foods and other products to make sure you are not having a problem with allergies that can be mistaken for acne.

Ways to avoid acne #5: If you eat a high-fiber, low-fat diet you are less likely to have problems with acne.

Ways to avoid acne #6: Some vitamins will decrease your chances of acne. Check with your doctor to see what she suggests.

Ways to avoid acne #7: Drink six to eight glasses of water a day. Water is important for the health of your skin.

Ways to avoid acne #8: Some people feel that cutting down on sugar, flour and caffeine is one of the ways to avoid acne.

Ways to avoid acne #9: If you have small blackheads or pimples do not pop them. This can lead to even more skin problems.

Ways to avoid acne #10: Don’t use greasy lotions and cosmetics as they contain oils that can promote acne.

Ways to avoid acne #11: Try not to take any medications that contain iodides or bromides.

The above information should help you find ways to avoid acne.

Hundreds of skin-care products.

So many choices.

Which products work best?

Well, today’s skin-care consumer is justifiably confused, especially those confronting difficult skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis, adult acne, skin rashes, excessively oily, flaky and itchy skin, a combination of dry and oily skin areas, rosacea, and even a combination of conditions.

More and more people are developing sensitivities to artificial ingredients and harsh chemicals. Many factors cause the skin to rebel: the environment, diet, medications, hormones, stress, and chemotherapy.

Another factor contributing to unhealthy sensitivities results from the mixing and matching of products from various manufacturers – applying a hodge-podge of products not formulated to work together.

Just as it is dangerous to combine home cleaning products, it can be damaging to combine skin care products from a variety of manufacturers.

Due to the extensive number of skin care products on the market, consumers tend to purchase a mix of products and brands that synergistically don’t work together. A typical vanity is stocked with a wide-range of brand names and products. “Brand B” moisturizer is applied after “Brand A” cleanser and “Brand C” anti-aging serum is used in conjunction with “Brand D” Facial masque.

One may ask: “Is such combining of products a problem?”

The answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

Mixing brands and products may lead to a form of chemical warfare with the skin is the victim. A skin-care manufacturer will formulate products within a specific pH balance range, blending ingredients that complement one another for best results.

For example, the cleanser has a certain pH level and so does the freshener and moisturizer. The term pH refers to the measurement of the acids and alkali in the skin. The amount of acid in the skin determines the skin’s resistance to bacteria.

However, one company’s pH balance range may be quite different from the pH balance range of another manufacturer. One brand may not work in harmony with another brand. Mix and match brands and the result can be very damaging. Skin that becomes “off-balance” and “confused” may develop acne, allergies, rashes, and any number of other skin conditions.

Using products that contain proven healing ingredients such as Aloe can be extremely beneficial to “confused” skin. Aloe, known as “nature’s pharmacy,” provides 75 nutrients, 200 active compounds, 20 essential minerals, 18 amino acids, and 12 vitamins. For those undergoing radiation therapy, Aloe can help ease painful treatment. Be sure to find and use products where Aloe is listed first on the list of ingredients.

Clear, smooth, healthy skin is the beginning of a beautiful, youthful look. The basis of healthy, beautiful skin is a regular program of intelligent skin care.

For years, dermatologists have prescribed various oral and topical antibiotics as a first line of treatment for acne.

This standard of care may soon change due to a study in the September 2005 Archives of Dermatology that reports that people who use oral or topical antibiotics to treat acne have more than double the chance of having a cold during the following year. To put it plainly, regular use of antibiotics increases your risk of developing the common cold.

How can this be?

The medical community has known for years that regular antibiotic use in situations that are not life or limb threatening can lead to health problems related to killing off friendly bacteria in your body. Having lots of friendly bacteria in your body is important to your health because they enhance the strength of your immune system and contribute to a protective digestive tract lining.

What’s particularly ironic about the findings of this study is that antibiotics are used so frequently in today’s society to treat the common cold. So, not only does regular use of antibiotics increase your risk of getting a cold by weakening your immune system, if you treat your cold with antibiotics, your immune system will be weakened even further and your suffering will in all likelihood be prolonged.

Speaking of treating colds with antibiotics, are you aware that the common cold is related to viruses and not bacteria?

Antibiotics are useless against viruses. I’m convinced that a major reason why antibiotics are prescribed so frequently for the common cold is that many doctors don’t take the time to determine whether a person’s symptoms are related to a bacterium or a virus. Plus, many people have just come to expect a prescription for antibiotics when they have any symptoms that resemble a cold and make a trip to the doctor’s office.

What many people don’t know is that antibiotics have a mild anti-inflammatory effect. So even though antibiotics are useless against viral infections, they can make you feel better in the moment, just like Tylenol, Motrin, and other anti-inflammatory pills can.

Getting back to the study on acne that prompted this article, I hope it’s clear that I don’t recommend the use of oral or topical antibiotics to treat acne. Acne is best addressed by working on your diet, lifestyle, and emotional health. For some recommendations on treating acne from the inside out, view the following article: A Natural Approach to Curing and Preventing Acne.

Because acne treatments are so diverse and can both be ingested and applied externally, you should know exactly what you are putting in or on your body when it comes to acne treatment. Side effects and other “undesirable” variables are some of the complications you may run into.

Unfortunately, many acne treatments create a multitude of complications.

Allergic reaction is one such complication. Some acne victims are allergic to various ingredients in acne treatment products. Often they do not know about this allergy until they find out first hand through using the product and calling back their doctor and asking why they are having trouble breathing or have broken out in a strange rash.

Obviously, this can have serious consequences for many unfortunate individuals. After all, they only wanted to get their acne treated, but they end up with a new problem or symptom.

The most common side effects are flaking, redness, and inflammation of the skin. This happens when the many chemicals in acne treatments ignite a bad reaction and over-dry the skin, depriving it of any moisture and hydration. This often yields the dry flaking effect, while the redness and inflammation could be caused by a mild allergy associated with the treatment.

Remember, it’s up to you to consider all the options and research any medication you take over the counter or are prescribed. This cannot be emphasized enough, as it is your skin and ultimately your health.

Don’t take any unnecessary risks just because you believe, or are told by a pushy physician, that you have no other option. Be informed about the acne treatment you are about to purchase. And don’t let acne cost you more than it already has.

Note: I think we’ve all tried conventional medications at some point in our tenure with acne. And a lot of us remember the nasty side effects even more than the fact that the medication didn’t help the acne at all. For a natural, medication and side effect-free approach, try Acne Free in 3 Days, a how-to book on how to get rid of acne once and for all. — Editors

Treatment and control are two words you often hear about acne. But when it comes to treatment and control, what works? Take your pick of drug stores and you’ll find a smorgasbord of different products you can use to “clear acne in 72 hours.”

Dubious claims. Sometimes these over-the-counter and prescribed treatments make acne worse or cause symptoms that make a face or back full of pimples look like a walk in the park!

So let’s talk about proactive acne treatment. Many teens and adults alike believe this is a must in clearing up acne for the long-term. And what being proactive means is that you take charge of your own health and lifestyle and know what to do, and what not to do.

For instance, no matter how “ready” a white-headed pimple looks, you probably shouldn’t pop it, though some controversy exists on this subject. And in contrast with what the majority of people do, you should gently pat dry your face. Washing and drying your face as if the cloth were a chainsaw will exacerbate your acne.

Purchasing acne treatment products and medications may seem like the first step you can take to achieve your goal of having clear skin. But sadly, easy solutions and chemicals rarely work for many people. And no matter what a drug ad says, acne treatments alone will not help you win the battle against acne.

For ultimate success, you must have an over-all lifestyle change.

That means you have to change your diet. Oil is the number one cause of acne. It’s this very oil you need to avoid. So clearly eating hamburgers and junk food will not help you get rid of acne. On the contrary, oily foods are like fuel to acne.

The oil in greasy hamburgers will sustain the sebaceous oil glands, allowing them to continually pump oil to your face.

There are natural oils that help nourish the skin, such as omega fats from avocados and Carlson’s fish oil. Eating plenty of greens daily will also make a substantial difference.

Effective acne treatment is an inside-out process.

So if you get rid of all of the garbage inside, it will show up on the outside; conversely, if the inside is filled with bad oils and processed foods, it will reflect on your skin.

Acne is a problem pretty much everyone faces at some time in their lives. It’s most commonly seen on teenagers going through puberty because of the hormonal changes happening within the body. However, acne can be a problem through the adult years too.

Conventionally, most people choose to treat acne with topical creams and ointments, but the best acne treatments need to be taken internally, so acne can be treated at the source.

Acne is often caused by hormonal imbalances, but it’s also caused due to toxicity in the body as well. By taking a few simple steps to start detoxifying your body, you’ll often clear up acne related problems naturally.

There are many single herbs which help with acne for adults and teenagers. Some herbal combinations are designed specifically to help with female or male hormonal imbalances. When taking hormonal herbal remedies, some people find this clears up several problems at once.

For example, there are several herbs which work together wonderfully for correcting hormonal imbalances in women. These herbs work on internal problems, with the end results being reduced menstrual cramps, regulated menstrual flow, and improved skin conditions such as acne.

Ginger helps to cleanse the kidneys and bowels, removes excess toxins from the body, and stimulates circulation.

Lobelia helps encourage the flow of oxygenized blood, which in turn helps remove obstructions, congestion, and toxins.

Other excellent herbs to use for female hormonal problems include red raspberry, black cohosh, marshmallow, and kelp.

Kelp is an excellent single herb to take for a variety of problems, as it’s a potent source of many vitamins and minerals. In fact, it’s very much like an all natural multivitamin, and this can help restore the balance of vitamins and minerals in your body, which in turn will help clear up the acne and related health problems.

Going on any good cleansing or detoxifying diet will help clear up the acne too, but remember it can sometimes get worse before it gets better — as your body starts pushing toxins out faster once you start a cleanse.

A good herbal face wash option is chickweed tea. Dissolve chickweed capsules in warm water, then bathe the face with it and rinse. Chickweed is also wonderful to use as a bath soak for other sores, rashes, boils, and burns.