Cystic Acne Home Remedies
November 5, 2009 by admin
Filed under Acne Care Tips
Cystic acne can be a serious problem and lead to other skin conditions later, such as scarring – or worse. Treating it immediately will give you a better chance to eliminate the problem. There are cystic acne home remedies you can do for yourself to treat it.
If you are dealing with cystic acne you should go to an endocrinologist for advice about medical treatments and procedures first before trying these cystic acne home remedies. But, if you are not happy or the medications do not work for you, there are many other natural remedies to try. Not only can chemical medications have side effects but also you may grow to be dependent on them for the rest of your life. Instead, try a few of these natural remedies for cystic acne that you can do right in your own home.
A lot of people use face cleansers that are very expensive and make claims that cannot be supported, and they don’t always work. You can actually make your own face cleanser by just combining baking soda and water. Take about a ¼ cup of baking soda and place it into a container of your choice. Then slowly add water while stirring until it becomes like a thick paste. You’ll know your own thickness preference (but don’t use too much water or it will be “runny”). Typically half of the amount that you used for the baking soda will be enough. Then spread it over your face like a mask and let it dry for 15 minutes. It will get crumbly and some may come off but leave it on. At 15 minutes wash it off and your face will be clean and oil-free.
You can follow up that remedy with a facial scrub for the dead skin. This is just another of the cystic acne home remedies . Cleaning off the dead skin can help reduce acne and keep your face extra smooth. Start with a lotion you like, preferably one without a strong scent. Cocoa butter actually works wonders. Combine that with a teaspoon of fine grain salt. You want to use salt because it will scrub your face but as long as your rub it on gently it won’t cause damage. Scrub your face with the mixture for about a minute and then rinse it off.
Aloe Vera is a great herbal remedy for skin healing and acne. You can find Aloe Vera lip balms, lotions, and other products in most stores. You can also get an essential oil of Aloe Vera, which is an extract of the plant. (If you choose to get the essential oil you’ll want to dilute it before putting it on your face.) Some people will even grow their own Aloe plants to use the plant’s insides directly on their skin, helping their acne as well as other skin conditions like burns, cuts and bruises. Use these cystic acne home remedies to clear up your skin today.
Hormonal Acne: Causes and Treatments
November 5, 2009 by admin
Filed under Acne Care Treatment
Hormonal acne challenges us when we just want a clean and clear face. But acne often arrives just as unexpectedly as it disappears. Besides being a physical menace, it also causes mental stress. Most often, external remedies don’t work. This is because the problem is internal. Acne is frequently a result of hormones coursing throughout the body and operating as messengers. Since women and teenagers are the ones most subjected to hormonal changes, they are most vulnerable to hormonal acne.
Acne is formed when the pores around the hair follicles become blocked with dead skin cells and oil secreted from the skin. It may be manifested in the form of blackheads, whiteheads or pimples. Sometimes the clogged pores may even get infected and take the form of cystic lesions. Any of these can be a cause of concern.
Hormonal acne is closely linked to hormone fluctuations in the body. Interestingly most of the hormones that cause acne are male hormones but women are the most affected by them. This is because women experience a lot of hormonal changes at the various stages of life. On the contrary men secrete almost the same ones throughout except at pre-puberty and puberty. The frequent hormonal fluctuations in women are the most general causes of acne. There are a number of androgenic hormones involved in this process, too. For example, acne produced from androgens is a symptom of polycystic ovary.
Hormonal acne is caused when hormones, released from the respective glands are directed towards the skin. If there is an increase in the secretion of these hormones the skin pores swell up and eventually burst. This problem is most visible in women when they are going through the vulnerable period of the menstrual cycle. This causes mental distress along with a physical reaction. Most women try anti-acne creams but normally these don’t work. It is important to find out the real cause of the specific acne and treat it from within.
Adult women generally suffer from hormonal acne for which the standard remedy is the use of antibiotics, or topical preparations like Accutane. But surveys reveal that most women use over-the-counter common medicines rather than resorting to these general treatments. In working-women, levels of male hormones often go up most often due to stress. As if to add insult to injury, several female hormones start acting like male ones! Treating acne with countering hormones is an effective way to calm the eruptions and, in most cases, it yields positive results. Starting, changing the dosage or stopping contraceptive pills may also result in acne. This is because of the chemical changes that ensue once the hormones fluctuate. Extra oil is secreted from the sebaceous glands, which may lead to a flare-up of acne!
Due to the advancement in medicine regarding hormonal acne, the silver lining is the diverse ways in which it can be treated. A general prescription would include regular applications of topical antimicrobials such as benzoyl peroxide and antibiotics. Topical retinoids and anti-androgen medication may provide further help. Estrogen-inducing oral contraceptive pills are also useful because these fight androgen secretions.
So the next time you get those pimples that won’t go away, pass up the over-the-counter topicals and try the internal remedies. Find out the “root” of the problem and work towards clearing it up forever. Then you can flaunt a flawless appearance without worrying about hormonal acne!
Body Acne and How to Control It
November 4, 2009 by admin
Filed under Acne Care Tips
Body Acne may be seen as facial acne, but it is far worse. Though most often we don’t bother as much about our back, or the rest of our body, as we do about our face, in the long run it can be more troublesome than its facial counterpart. The first thorny part is that you cannot reach your back easily. Also your back is mostly invisible to you, so by the time you feel the presence of acne it has been there for quite some time! Furthermore, the skin on parts of the human body other than the face is much thicker and has more pores, which increases the oil production and irritation. The increased amount of pores makes you more susceptible to infections and increased acne flare-ups. Topical or oral medications don’t really help in these cases because topical ointments just rub off on our clothing and oral medications are designed to treat facial acne alone, in most cases.
You might be able to reduce the flare-ups of body acne in the following ways:
- Treatment for body acne and facial acne cannot be considered as the same. Monitor your diet regularly and if your body acne is severe enough to warrant sensitivity tests by your doctor, follow through to find the ingredient or ingredients that lead to acne formation.
- Enhance the amount of fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts in your diet. These will naturally help you to ward off acne attacks because of their vitamin and mineral content. Reducing body acne is a tricky problem but the solution is sometimes very simple.
- It’s prudent to wear loose clothing to enable your body to breathe and not become too oily. Too much oil on the body surface translates into torturous acne!
- Long hair can be beautiful but it also has potential to inflame body acne. Clean your hair regularly so that when it comes in contact with the body it doesn’t lead to the formation of acne.
- In today’s fast-paced life your worst enemy is stress. It can cause numerous problems, including body acne. If you want to know how to reduce body acne the answer lies in decreasing the amount of stress. Take time off to relax and de-stress yourself.
Body acne reduction can be emolliated in commercial creams and lotions, as well. These have three major components, which help in combating acne namely, benzoyl peroxide, glycolic acid and salicylic acid. They unclog pores, decrease the amount of oil formation and help to avert acne.
If you want herbal remedies, there are many creams available which have different herbs in them that act as antibiotics and also reduce skin inflammation. Many of these contain neem, yellow dock, sarsaparilla, dandelion root and/or honeysuckle (these can quite often be found in health food stores). Herbal body scrubs open up pores and clean out oil and debris to allow your skin to “breath”. Apricot pit is a common ingredient in these. There are oral antibiotics, too, which include vitamins A, B2, B3 and E. These can be of real help in the treatment of body acne.
The key to reducing body acne may lie in your general health and hygiene, however. Just get into the habit of cleaning your body regularly with antibacterial scrub and taking off sweaty clothes without rubbing or irritating your skin. Get the right amount of sleep, relax and take it easy. It’s always sensible to consult a doctor before you take any medication for body acne. There are always advancements in medicine and alternative discoveries that may improve your chances of leaving body acne behind!
Five Effective Acne Home Remedies
November 4, 2009 by admin
Filed under Acne Care Tips
If you are looking for an effective acne treatment without side effects, try one or more of these five acne home remedies. These are quick to prepare and useful for those who have tried everything on the market. The ingredients are already in your kitchen! But first, do you have any of the following habits?
Are you a prey to excessive use of scented lotions, hair sprays or perfumes? Try to stop using them for a while and see if the acne starts to clear up. These products can often be harmful to your skin and cause it to flare up. Try using a different shampoo like “Head and Shoulders” or “Tresemme” which has Vitamin B.
Do you have a habit of wearing a cap or a hat everyday? Do away with it because you are probably allowing the flaking skin and dirt to fall directly on your face. Keep your face clean and let it breathe.
Do you take drugs like Accutane, Tetracycline or a contraceptive medicine to get rid of acne? Is it working or is it making your skin dry and irritated? Replace these with internal supplements like Vitamin C, zinc and/or fish oils. These may not give immediate results but are effective home remedies for acne. They may work better than the chemical drugs prescribed or bought off-the-shelf.
If you have eliminated these habits try the following effective home remedies for acne:
1) No mixture, no paste, just plain and simple honey can work wonders. Honey is a natural antibacterial that can kill germs. Apply honey on the affected areas and put a piece of tissue over it (to keep from smearing it on your pillow). When you wash your face in the morning the astringent effect will sooth the eruptions.
2) Rub raw garlic on your face (only if you are home alone!) Do it several times a day and you will slowly heal the sensitive areas. This is one of the more reliable home remedies for acne.
3) Lemon juice is another option you have as a treatment. Just apply it on the affected areas and leave it overnight. Sounds too good to be true? It works wonders and is another of the effective home remedies for acne.
4) You could also apply a paste of fenugreek leaves (these can be bought at a health food store or online) on the infected areas. Wash it off after it dries on your skin.
5) The last, but the most important tip, is to drink at least 10 glasses of pure water a day. This is a pre-requisite for any acne treatment and will keep your skin moist and supple.
These home remedies are convenient and useful. Most of these can easily be prepared and, more importantly, they don’t ordinarily produce any harmful effects on the skin.
As an extra for women, hormonal treatments are available for acne. An efficient method is to take birth control pills. They have a combination of estrogen and progesterone that helps in the reduction of acne. Some pills may have side effects and the dosage must be regulated for several months. It’s best to consult a physician and find the most suitable one for you. Try these homeopathic treatments before you invest heavily in cosmetics or drugs, these five natural acne home remedies may work best for treatment.
Types of Acne
November 3, 2009 by admin
Filed under Acne Around Us
This is an overview of the different types of acne, symptomatic triggers, and how to potentially treat it. There’s a lot more to acne because people suffer from different kinds, and everyone who has it must deal with it in their own way.
There are actually many different types of acne. Some people may not even notice they have acne because it is such a minor blemish that it is very hard to see, especially if people use make-up regularly. Other people have acne that is so bad it looks like a disease of the skin and can actually cause scarring. Knowing what type of acne a person has is a very important first-step to determining how it can be treated and if further medical attention from a dermatologist is needed.
The most common of the different types of acne are whiteheads and blackheads. They are only about the size of a person’s pores on their skin because whiteheads are sebum or pus and blackheads are dirt-filled pores. Although time and time again, you are told not to squeeze the pimples, most of us are guilty of this. If you clean your face first with an antibacterial soap and only squeeze gently, most people can get away with it.
There are also eruptions that people get, which are actually of two different types of acne. There is one type of acne that is just a small, puffed out red mark on the skin. These can’t be popped and almost look like raised cuts or pricks. The type of pimple that people tend to pop is aggravated whiteheads that are not only swollen but have also built up more of the oil and sebum that makes up a whitehead. Most eruptions will go away over time with proper care and treatment such as facial cleansers.
Some people suffer from a very serious form of acne, that causes cysts, nodules, and even red aggravated skin that looks like a burn. This type of acne is usually genetic and definitely requires the attention of a medical professional. This type usually needs to be treated with medication and won’t go away on its own. Some people actually have to deal with this more-serious acne for the rest of their lives, but a doctor can help with preventing scarring and reducing the outward appearance of the acne.


