Acne is a awful skin condition and affects everyone from teen girls to middle age men. I am not a doctor, but I am qualified in knowledge of the skin, so will share with you my tips to helping your pimple problem...
Let's start by explaining some of the reasons and types of bad skin.
There are pustules, which I'm sure you can gather are your whiteheads, and papules, your red, irritated spots that don't come to a head, there are also the very common comodones, more widely known as black heads.
Pustules: These are filled with a white puss (GROSS) and are often common on an oily skin. The puss in a spot, just as in a wound, is an infection. They are caused by to much sebum (your skins natural oil) getting caught in pores, and the transfer of dirt to the skin.
Papules: These little papules can be found on most skin types, and can be caused by build up of sebum, or, on dry skin, can be caused by sebum getting trapped under a layer of dry skin, forming a papule.
Comodone: A blackhead, as it is more commonly known, is caused by trapped sebum in a pore. When it oxidises with the air, the visible part on the top of the skin turns black, giving it its tell-tale name.
Here are some measures you can take to help calm own/prevent spots and acne...
1) Eat a good, nutritous diet. What you put in our body will show on the outside, and that's a fact.
2) Drink 2 litres of water a day. You hear it all the time, but keeping your skin hydrated keeps it healthy, supple, and helps prevent spots.
3) Get a good, twice daily, cleanse, tone & moisturise routine. You don't have to use expensive products, Neutrogena are very good, but doing it properly, twice a day, every day will help. If you put the work in, you ill see results.
4) Don't touch your face with your hands. Yes, this is something we all do without thinking, but by thinking a bit more, you can prevent a whole heap of bacteria from being passed onto your skin.
5) Avoid having an on-face fringe. Grease and bacteria, plus residue from products, build up in our hair, and letting this sit on our faces will pass all these nasties onto our delicate skin. Also, everybody fiddles with fringes, sweeping them out of our eyes, or smoothing them down when the fit fax guy Mark walks into the office (no, only me?!), thus touching our faces!
6) Exfoliate only once a week, and do not scrub to hard, or use any scrub with large particles in. Lots of people with oily skin attempt to strip the natural oil from your skin, however this send signals to the brain telling it you're not producing enough sebum...thus making it produce more an become overactive, and your skin more oily. Use an exfoliator with small beads and massage into skin.
7) To cleanse properly, start by opening pores with few splashes of warm water. After cleansing, splash with cold water to close pores, and always pat dry with a clean, fresh towel.
8) Rotate your pillow case every couple of days, they harbour sweat and bacteria, and lying your face on these night after night won't do you any favours. Wash with a Non-Bio detergent.
9) Any time you can, go make up free to let skin breath. This can be embarrassing, especially for teens as vanity is everything, but letting your skin have some time off to repair itself will make a lot of difference.
10) SQEEEEEEZE! Now, you really shouldn't squeeze spots because it causes the skin to break and causes scars, however, I myself cannot live with a white spot, so this is how to get rid of that infection:
*Wrap 2 fingers in clean loo roll after washing your hands.
*Steam your face over a sink of hot water, or by applying a hot towel.
*Tease the pimple from various angles, avoid doing one big squeeze.
*Once popped, continue to tease the area until it bleeds a small amount. This you know you have removed all the infection.
*Apply a dab of Tea-Tree to act as an antiseptic.
Acne make-Up
I am well aware you cannot go without make up forever, so here are my tips on make up for aggrivated skin:
1) Wait for moisturiser to fully sink in before you apply make up.
2) Avoid using powder products as these will block pores.
3) Avoid thick, heavy foundations as these will suffocate the skin, try using a product like Bare Minerals, as it gives great coverage, but is packed with minerals and nutrients, and allows skin to breath all day.
containing zinc oxide and titanium dioxide (the compounds used in sunscreen) mineral makeup provides a great base that won't block pores and comes with a built in spf.
4) For blusher, avoid cakey powders and try Vaseline Rosy Lips. Yes, the pink vaseline. It will moisturise skin while giving you a pink flush.
products to avoid: freederm, clean€€ and clear and clearasil. all these products dry out and dehydrate the skins lower cells.
if you are blessed with the money, a 2 weekly facial or facial massage works wonders for the skin, however in this case it is best to continue your home skincare regime with the salon products, which can work out pricey.
if symptoms continue to worsen or spread, do not hesitate to see your doctor. if you want to cut out the middle man, see a dermatologist, however you will have to pay privately otherwise you have to go through the process of lots of meication from the doctor, then a referall, then a waiting list.
plus by going privately youre gauranteed a better, more personalised service.
i hope this has helped.
x
