What doesn't cause acne?

These factors DON'T cause acne, at least by themselves:

• Heredity: Except for very severe acne, most people don't have the problem just the way their parents did. Besides, some degree of acne is almost universal, so you'd expect to have more than one relative that has been affected at some point.

• Food: All over the world, parents tell teens to avoid pizza, chocolate, greasy and fried foods, and junk foods. While these foods may not be good for overall health, they don't make acne worse.

• Dirt: Oil is a natural secretion of the oil glands, though some people are naturally oilier than others. "Blackheads" are oxidized oil, not dirt. Sweat from exercise, whether washed off promptly or not, also doesn't cause acne. On the other hand, excessive washing can dry and irritate the skin.

• Stress: Some people get so upset by their pimples that they pick at them and make them last longer. Stress, however, does not play much of a direct role in causing acne. The good news is that to improve the acne, people would not be required to calm down and reduce stress, unless it is causing them to pick at their skin.

• Hormones: Some women break out cyclically, but most women (and all men!) don't. Likewise, hormone tests and treatments aren't much help.

When should you start to treat acne?

Since everyone gets acne at some time, there is no "correct" time to treat it. The best advice is to take action when you think it's out of control. This can be when severe acne flares suddenly, mild acne that just won't quit, or even when a single pimple decides to show up the week before your prom or wedding. The decision is yours.

What can you do about acne on your own? (A lot!)

Think back to the 3 basic causes of acne, and you can understand why the focus of both home treatment and prescription therapy is to: (1) unclog pores; (2) kill bacteria; and (3) minimize oil. But first a word about . . . .

Lifestyle: Everyone knows that moderation and regularity are good things, but not everyone can sleep 8 hours, eat three good meals, and drink 8 glasses of water a day. Relax! You can still control your acne if school or work make your routine frantic and unpredictable. Probably the most useful lifestyle change you can make is to apply hot compresses to pustules and cysts, or get facials (see below), and NEVER, EVER PICK, THANK YOU. When you pick or squeeze a pimple, the skin always feels bumpier and stays redder longer than if you leave them alone, however hard that may be to do. The redness, by the way, is not scarring in the permanent sense. It's just a mark that takes months to fade.

Opening Pores

Cleansing and Skin Care: Despite what you read in popular style and fashion magazines, there is no magic product or regimen that is right for every person and situation.

• Mild cleansers: Washing once or twice a day with a mild cleansing bar or liquid (for example, Dove, Neutrogena, Basis, Purpose, and Cetaphil are all inexpensive and popular) will keep the skin clean and minimize sensitivity and irritation.

• Exfoliating cleansers and masques: A variety of mild scrubs, exfoliants, and masques can be used. These products contain either fine granules or salicylic acid in a concentration that makes it a very mild peeling agent. These products remove the outer layer of the skin, and thus open pores.

• Retinol: Not to be confused with the prescription medication, Retin-A, this derivative of Vitamin A can help promote skin peeling.

Killing Bacteria

• Antibacterial cleansers: The most popular ingredient in over- the-counter antibacterial cleansers is benzoyl peroxide.

• Topical (external) applications: These products come in the form of gels, creams, and lotions, which are applied to the affected area. The active ingredients that kill surface bacteria include benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, and resorcinol.

Benzoyl peroxide causes red and scaly allergic skin in a small number of people, which goes away as soon as you stop using it. Keep in mind that benzoyl peroxide is a BLEACH, so don't let products containing benzoyl peroxide get on your good colored clothes, shirts, or towels!

Reducing Oil

Oil is normal. You can't stop your oil glands from producing it, unless you mess with your hormones or metabolism in ways you shouldn't want to. (Even Accutane only slows down oil glands for a while. They come back to life later.) What you can do is to get rid of oil on the surface of the skin, and reduce that embarrassing shine.

• Use a gentle astringent/toner to wipe away oil. (microbiotic lotion, is available from Guinot, although there are also many other brands available in pharmacies)

• Products containing glycolic acid or one of the other alpha-hydroxy acids are also mildly helpful in clearing the skin by causing the superficial layer of the skin to peel (exfoliate).

• Masques containing sulfur and other ingredients draw out facial oil.

• Antibacterial pads containing benzoyl peroxide have the additional benefit of helping you wipe away oil.

What are other things you can do for acne?

• Cosmetics: Don't be afraid to hide blemishes with flesh- tinted cover-ups or even foundation, as long at it is water-based or oil- free. You can find many good products.

• Facials: While not absolutely essential, steaming and "deep-cleaning" pores is useful both alone and in addition to medical treatment, especially for people with "whiteheads" or "blackheads." Having these pores unclogged by a professional also reduces the temptation to do it yourself! Try the Guinot Hydradermie deep cleansing facial.

• Pore Strips: Pharmacies now carry, under a variety of brand names, strips which you are supposed to put on your nose, forehead, chin, etc. to "pull out" blackheads and other unpleasant material from your pores. These strips are, in effect, a poor man's (or poor woman's) facial. The icky black stuff is oil, not dirt. These strips work reasonably well if you apply them properly, but never as well as a professional pore cleansing. On the other hand, they are inexpensive and safe.
  

What is a good basic skin regimen?

1. Cleanse twice daily with a 5% benzoyl peroxide wash. An alternative for those who are allergic to benzoyl peroxide is 2% salicylic acid.

2. Apply a gel or cream containing 5% benzoyl peroxide. An alternative is sulfur or resorcinol.

3. At night, apply a spot cream-containing sulfur.

4. Use a light skin moisturizer and an oil-free makeup as you wish.

If you require skincare advice, call today on 0161-980-1111 (open 7 days a week, 9am to 9pm), and speak to a qualified skin care technician.

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