Adult Acne – Getting Rid of it!
If you were part of the majority of people that were unlucky to be plagued with teen acne, just think of all the snickers, jests and humiliation you had to go through, then it easier for you to understand why most adult acne sufferers go through a lot of hassles to remove adult acne from their lives. We both know that adult acne is not a terminal disease (you can’t die from having it, I guess you knew that uhhh?). The major thing acne gives us are ugly scars and sometimes they could be really ugly, like mine was at a certain time.
Most of we adults afflicted with acne are usually on the look out for the magical cure that would gives us the fresh and smooth face or skin we had when we were eleven years old. Before we go on a wild goose chase looking for the magical acne medication that would rid us of adult acne lets understand why and how these little annoying monsters grow on our faces.
Why do so many adults still have acne?
It seems from all the amount spent on all those expensive research they still tell us the same thing that we were have all read in encyclopedias, the major cause of adult acne always has something to do with our hormones running wild and also genetics (my dad had a very bad case of acne when he was younger, more severe than mine was). The genetics part simply means that your biological family history has a large chunk of the blame of why you are suffering from adult acne. But aside those there are some other factors that are responsible for worsening your acne condition, some of them include:
- Side effects from some drugs – (such as corticosteroids, androgenic steroids, and lithium)
- Picking at or squeezing at the pimples
- Harsh scrubbing of the skin
- Oil based cosmetic products – (I guess you know this one already)
- Stress, illness or exhaustion
- Heat and moisture
- Diet has a some amount of influence on acne – (and please eating chocolate does not cause acne, where the heck did you hear that from)
- Pregnancy
- Menstruation
- Menopause
How does Adult Acne form on the Skin?
The formation of adult acne as we all know has something to do with sebum, follicle and all those big words that I read in some 21 inches thick encyclopedia. In simple words it is formed when oil (also know as sebum) that is produced underneath the skin surface is blocked from reaching the skin surface where it always flows to, through a hair-containing canal called a “follicle”.
The follicle wall sheds cells often and the canal is used to remove dead cells, which sort of become sticky and block the opening as they attempt to leave the follicle. The blockage results in increased bacteria growth in the follicle, which turns the trapped sebum into a very irritating substance and results in an inflammation that is widely known as acne.
Pheww!!! All that explanation reminds me of high school biology (so painfully boring to me).
In one sentence on how acne forms it is simply put as “Dead skin cells clog the pores, and bacteria cause inflammation which results in acne on the skin”.
Although so many adults like you have tried many acne medications and cosmetics to combat acne, we tend to wonder why they seem not to get rid of the problem once and for all but still they re-occur. It seems that acne forms when one or more of these conditions occurs:
- A blockage in the follicle
- There is an over production of sebum (oil)
- Increased bacteria growth within the hair follicle.
Researchers have found out that the hormone responsible for acne, which is called “testosterone”. Yes you have heard of it before it is the male hormone (it is found in both males and females but it is produced in high levels in males). Testosterone is responsible for increasing production of sebum (oil), which results in more pimples. Since testosterone is an androgen and is more in males than females, this explains why men tend to have more severe cases of acne than women (at least that explains why I used to have more pimples on my face than my elder sister although she started having pimples on her face before I started having mine).
Adult acne occurs as visible bumps on the surface of the skin usually on the face, although body acne is also common. Adult Acne is seen as pus-filled blisters; small reddish bumps, ugly looking thick red skin on the nose, cheeks and forehead, and small reddish blood vessels all seen on the skin surface. Acne outbreaks usually occur on the face, neck, chest, and shoulders and back. A highbrow term for adult acne is “acne rosacea”.
For so many folks stress seems to be one of the major factors in aggravating their acne condition. When I was in college towards the end of the semester when the amount of work we had to do increases, I tend to have more break outs of pimples maybe as a result of the stress or because I had lesser time for acne skin care. It seems aside the fact that you have to contend with hormones and genetics being the major cause of you acne condition you also have things like stress to worsen it.
Achieving Acne Control with the best Acne Medication
The first step in treating your adult acne condition has to do with proper acne skin care.
- First of all AVOID the temptation of SQUEEZING your PIMPLES. Most of the time this results in the scars you see on your face. The bigger a pimple is the higher the chances it will leave a scar if you “pop” it.
- Remember to wash your skin gently only twice a day; this is very helpful in removing surface dirt and excessive oil, which could worsen your acne condition by clogging the pores. Also please do not use abrasive soaps. They could damage your skin pores and leave your skin too dry.
- If you currently use oil-based cosmetics it’s time you switch to water-based, non-comedogenic cosmetics as oil-based creams or lotions irritate oily skin and cause further breakouts and blemishes.
- You should also make it a habit to always remove your makeup before going to bed.
- Consider applying an oil-free moisturizer to your skin after washing. This helps your skin replenish its own moisture and keeps the oil glands from over producing.
- Always remember to shampoo regularly. This prevents oily hair from rubbing off on your skin.
- Like we learnt in biology class, a balanced diet is necessary for optimum health. A balanced diet and drinking 10-12 glasses of water a day can help keep your skin healthy. There are some physicians that believe that an increase in iodine consumption aggravates acne and recommend a reduction or elimination of fish and iodized salt.
- Relax a little to reduce stress and try planning out your activities so you are not under a lot of pressure from your daily activities.
In case you are looking for a more aggressive adult acne treatment to totally banish those little monsters of your face/body you should try using a combination of treatment like that offered by clear pores system which consists of a facial/body wash, facial/body protection cream and a herbal supplement which fights the acne from the inside and the outside. This triple combination is guaranteed to get rid of acne from your life.
Another very impressive acne treatment available is acnezine, which has natural ingredients that work to take care of the skin. They help control free radicals that cause skin damage, aging and wrinkling, and that can contribute to infection. Acnezine limits inflammation, helping take care of the ugly redness, and working to limit the inflammatory response that can cause scarring. And, Acnezine promotes healing. Acnezine consists of skin anti-Oxidant Capsules and acne Moisturizing Cr?me which ensures acne is combated from both inside and outside the body.