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Whether you’re just at the start of your acne journey, or have been navigating these waters for a while now, the information you see online and elsewhere may leave you feeling confused. In order to treat your condition, it’s important to understand just how acne affects your skin and body, and what’s really going on when you read those numbers.
Most people attribute their breakouts to an overly oily complexion, and they aren’t entirely wrong to do so, but did you know that it takes more than just oil to form a pimple on your complexion?
Acne is a disease that affects the skin, and is the most common skin condition in the United States, and does not discriminate based on age, sex, race, or any single identifier. It is normally caused by a hormonal imbalance that triggers an excessive amount of sebum, or skin oil, to be produced by the sebaceous glands. Too much of this oil can become clogged within pores, where it travels from the sebaceous glands to the surface of the skin. But the formation of acne doesn’t stop here!
Anyone with acne knows that clear, healthy skin starts with clean pores. While there are plenty of products out there to cleanse from the surface, there are a handful of exercises that can work to stimulate the detox process from within in the body, making for a gentle way to take care of yourself and your skin!
It probably goes without saying, but when the body is healthy, everything benefits, from our immune systems to our mental condition to our complexions.
Regardless of the season, some people with acne-prone skin look to shed a few layers for the good of their complexion with a process called dermablading.
To put it simple, dermablading is a procedure that rids the surface of the skin of dry, dead cells. Using a surgical scalpel, a licensed aesthetician or dermatologist removes these dead cells by essentially scraping them away, applying short, light strokes to the surface of the skin after washing the face and applying an alcohol solution. The result? A pile of dead skin, a renewed and youthful glow, and a complexion free of pore-clogging debris.
The formation of acne is usually attributed to either excessively oily or way-too-dry skin, but there’s another culprit that may be contributing to your symptoms - your hair or more precisely – your hair care routine.
Acne is a result of a hormonal imbalance, which can affect the function of the sebaceous glands, whose job it is to create sebum, (skin oil) which travels along the pores to hydrate and protect the skin on the surface. When too much sebum is produced, it clogs the pores. A mixure of the skin oil, dirt and dead skin cells invites bacteria to form, triggering an inflammatory response from the body. This response usually appears as red, swollen bumps known as pimples, a symptom of acne.
With acne-prone skin, you wanted clear skin like yesterday. And you certainly don’t want to worry about whether or not your skin is going to look good or not for an upcoming special day. When many people look to rid their skin of acne, a topical wash, cream or spot treatment is usually the first thing they reach for.
With the New Year right around the corner, we always want to look our best for those big (or not so big) plans we’ve made. For anyone with acne, this can be a stressful time, but with the right tools you can step into the New Year with your best face forward.
Now more than ever, people seem to be looking for safe, natural and effective ways to treat anything that ails them, from pain to digestive troubles to addressing their skincare needs, but how does a natural acne solution really work?
In order to understand how acne can be treated, it’s important to become familiar with how acne works in the first place. Acne is the most common skin condition in the United States, and affects people of all ages. It is usually the result of a hormonal imbalance, which goes on to affect the sebaceous glands. These glands produce sebum, or oil, which travels along the hair follicle, or pore, to protect and nourish the skin. Some imbalanced hormones can trigger the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum than necessary, which become clogged within the pore on its way to the surface. When combined with dead skin cells, bacteria forms, which sparks an inflammatory reaction, resulting in symptoms called pimples.
Acne is a usually the result of a hormonal imbalance, which goes on to affect the sebaceous glands. These glands produce sebum, or oil, which travels along the hair follicle, or pore, to protect and nourish the skin. Some imbalanced hormones can trigger the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum than necessary, which becomes clogged within the pore on its way to the surface. When combined with dead skin cells, bacteria forms, which sparks an inflammatory reaction, resulting in symptoms called pimples.
If you have been dealing with acne for any amount of time, you probably feel like you’ve heard of, and tried, just about every tonic, treatment and remedy under the sun, but there’s one you probably haven’t heard much about, and it’s a dietary supplement worth knowing.
Brewer’s yeast is most known for it’s role in making beer, but did you know it can also work to help keep skin healthy and acne-free?
For years, people believed that a good, healthy dose of sun was the answer to their acne-related problems. Doctors in the 1950’s even prescribed sessions under a sun lamp to treat patients looking to rid their complexions of acne, and the idea has more or less stuck, with some looking to more and more DIY options to help symptoms of acne.
Many dermatologists are pleading with people to resist the urge to go about treating their skin the old fashioned way with a lengthy sunbath by the pool. The claim nowadays is that the sun’s rays can actually end up making acne worse...but why? To get an idea of exactly what the sun is doing to your skin to make acne worse, check out this quick and easy guide below!
Sebaceous glands are present throughout the skin on our body with the exception of our palms and the bottoms of our feet. These glands produce skin oil known as sebum which keeps our skin, soft, protected, and elastic. Without sebum, our skin would look like alligator skin...scaly and overly dry. But sometimes these glands produce too much skin oil and our skin becomes too oily. Our face, and sometimes our body, shines in all the wrong places leading to melting make-up and an unhealthy appearance. But very often, too much oil also leads to dreaded breakouts and unsightly pimples.
Indeed oily skin is known to be a precursor to acne and even though some individuals with dry skin also get acne, the majority of acne sufferers have oily skin. So, if you want to prevent an acne breakout and get rid of your oily complexion, you need to control the excess oil being produced by your sebaceous glands. But, how? Read on.
The holidays are officially upon us, and with them come lots of festivities and fun gatherings. During this social time of the year, you may be taking extra steps to ensure that you always look your best, and healthy, clear skin is probably pretty high on your list of priorities. Unfortunately, acne isn't very cooperative, and you may find yourself with breakouts at the most inopportune times. When this happens, it can be very tempting to turn to products offering a quick fix for your skin problems. However, relying on an endless string of supposedly fast-acting products can actually be doing more harm than good - and more importantly, first, you need to address those acne warning signs that are too serious to ignore.
If you find yourself constantly reaching for the latest miracle cream or treatment, read this before you buy anything else.
For a long time, acne treatment was all about addressing the problem from the outside with things like creams and cleansers. While topical acne treatments are no doubt still popular, many people are beginning to see that what we put into our bodies is just as important as what we put on them. Take sugar, for example. Studies have shown that frequently eating high-sugar foods can cause skin inflammation that makes you more prone to acne breakouts. For this reason, dietary approaches to preventing breakouts have become increasingly important in the world of skincare.
Please note while reading, that we recommend when possible to purchase organic and non GMO food.
Fall is here, and that means it's time to enjoy some of our favorite seasonal foods again. While dietary choices may not be a primary cause of acne, studies have shown that the things we eat do play at least somewhat of a role in our skin's health. For that reason, it's important to make healthy choices this fall season-especially since sugary, high-calorie treats lurk around every corner. Here's a look at four autumn-inspired foods that will help keep your skin glowing and acne-free over the coming months.
After a Summer spent in the sun sweating and applying lots of sunscreen, our pores get clogged more than usual, our skin can look dull and dry, hyperpigmentation is more profound, and pimples, blackheads and whiteheads may become more aggressive. In addition, the change in our daily routine with back-to-school and back-to-work stress makes acne breakouts even less tolerable while often more frequent.
You would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't heard of probiotics and their numerous health benefits, but what exactly are they? The term "probiotic" refers to a wide range of microorganisms which can be found in certain foods, drinks, and supplements that help regulate everything from digestion to allergies. Most of these microorganisms are bacteria, and while chowing down on something commonly found in a petri dish may not sound appetizing, you might be surprised to learn that your gastrointestinal tract is already teeming with them!
The association between aloe vera and skincare is nothing new-people have been using it to treat everything from sunburns to eczema for centuries now. However, is this plant extract also a good addition for acne prone skin? The answer is a bit of a mixed bag.
First and foremost, it's important to remember that aloe vera cannot really cure your acne on its own. The only solution for permanently stopping breakouts is addressing the problem at its root. However, that being said, aloe can work as a wonderful supplemental product for certain acne-related issues. In its pure form, it's a non-comedogenic moisturizer with anti- inflammatory properties.
Large and small pimples are only one of acne's physical symptoms, but they are easily the most noticeable, discussed, and most hated. Because of this, people are normally willing to do whatever it takes to get rid of them as soon as possible without considering the long-term impact on their skin and without understanding that the superficial removal of a pimple is very far from treating acne. Short term, you may get rid of this ugly white head sticking out from your skin, but popping pimples can increase your risk of getting new and more severe pimples or cysts in the future as it actually opens "a window" for infection and may spread bacteria throughout your skin too. Furthermore popping pimples damages the skin tissue, and if this damage is deep enough it will lead to acne scars and marks.
Ten years ago, the average person would have never even heard of gluten; however, today it seems to be the one thing that people can't stop talking about! It also became a nutritional villain blamed for all sorts of health issues, and a marketing bonanza occurred within the food industry as a whole range of gluten-free products were born and brought to market to provide those who truly should avoid (and those who believe they should avoid) gluten rich products.
So is this anti-gluten rally a step in the right direction to healthier living or yet another food fad? And more importantly, can eliminating gluten really help with acne breakouts?
Even though food is
not responsible for the underlying hormonal causes of acne, there are certain
products that have the potential to exacerbate acne breakouts or prime your
skin for new breakouts in the future. Dairy products are frequently cited as
one of these "problem foods", which has caused many an acne
sufferer to abandon some of their favorite dairy-based treats in the hopes
that this dietary switch would make their acne problems finally go away for
good.
Summer is officially here, and for most people that means eating lots of chilly treats to stay cool. However, when it comes to keeping your skin healthy and acne free, not all treats are created equal-many of our summertime favorites are loaded with excess sugar, which can lead to skin inflammation or glycation (a loss of skin elasticity and sheen due to collagen deterioration-collagen serves as the building blocks of the skin).
If you're smart about it though, there are plenty of summer treat options out there that won't wreak havoc on your skin! It's all matter of finding foods which have many of the important vitamins and minerals for good skin health, and thankfully there are plenty out there.
Keep in mind that simply eating healthy foods won't treat or reverse conditions like acne, which has more of a hormonal basis than a dietary one; however, these skin-friendly foods do a good job of supplementing treatments that do address conditions like acne directly.
The fact is that more than 1 in 2 women will develop acne during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester. The problem is how to manage acne during the pregnancy while ensuring the safety of baby and mother, and to help the woman to feel the best she can during this very important period of her life. After all, a happy mommy is the best mommy.
Below is some important information on what to avoid, and what you can actually do to safely manage your acne during pregnancy.
We do everything we can to keep our skin healthy. We change our skincare routines to suit the season, we try to eliminate any ingredients that may be harming our skin. We eat seasonal, organic, acne-friendly foods and remain dedicated to our acne treatment regimen. But sometimes, mother nature throws us a loop. Sometimes, the mild winter weather our skin was doing just fine in is suddenly arctic and unrelenting--and that takes its toll on our skin. Traveling from a cold destination to a warm destination can take the same toll.
So how do we keep our skin healthy during these crazy temperatures?
Not everyone wants overpriced roses and fancy dinner dates for Valentine's Day. So if you find yourself looking for a different way to celebrate YOU on Valentine's Day this year, consider throwing a mini spa party for yourself and even your friends! Also be sure to check out our other Valentine's Day articles for some healthy treat ideas and skin-friendly cocktail recipes!
Having acne-prone skin doesn't mean having to miss out on all the fun of either celebrating or not celebrating Valentine's Day! You can still enjoy yourself and enjoy a cocktail right alongside your friends without exacerbating your acne.
You might be wondering what sort of cocktail you could sample (of course, if you are 21 years old or older and... in moderation) that won't give you sugar overload and negatively affect your skin. Try these 2 amazing cocktail recipes - your friends won't believe how healthy and skin-friendly they are!
When we think of Valentine's Day, we usually think of candy hearts and boxes of chocolate from friends and loved ones. And for those of us with acne, we think about how eating all of this extra sugar may wreak havoc on our skin.
Need some V-Day ideas your skin will love? We've got you covered!
1. Handmade Valentines: Feeling loved and loving others is a surefire way to boost your mood. A happy person is one less likely to fall prey to stress, which can exacerbate acne. So spread the love this Valentine's Day with handmade valentines. Taking the time to craft a heartfelt message to your loved ones will remind you how happy you make each other, and your skin will glow with knowledge that powerful.
You want to throw a rocking Super Bowl party--what you don't want to do is ruin the fun by chowing down on foods that may sabotage all your progress to get acne-free. Luckily, there are easy ways to turn your Super Bowl Sunday skin-friendly without ruining the fun.
You know that pizza you were planning to pick up from the local takeout? Oh, and that store-bought guacamole? Forget about them and make your own. We know you're busy, but think of how much better you'll feel knowing you're munching on the healthiest, most nutrient-dense pizza and guacamole possible.
Toss your own whole wheat pizza dough into a thin crust. To keep the sugar to a minimum, skip the tomato sauce and top with a variety of fresh, organic, veggies--tomatoes, peppers, spinach, squash, you name it--and a sprinkle of organic cheese. Bake and slice into small, finger-food-sized squares and share with your friends.
Some of the fruits and vegetables that you'll find at your local markets can actually help to heal, cleanse and nourish your skin from within. However, you don't want to get too excited and start throwing any fruit or vegetable you can find into your juicer. Some fruits may be better for your acne-prone skin than others. For example, if you have found in the past that you don't handle apples well, then you probably shouldn't throw them into the mix: juicing fruits or vegetables that aren't right for YOUR BODY won't magically make them good for you.
Okay, let's be honest: we may have succumbed to temptation (some more, some less) over the holidays, and now we need a decisive action to repair potential damage we did to our regimen for acne-free skin.
Follow these 3 essential steps to get back on track. The best scenario involves combining all 3 steps in a 3-day super detox. If you cannot do it all together however, do it in 2 or 3 consecutive mini-detox periods.
Both women and men should look for non-comedogenic (non-pore-clogging) foundations and concealers if they want to cover up their acne or any marks and scars. Make sure your makeup does not contain any of the following comedogenic oils
Broiled Seafood Choose one of the following meats that are great for acne-prone skin. Always look for wild-caught when it comes to fish.
The holiday season is a time for beauty but also for stress and cutting corners on proper skincare, eating habits, and a healthy lifestyle (including getting regular sleep and exercise). It's no surprise that this is the time for acne to flare up.
So to make it up to your skin for slacking in these areas, here's a 12-day guide to keeping breakouts away:
Before exfoliating naturally with a papaya mask, try holding your face over a sink full of steaming hot water for a few minutes. This will open your pores and prep the skin for effective but gentle exfoliation.
Stress is a horrible feeling no matter what time of year it is, but it's especially horrible around the holidays, when it tends to creep up on us and keep us from getting the most out of family time.
Even more unfortunate is the fact that stress is more than just a feeling. No matter what kind of stress you're experiencing, your body will respond in the same way: Adrenaline, the number one stress hormone, speeds up the heartbeat, breathing and metabolic rate to give you a necessary rush of extra energy. Adrenaline is produced and stored in our two adrenal glands, which are situated on top of the kidneys. With long-term stress, these glands will deplete.
Too much stress on our systems releases excess stress-related hormones, enzymes and other chemicals that leave us anxious and tense--and also with overstimulated sebaceous glands, which leads to more acne.
When winter brings cold air, harsh winds and falling snow our way, we're quick to trade in our summer T-shirts and fall jackets for heavier coats, fluffy scarves and warm gloves. But did you know you should be changing more than just the clothes you wear on your body? It's very possible you need to change the products you use on your body, as well.
If you have acne-prone skin, winter calls for a different skincare regimen than the one that got you through the warmer months. Failing to adjust your skincare routine could result in dry, flaky skin that will only make acne worse.
Who doesn't want to go a bit overboard with makeup on Halloween? Though this is the time to get away with it, you still may want to do it in a way that does not exasperate your acne.
Here are some Halloween tips to look crazy-good but let your acne-prone skin survive the night.
Acne is a result of your pores being stuffed with too much sebum (skin oil) mixed with dirt, sweat, dead skin cells and, of course, bacteria.
We carve them, we stick them on our porches, we wait on line for once-a-year lattes, we make pies and soups and then we forget about pumpkins until next year.
So let's talk about why pumpkins should be on our minds all year round if you have acne.
Pumpkins are rich in nutrients and microelements that our skin and body can benefit from:
Acne-prone skin is usually a victim of too much sebum (skin oil) being produced by your sebaceous glands. It clogs your pores, and together with dirt, dead skin cells and of course bacteria will produce inflammation that manifests itself as pimples, comedones or cysts. Even the best makeup staying on your face overnight will add to this inflammation. Wash it out religiously each night.
When you exercise, you sweat... and sweat is a mixture of water and your skin oils. Adding makeup to this mix will clog your pores more and cause breakouts and enlarged pores, possibly perpetuating the acne cycle.
Cleaning your skin appropriately is recognized as potentially one of the most important "helpers" in acne treatment, as it can help remove bacteria-attracting dirt and extra, clogging dead skin cells from the pores. Unfortunately, if done inappropriately cleaning may actually hurt your acne-prone skin.
5 Rules for Cleaning Your Acne-Prone Skin
Although diet is not the cause of skin problems like acne, it plays an important role in their treatment. A poor diet can exacerbate acne, even if you do everything else right, but a good diet can help fight it. Since acne is an external manifestation of an internal disorder, the right foods can heal, cleanse and nourish your skin from within.
Here is the perfect menu to keep your kitchen acne-friendly:
Acne-Friendly Breakfast: Kiwi-flaxseed oatmeal and a skin-cleansing raspberry-pineapple-ginger smoothie
Why? If you don’t have wheat allergies, whole grains are great for you. They’re an excellent source of fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, thiamine, iron, beta-glucan (which may help regulate blood sugar), vitamin B6, and the antioxidants known as avenanthramides (which may help promote healthy circulation). Flaxseed provides a good dose of vitamins E and B6 as well as essential fatty acids (EFAs). Kiwi is rich in many microelements including zinc, which is great for acne-prone skin and also contains a load of antioxidants. A skin-cleansing raspberry-pineapple-ginger smoothie is a great healing drink that will reduce inflammation, provide a healthy dose of antioxidants and help your skin, and body, to regain a healthy balance.
Acne breakouts do not come from what you put on your skin, so they cannot be treated by topical products. In short-most acne may be traced to fluctuations in hormone levels, especially androgens (male hormones, also known as testosterone), and their power to over-stimulate sebaceous glands. As acne results from inflammation caused by sebum-clogged hair follicles (pores) and bacteria, routing out the factors that cause overproduction of sebum is very important. So if you want to break the acne cycle, you need to help the body to balance itself and stop over-stimulating the sebaceous glands.
That said, we also need to remember that the skin is the largest organ of our body. Just the top layer of the skin (epidermis) covers about 3000 square inches! This big organ is also a very vulnerable one, and your habits can either help to fight acne or... actually make your breakouts worse.
Although it may sound counterintuitive, some natural oils may help to fight oily skin and improve breakouts. There is much talk about coconut oil and whether or not it's effective in helping acne prone skin, so here are the facts.
In short, yes - most acne may be traced to fluctuations in hormone levels, especially androgens (male hormones also known as testosterone), and their power to over stimulate sebaceous glands. As acne results from inflammation caused by sebum clogged hair follicles (pores) and bacteria, ruling out the factors that cause over production of sebum is very important.
Treatment will help your body to negotiate or even eliminate the hormonal imbalance.
Oils produced by your skin's sebaceous glands are necessary to keep your skin healthy and supple. We would all be scaly and more like alligators without these oils! But as often in life, too much of a good thing is not good either - like the over-production of sebum (skin oil), which may lead to acne. Additionally, being too shiny is also a beauty problem that affects the way we look and our confidence. And since we often use make-up to camoflage blemishes, having very oily skin can interfere with make-up application and coverage.
Dermatologists agree that the most effective way to manage oily skin is to cleanse your face both morning and night, and to use oil absorbing masks. You need to use a gentle cleanser since harsh soaps can trigger the skin's protective reaction, and can increase oil production further. For the same reason, stay away from rubbing and buffing your skin; use a pat and dry system to limit the possibility of stimulating more oil secretion.
Before you begin to enjoy a daily skin care routine designed to provide you with healthy skin, please note the following general guidelines.
General Guidelines
It's hard enough to fight acne. But what is a person to do if these breakouts leave long lasting marks and scars on the skin? Acne scars result from constant damage to the skin due to acne pustules and papules, pimples/zits, cysts etc. Each pimple is associated with an inflammatory reaction, which causes local tissue damage when combating bacteria trapped in the clogged pores of the skin. On top of this, if you squeeze or pop pimples, this damage may be even more substantial.
When you get a cut on your skin, a scab starts to form, which actually helps it to heal. Acne pimples that become inflamed are like little cuts that need to heal; with chronic acne, repeat pimples and inflammation don't give enough time for the skin to heal properly. Therefore, the FIRST thing that must been done to break the cycle of creating new scars and marks (acne marks are also acne scars but less deep) is to PREVENT acne. This will allow collagen production and new tissue to rebuild your skin (at least partially) and as a result, make scars less visible, and marks vanish. So, PREVENTING NEW ACNE FROM FORMING IS THE FIRST CRUCIAL STEP TO GETTING RID OF ACNE SCARS AND MARKS.
Natural medicine has been used by people of all cultures for centuries. In some regions (cultures) such as China, India or Japan where natural medicine actually thrived for thousands of years, it has become a well-documented experiential body of knowledge. As different types of grapes have been grown and used on various continents to make different types and different quality of wine, a rich variety of different species of plants and herbs have been used around the world to treat similar ailments.
Modern natural medicine uses natural herbs and plants together with other natural ingredients based on principles and discipline of modern science, using testing, research, analysis, innovation and sophisticated equipment. But a "smart" modern natural medicine does not forget or deny the centuries of experiential knowledge of its grandfather - instead it learns from it, and then confirms it or rejects it based on the scientific data.