What is Acne

Acne is the most annoying thing that millions of us are struggling to find a solution to. Before we start talking about ways to break free from acne, I think it's very important for us to understand what is acne and how it find it's way to the surface of our skin.

Acne is a condition when pores get blocked by growing bacterias and serbum (oil), which eventually can form to be the following familiar end-products:


1) Black heads - blocked pore opens up to the surface of the skin which allows oil to oxidize forming the color black.

2) White heads - blocked oil and bacteria stayed below the surface of the skin, not visible to the nacked eye

3) Pimples - when white blood cells break into the blocked pore and merges onto the surface of the skin.

4) Cysts - a closed sac beneath the skin that contains semi-solid materials.



The cause of Acne can be the combinition of overly active oil prodution + normal skin bacteria (supposed to be good since they fight off bad backteria on your skin) + pore blockage. Oil production is highly related to a hormone called androgens (more in men than in woman). The level of androgens increase prior to a woman's period and also during purberty and that is why teenagers are more prone to acne as well as 50% of the women who break out every month right before their periods.

How to Prevent Acne

Prevent acne from happening again? it's easy to say than done but here are a few things that we can TRY to work into a habit in our every day life to minimize the chances of acne:


1) Keep your Face Clean

• do not cover your face with hair; let your skin breath.
• sleep on your back so your face will not touch your bed sheets!
  
• wash your towels/pillow cases/bed sheets often.
• avoid unnecessary touch of your face because your hands are probably not germ-free.
• wash face twice a day with a good cleanser that contains salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. however, do not over-wash your face as this will only irritate it.
  
• Try to avoid use cosmetics if you can. If not, oil-free cosmetics are recommended!
  

2) Eat Well - you are what you eat

• Try to eat more vegetables and fruits rather than starchy foods
• Apple seems to be helpful to some people
  
• Yogurt also helps if you keep on eating it on a daily basis
• Take dietary supplements to keep skin healthy
  

3) Exercise - extremely important to keep your body moving on a regular basis. it keeps your metabolism in check and helps your total body fitness, which in turn will reward you with healthy skin. On one note: do not over exercise yourself! too much exercise can cause body fatigue, which will lead to physical stress -> hormone imbalance -> increase oil production->possible acne :(

3) Good night sleep - Try to have 7/8hrs of sleep every night. Your body needs a reboot in order to function properly the next day and so does your skin. So don't be reluctant to remember taking a 'beauty nap' either!




4) Reduce Stress - involving in a supportive network (family, friends, your neighborhood community), practice in meditation, yoga are all examples to help in reduce stress. The more your laugh, the less stress you'll have in life.

How to prevent scarring from already present acne

1. Do not pick or sqeeze your pimples ever!
2. Do not use harsh face wash to deep clean or scrab the pimple area. Try to use soft cleaner to gentlly cleanse the area
3. Prevent imflammation
4. leave the newly danmaged skin breath - do not put make up or anything that would put burden on the new skin.
5. Protect the possible scarring area with sun screen - sun exposure will make it worse.
6. Use natural prodcuts to help healing the wood - aloe-vera

How to treat Acne Scars or Blemishes

There are a lot over the counter products, dermatologist prescribed medications, as well as some very costly procedures such as lazor treatment and chemical peels for Acne scars. If your acne is moderately light, you can try some of the following remedies. However, if your acne scars are servere, then you may want to talk to a dermatologist on possible treament plans. Over the counter prodcuts and home remedies are generally much more affortable than any other treatement plans.

1) lemon - cut lemon in half and apply the citris on the spotted area...let it soak into the skin for 20~30mins before washing off.

2) Alovera - drinking alovera containing beverages can help you cleanse your body. But if you have an Aloe vera plant at home, it should be perfect to peel off part of it for blemish/scar treatment. Not only does it help healing scars, it also has high amount of vitamin E, and some Vitamin A and C to help your entire face strengthed, hydrated, and replenished.

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