Preventing Acne Made Easy

Preventing acne made easy simply by applying simplicity approach in your view on acne. Most of us fear when we have acne, fear when we have acne scars and even fear having to face future acne problems.

Acne happens to anyone from the time they hit puberty around 11 years old up to even 40 years old. Though the actual cause of acne is unknown, there are many factors that contributes to the formation of acne.

Hormonal changes in our body is affected by many factors, where some are internal and some are external. Internal factors sometimes cannot be controlled such as puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, when we are ill, stress and also the food we eat. External factors includes stress, environment, polution and climate.

Preventing acne made easy simply by looking at the whole acne problem from the root cause of it. Most of the time, it is not so direct but the link from where it came from can be found. Currently, research have found that acne is the result of the food we eat. Food like junk food, processed food and sugar is said to be the caused of it. That is partially true because, it affects hormonal changes in our body that is not natural and thus triggers hormones that aggravates the skin and causes acne.

To prevent acne before it happens, we have to understand the importance of hormonal balance in our body. For example, large dosage of sugar can cause a spike in our blood sugar level which can lead to acne and also other illnesses such as weight gain and diabetes. It does not mean all these will happen together but depending on the severity, the worst can result to illnesses as severe as diabetes.

As sugar level in our blood stream is extremely sensitive and also very important to our health, it is best to keep it in check and at a healthy level. There are ways to keep it in check by eating the right foods that contain the right nutrients.

Chromium, Essential Fatty Acids are often found lacking in people who suffers from acne problems. This is not entirely the people's fault as it can be due to the food we eat today that has gone through an even more complex process than 50 years back, that it strips off big amounts of the nutrients we need.

Another easy way that many people use to eat healthily to stay healthy is by monitoring the Glycemic Index (GI) of the food they eat. Knowing the GI level of the food will help them to choose to eat more of low GI foods and less of high GI foods.

There are many uses of the GI, and one of it is to help people to keep their blod sugar level balance. For that, it is recommended to consume low GI food as it takes time in digestion to break down the complex carbohydrate food over time and thus releases sugar into the blood much slowly. This gives us time to burn off some of the sugar before more sugar is added into the blood stream.

Sugar and refined-carbohydrates can cause acne as it indirectly affects the hormones in the body thus leads to acne. It can be simplify by being aware of these foods and ingredients that are contain in your meals and snacks to prevent acne. The key to preventing acne made easy is to be a mindful and aware eater. Choose the right and healthy food to help you prevent from acne.

image source : http://boston.com

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Salicylic Acid For Acne Treatment

Many people uses salicylic acid for acne. It is known as beta hydroxy acids (BHA) used as an active ingredient in many skin care products which has been evaluated by the FDA and the cosmetic industry. There are many benefits of salicylic acid in skin care which includes reducing of wrinkles and fine lines on the skin, improving skin texture and also work as an exfoliator.

According to sources from FDA site, salicylic acid should be used with precautions which includes

1. Discontinue usage of the product if it irritates the skin
2. Consulting physician and chemist
3. Follow instructions and doses recommended on skin care labels
4. Include sun protection when BHA product is used.
5. Avoid using BHA products on infants and children

Though the use of salicylic acid for acne is commonly known, there are other uses of salicylic acid for other ailments such as psoriasis, calluses, corns and warts. Salicylic acid can makes the skin dry which may lead to scaling. Salicylic acid also causes hyperpigmentation when concentrated salicylic is used or salicylic acid is used without sun protection when there is sun sensitivity.

Generally, how salicylic acid work is by breaking the impurities on the skin that causes clogged pores to prevent bacteria from growing and causing inflammation that results to pimples.Salicylic acid is a recognised and evaluated ingredient in skin care but you should bear in mind of its drying effect on the skin and always remember to hydrate and replenish lost water from your skin after using salicylic acid.

When using a skin care product to cure acne, it is important to gather information to help you purchase a right product for your skin type. This includes getting to know our skin type and it's allergies, your budget, skin care products and its ingredients, methods of usage of the skin care products and also physicists help.

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Easy Home Remedies Using Castor Oil

Last week, a friend of mine asked me to buy for her an ingredient to make one of the easy home remedies she's been making. The ingredient is nothing but Castor oil! That reminded me of the benefits of this ingredient that I want to share with you here to help you in your quest to battle and cure acne.

Somehow, at my home area, castor oil was out of stock and I found it in a small little asian shop. The owner was a little puzzled as he told me that castor oil is used as a detox remedy. Anyway, it is quite a traditional method that not many have heard of especially for skincare. Castor oil has many uses and have been used by many over many years ago. It is a traditional oil to heal other diseases including the one the shop owner told me about. So, now here I am going to share with you on using Castor oil as a acne skin cleanser.

Castor oil is a thick and goey type of oil, which resembles thick honey. Though it is a type of oil, it is not very much like baby oils which are slippery. Castor oil is in light yellow color and have been used to treat many other diseases besides skin problems. Here's what I usually do to deep clean my skin.

First, I wash my face with a gentle cleanser.You can use warm water to wet your face as it opens up your pores. Open pores allow you to clean the impurities like dirt easier that tighten pores. After massaging your face with the cleanser, wash it away with cool water.

After that, I put a drop of castor oil, diameter of about 3 cm, and massage it on my face. I usually let it stay for a while around 10 minutes, like doing a facial mask, to allow the oil to sink it and do its cleaning on my skin.After that, I use a gentle gel cleanser and wash off the castor oil. It doesn't make my skin feel oily but somehow feels supple and hydrated.

Alternatively, Castor oil can be left overnight to let it soak and cleanse your skin thoroughly. According to the book "Handbook Of Dermatology : A Practical Guide", you may find that it is also one of the way to use Castor oil to clean your face. Personally, I didn't do it as I find that it is messy for me to leave it overnight, which is why, I chose to leave it on like any facial mask to let it clean my skin adequately.

The benefits of Castor oil is that it is anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and completely natural as it is extract from a plant. It is versatile and can be mix with other lighter oil if you are not use to its thick texture.

Now, go hop along with a bottle of castor oil, use it as a cleanser to treat your acne.

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Benefits Of Avocado For Skin

Avocado is one of the popular natural ingredients that are in many major skin care. Here, we will let you into some of the benefits of avocado for skin that you may want to know and understand to use it for your own homemade skin care.

Avocado is rich in vitamin A,E, D and B6. Benefits of avocado can be derived from consuming it or applying it on your skin.

Avocado is a natural antioxidant and prevents the skin from premature aging. It also helps the skin to repair itself more efficiently and gives the skin a healthy natural glow. Avocado can be eaten and can be used to create different types of skincare products such as facial mask, facial cleanser and facial scrub.

Avocado is rich in oil and fat and is mositurizing to the skin. As it increases the oil on the skin, care should be taken when you use it to prevent your skin from being too oily. Though it is a natural moisturizer, use it sparingly if you have oily skin to avoid excess of oil on the skin.

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Cure Acne Naturally From A Balance Health

If you are a yoga practitioner or know and experience using traditional medicine, then you will be familiar with the phrase of imbalance of your being. Acne, like any diseases is a sign of imbalance and to cure acne naturally using the holistic approach, mostly are through herbal remedies and dietary.

Remember the phrase "You Are What You Eat" ? That pretty much explains how our diet and foods affects our skin and causes acne. We are indeed affected by the food we eat and ingest in our body. There are many other chemicals that goes into our body without us knowing such as products we use like skin care and medicines.

The key here is to watch what you are eating and eat more healthy food that helps improves your skin such as vegetables and fruits. There are foods that are rich in certain nutrients including antioxidants and nutrients that help heal and repair the skin.

Other factors that contributes to bringing a balance to your internal health includes exercise, habits, environment and lifestyle. Eliminate as much as you can of negative environments and habits and do more activities that are healthy and with healthy eating habits, you will dramatically improve your skin and bring a long term solution to your acne problems. Though this is not a fast, overnight cure for acne, it is a way to cure acne naturally, gradually and permanently.

source : everystockphoto.com

Acne No More System is a method using holistic approach to treat acne. It is a step-by-step program that guides you in treating your acne through hormonal and internal health balance. You can learn more about Acne No More System for a non-chemical program for acne treatment.

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Acne Cysts Home Remedy

Acne cysts are usually big, red, painful, inflammed nodules and are filled with pus fluid. Anyone with acne cysts hates it the most because it makes it inconvenient for them as it is big and very obvious. Besides that, it is also a very uncomfortable experiencce because it is very sensitive and can be rather painful.

Acne cysts are big, and are capable of leaving scars that are hard to clear as when it ruptures, it affects larger portion areas of the skin. The cure for acne cysts is to dry up the liquid and pus filled inside the acne before it ruptures and damage the skin.

As usual, the human way of squeezing and popping the acne is a big no-no. As our finger contains bacterias that cannot ben seen by the human eyes, we have to be extra careful and avoid letting the acne cysts to have contact with our hands, hair and anything that might transfer more bacteria to the already inflammed skin where the acne cysts is at.

Clay mask is very effective in bringing out the impurities from the skin and it is the perfect agent to use to bring the cystic acne to the surface of the skin. Usually, the acne cysts are big and red, but over time, as it grow, it slowly turn yellowish underneath as the pus-like liquid starts io fill it. Clay masks can suck up the pus and the liquid filled in the cysts wihout needing you to squeeze or pop it. It is better as it will not damage the skin like how squeezing and popping will.

There are many clay masks available over the counter. Kaolin is sometimes part of natural clay masks, which is a drying ingredient to the skin. You can use natural clay masks or calamine lotion to dry up the spot . To avoid making the skin dry, just dab the clay masks on the spot itself and let it dry.

Use tea tree oil on the acne once the cyst is cleared. It will still be a bump but without liquid or pus in it. To kill off the bacteria, tea tree oil is the best product to apply on. It soothes the skin from inflammation and kills off the bacteria.

For better care and treatment for acne cysts, it is always better to consult the dermatologist. For future prevention, proper diet and eating healthily can improve your skin and prevent acne from occuring. Our diet and eating patterns affects our skin and it is important to adopt healthy eating habits.

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Types of Acne Scars

I came across the types of acne scars and would like to share it with you. Here is my diagram which is pretty common. As you can see, there are 4 types of acne scars which is the ice pick, box scar, rolling scar and the hypertrophic scar.

The diagram illustrates how the acne scar shape is like. Notice not all acne scars are like a hole on our skin because the one like the hypertrophic ones are like a new tiny piece of meat grow on top of our skin, causing i to look like a bump.

I've also found some pictures to share with you because drawn diagrams can only do so much - that is to illustrate the pattern of how acne scar damage the skin. I think it will be much more helpful to use real pictures so that you can identify it better.

Left : Ice pick (source : dermatology.fromyourdoctor.com )

Right : Box scar ( source : www.bioskincream.com )

Left : Rolling Scar (source : www.acne.org )

Right : Hypertrophic scar ( source : acnescarremovalresource.com )

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