Acne – Acne Treatment – Acne Skin Care Tips

Archive for the ‘Acne – Acne Treatment – Acne Skin Care Tips’ Category

If you have acne scars, you know how much of your life has been affected by it. Well, maybe it’s time to do something about it and get yourself some treatment. It may be costly, but sometimes you cannot place a price on what you see when you look in the mirror. We have compiled a few different treatment options and separated the ones that will work for you and the ones that won’t.

1. Chemical Peels (light) - These types of chemical masks are going to be offered to you as remedies for acne scarring. They produce very little to no results at all. So be wary of them. An Alpha Hydroxy Acid solution is applied to the skin with cotton balls, exfoliating the skin and takes off the very top layer when it is washed away. These are more aimed at minor imperfections, not scars.

1. Chemical Peels (medium) - This is the type of peel you will want for your scarring. It has been shown to be effective on Ice Pick type scars. Tricolor Acetic Acid is placed on the skin either 1 or 2 times. The solution varies from 10-40% TCA. At times, 60-100% TCA can be placed directly on the scars. Because of the concentration levels, these should not be performed by yourself. Even with the 100% solution, you may not see noticeable results. Sessions are around $150 – 500 each and multiple sessions are commonly called for. The side effects are varied with this type of treatment. The worst possibly being that you need to avoid sunlight for up to several months after the treatment and use sunscreen at all times

1. Chemical Peels (deep) - These peels are just as ineffective as the light peels. You’ll want to stay away from these, as well. The cost is much higher, and these peels are not generally meant for people with acne scarring.

1. Steroids - The medication can be injected into Hypertrophic scars to interrupt the inflammatory process and cause a reduction to occur. The cost is $50-100 per session and more than one session is often necessary. Bruising, dilated blood vessels, tissue death, allergy, a lightening or darkening of the skin and atrophy are all possible side effects. There is no recovery period and if any change is going to occur, it will appear 6 after the first injection at the latest.

1. Augmentation - This is effective for Box type scars and Rolling type scars. Augmentation consists of injecting material into the scarred area, covering up the affected area. Materials used are varied, and researchers have still not perfected the materials. If fat is used, it will be taken from elsewhere in your own body. There are a number of possible side effects. In the recovery period, you are asked not to move your face for 24 hours, if at all possible.

If you suffer from acne, you know that it is a common disorder of the skin which can cause some serious damage to the psyche of the person afflicted. Depression, low self-esteem, and even poor body image are all things that people with severe acne often suffer from. If you have recovered from acne, you may still have scars on your face or back long after the breakouts have gone. While it may seem hopeless, there are actually several treatments that could reduce or even eliminate your acne scars.

If acne has left some pitted areas of your skin, where the breakouts used to be, collagen and other elements can be injected into these craters to puff them back up and make them less noticeable. This requires the expertise of a qualified plastic surgeon or dermatologist, so seek out the proper care.

Having a chemical peel removes the very top layer of skin and gets down to the newer, fresher skin underneath. This treatment can also help with old acne scars by removing those damaged top layers.

Similar to a chemical peel, dermabrasion is a procedure in which the top layer of skin is removed using a rotating wire brush. This is more helpful for people who are afraid of harsh chemicals on their skin.

There are also so over the counter, home remedies you may be able to try. Many companies now offer a home microdermabrasion kit in stores. These kits use a specific cleanser along with a microderm abrasion device that comes in the kit. It also helps to remove dead skin cells and stimulate new cell growth. These kits are great for lighter scars that don’t go as deep into the skin.

Also sold over the counter, are different creams that contain vitamin E, Shea Butter, Aloe and other natural soothing agents that have been show to reduce the appearance of scars and heal the skin. These area great first step. They do take some time to be effective though, so don’t give up after just a few days. Continue to use them on the affected area for at least several weeks. Take a before picture so that you have something concrete to compare the results to.

Acne is very frustrating for those that suffer from it. The scars that it can leave are just a permanent reminder of what you went through. The treatments listed above are all great ideas for you to look into and consider.

Acne affects over 50 million people in the United States alone and 20 million have permanent acne scars. That’s a impressive number. While everybody gets acne at some point in their life, some get it worse than others. If untreated, acne can cause scars. So, acne can be serious business. Most people think only teenagers get this skin condition, but adult acne is popular too. Nearly fifty percent of women have adult acne. Let’s discuss more about this annoying skin condition.

What is acne?

Believe it or not, dirt does not cause acne. Many people believe if you have poor hygiene that you have a better chance of developing pimples. That’s not true. Acne forms under the skin in hair follicle pores. An oily substance called sebum is produced by the skin to keep the skin moist and soft. But sometimes the sebum will get clogged by dead skin cells and other debris and this is the beginning of a pimple. Not only does acne affect the face, it affects the chest, shoulders, groin, and buttocks.

Acne Tips

TIP #1: Drink Water: Try to consume at least eight glasses of water each day to keep your body and skin hydrated.

TIP #2: Exfoliate

TIP #3: Cleansing: When cleansing the face, wash the your face with warm to hot water to remove the excess oil and makeup. This opens up the pores. When rinsing, rinse with cool water which shrinks pores and stimulates circulation.

TIP #4: Get enough sleep: Sleeping is your body’s natural healing process, so if you interrupt that, then you body doesn’t have time to heal. Try to get 7 to 8 hours of rest.

TIP #5: Stress: Try to maintain a healthy stress level. When stressed, you body goes through changes to protect yourself and this can trigger outbreaks.

Acne Treatments

1. There are over-the-counter products that contain benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid that helps treat acne. While these can work, if you have moderate to severe acne you will probably have to go see a dermatologist for a more intensive treatment. They may prescribe a medication.

2. A dermatologist will have certain treatments to treat acne pimples. They may use laser and intense pulsed light treatments that may have success with your acne. Your dermatologist will tell you what is the best treatment for you.

Acne is a serious condition and needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. It’s easier to treat mild acne than severe.

According to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), around 80-90% of people between the ages of 13 and 18 will suffer from acne in some form or other in their lifetime.

Many acne sufferers, especially young people, will be able to treat themselves and manage their condition with medication purchased over the counter (without prescription). However, for some people more intensive treatment will be required and therefore a visit to the doctor or perhaps a dermatologist will be required. Many authorities on the subject suggest that by the time most young sufferers reach their early 20s they will no longer suffer from acne. Although occasionally people with extremely sensitive skin may continue to suffer from the condition well into their 40s. There is also late onset acne which is only experienced when someone reaches adulthood.

Acne has no gender preference and both men or women can fall prey to this condition. However there are differing types of skin irritation and spots. It has been said that men tend to get more severe, longer lasting acne whereas women may be more likely to get the condition due to hormonal issues, menstrual cycle, and even as a result of a reaction to cosmetics used on their skin.

Widespread statistics would also suggest that men are less likely than women to seek advice for their acne from a dermatologist.

Acne and Hormones

Sex hormones play a major part in the flourishing of acne, as do hormones generally. During puberty, large amounts of hormones are produced, including testosterone which is the main hormone produced by males and progesterone and oestrogen which are the main female hormones. Interestingly enough, women also produce testosterone as oestrogen is made up from testosterone by special cells found in the ovaries. However not all of this testosterone is used therefore some of it will pass into the blood stream and work its way around the body. Testosterone is the hormone that encourages the sebaceous glands to expand and become over stimulated thereby accelerating the condition of acne.

Differing types of acne

Many types of acne have been recognised by dermatologists and some are listed below.

· Occupational acne

· Adolescent acne

· Infantile acne

· Keloid acne

· Cosmetic induced acne

· Drug induced acne

Each of the above listed types of acne can become apparent in people of any age, apart obviously from infantile acne which as the name suggests only becomes apparent in babies.

The most common form of acne is the adolescent type which is mainly due to the increased hormone levels during puberty.

Drug induced acne can be caused by medication or some types of drugs.

Cosmetic induced acne can be caused by using certain types of cosmetics too frequently.

Keloid acne is usually thought of as a more severe type of acne and usually manifests itself by way of bumpy unpleasant spots.

Occupational acne is generally caused by close contact with harsh chemicals.