29
September
2008
I read an interesting piece on a dangerous diet trend in Hollywood and other looks-conscious industries and locales about how Adderall, the medication that is often prescribed for both ADD (attention deficit disorder) and ADHD (adult attention deficit disorder), is being used as an appetite suppressant and weight loss and maintenance method by (mostly women) that are extremely mindful of their figure due to their industry or profession, or just want to obsessively control their weight, even if it is with a potentially dangerous and addictive substance.
When I read further I discovered that Adderall is actually made with an amphetamine, which as we all know is the key component, although admittedly chemically different, in methamphetamine, a street drug that is causing widespread problems in people who become addicted to it. One of the most notable outward signs a person is a “meth addict” is that their skin looks completely awful, almost as if it has holes in it because meth actually eats away at our skin.
Women are turning to getting Adderall prescriptions (yes, whether they have ADHD or not, under the guise of being treated for the mental disorder), for appetite suppression as well as for the euphoric feeling that Adderall reportedly gives after it’s ingested. Apparently there is virtually no appetite as the medicine kicks in.
However, many have reported that, like how I had problems with my skin on Vicodin, their skin becomes a broken out mess. Like Vicodin, Adderall can cause skin aggravation for many people who are sensitive to stimulants, such as coffee, tea and caffeinated beverages or stimulant diet products.
Adderall is a stimulant, which is why it also suppresses the appetite for those that use it for that purpose. I went online to see if it may cause acne after I read the article about how it is being abused for diet reasons, and found that, like I suspected, it did cause many’s acne to worsen, or caused people with clear skin to get acne.
Posted: Acne News
26
September
2008
Well if there was ever a tip that I said didn’t work for my acne that tons of people disagreed with me on, it’s the tip to use baking soda on new acne lesions.
Countless readers have said this has worked fairly well as far as natural treatments for acne go, and have said that they just rub it on like a paste onto the new acne and it seems to take redness away as well as speed recovery and healing of the acne lesion.
It makes sense on one hand because baking soda would work as an antibacterial agent which may help the zit from getting inflamed and infected, which does help it to clear faster, I think you just need to watch you’re not putting it on open, raw zits as that may irritate them more. However if you have a new zit forming that is still under the skin baking soda may be something to try to help it heal faster.
This is a comment a user had on baking soda :
I just tried this technique because I’m at my wits end trying to get rid of acne! I’ve never had a problem as a teenager so I found it strange that I’d be having a problem now. I’ve tried multiple face creams and washes only to lead to disappointment.
I do have some questions: should I apply the baking soda as a mask or use it as a regular face wash? I used it as a regular face wash tonight and my skin is already starting to clear up–well at least the redness is gone and the pimples are hardly noticeable!
Posted: Acne Home Remedies
23
September
2008
I am a huge fan of using spongy makeup pads to apply my foundation. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to actually go back to using my fingers before I found my favorite makeup pads, which are only found at Wal-Mart that I know of. The ones I use come in a white color and are oval or egg shaped, and they are still the only makeup pad I will use, so I don’t know what I’ll do if they ever discontinue them.
Makeup pads are great for applying your makeup, especially for those that have had acne and have scarring and unevennes they want to cover up or camouflage, because makeup pads help you to apply just the right amount of foundation. Because they absorb some of it, you don’t end up with that excess makeup on your face, which can lead to a chalky look, and you also don’t usually end up with too little either, which can leave your less than perfect areas not adequately camouflaged. They give a great finish and I recommend them to anyone who uses liquid foundation like I do.
Now, for the bad part. And I’m not saying I haven’t been occasionally guilty of this too, is that sometimes you can go too long between washings and let your makeup pads build up a lot of old makeup, dead skin and bacteria. Because they are essentially wet when you’re done using them, they can accumulate bacteria very easily, so take care that you wash them periodically.
I’d say a good rule of thumb is to wash them out about once a week. This way you don’t let too much gunk build up in them. Many makeup application sponges are washable, you just have to read the label. If they don’t indicate it, just try one out. I usually wash mine in the sink with warm water and add a tiny bit of soap to get the old foundation out, and then let them air dry because I’m really not sure if they are drier safe or not - they may shrink or be ruined from the heat. This will ensure that you don’t aggravate your acne or bring on new breakouts since we all know that trapped bacteria in those nice clear pores is one of the worst things to cause acne.
Posted: Acne Cosmetics
20
September
2008
Tetracycline, ah, now there’s a name from my acne fighting past. Back when I wasn’t even old enough to drive and my face started breaking out worse than any of my friends and from there became quite a real problem thanks to my raging hormones, my mom took me to the dermatologists and I was put on the antibiotic tetracycline, which back then was one of the most popular acne treatment medications on the market.
This was even before Accutane came onto the market - that was just a few years later that it came bursting on to the scene as the savior of those with acne who had tried everything and anything. That was also before many of the problems that are now associated with the medication were known. It was also before any of the potential long term problems with tetracycline were known as well.
There has been some evidence, and I’m not sure how strong, that long term use of tetracycline, or any other antibiotics, may lend a helping hand to the development of breast cancer in women. I remember the first time I read this and it scared me because although I wasn’t on it for years and years, I was on it for a while, at least a year, and wondered if that could potentially increase my risk for developing breast cancer down the line.
Add to this the fact that my aunt, on my mom’s side, who passed away from breast cancer years ago, was on tetracycline for years as a teenage for very bad acne, and I thought there could definitely be something to this link. Then I also thought, maybe it’s just an unrelated fact, since women with bad acne who have been put on tetracycline or other antibiotics also typically have hormonal imbalances, and this may be a risk factor for breast cancer in itself. What do you think?
Posted: Medical Acne Treatments
17
September
2008
I have been on the birth control Alesse for some time now, and I’m thinking I’m just about done with the period in my life where I’ve been on birth control pills, which has been at this point about 6 years straight. I am in a monogomous relationship, and have been for six years, so I’m going to try my luck and see if my doc will let me get an IUD since I’m tired of being on the pill. I have a sneaking suspicion that my intermittent depressive and anxiety episodes may be due to being on the pill.
I think Alesse has helped slightly with my skin, but at what cost? I’ve been reading more and more reports how many women believe the pill has made them have so much anxiety and depression that they nearly feel as if they are losing their mind periodically, and that’s not worth the pregnancy prevention and the other side benefits of being on the pill in my opinion, especially when there are other methods out there that don’t mess with your natural hormones either or contain synthetic hormones.
Many of us with hormonal acne can acknowledge the praises of the birth control pill when it comes to the fact that some of them can help clear and control acne breakouts, but many of us also acknowledge that it makes us feel crazy half the time. Some women even complain that their contraceptive pill has made them feel very numb and disconnected emotionally, which is typical of classic depression.
I have read so many different things about different birth control pills that it’s difficult to say which pill has the least side effects for whom. Some say that Yasmine, or Yaz is great, but others said they had such extreme emotions on it that they had to quit taking it almost immediately, while some say ortho tri cyclen has worked for them without depressing them, but others say they felt anxious and about to bust half the time.
Honestly, I don’t think there is one magic pill, and if you’re at a point in your life like I am now, you may want to kiss the pill goodbye for good for your emotional health. If you have no problems at all on the pill, then all the more power to you!
More updates on this later since I have an appointment with my gyno next week and plan to ask her about the IUD and other alternative, non homronal alternatives to birth control. Wish me luck! I’ve heard some docs don’t like to give IUD’s to unmarried women, which in my opinion isn’t totally fair, but we’ll see how my doc reacts. For other treatments specifically targeting the hormones (but naturally) see hormonal acne treatments.
Posted: Acne News
14
September
2008
Hi, I was wondering do I have to use different SPF during winter? Is it true that we should wear SPF15 during winter and SPF30 during summer? I use the same sunblock with SPF30 all year round. My sunblock also acts as a make up base so is it ok to reapply it?
Thank you.
Answer :
Hello! I saw you posted a comment on Acnemagazine.com about sunscreen on your face in the winter and summer. First off, thanks for contributing to our comments, we always appreciate that since if one person has the question, another most certainly does (usually).
You had asked about wearing SPF of 30 in the summer and and SPF of 15 in the winter. I think this is a good rule of thumb, however, even in the winter if you are going out on a sunny day, the sun can be just as strong as it is in the summer, especially when it’s sunny and there is snow on the ground, the UV rays basically bounce off the bright white snow and still penetrate your face.
Many skiiers will get sunburnt because they don’t wear sunscreen and come home with sun and wind burn on their faces. So I’d say 30 is still called for in certain situations in the winter.
Of course you always want to make sure you wear a sunscreen that is specially made for the face. The one I’m using right now is by L’Oreal and it’s actually a brightening cream that also happens to have an SPF of 15 in it, and it works great for me.
Many of the facial moisturizers now have SPF in them already, which makes it easy to protect your face and also make it look good at the same time. Any facial cream usually should be noncomedogenic unless it has an oil base in it, so check the label, but I know Neutrogena has a great oil free face lotion with SPF in it.
As far as reapplying it, I’m not usually for reapplying any emollient over itself again, because it tends to trap in the dirt and oil that is already on the surface since it’s usually into the day and if you have acne prone skin you usually get a lot of surface oil and dirt fairly quickly. If you have to reapply, I’d say at least take a blotter and blot your face before doing so. Otherwise, I would either use a mild astringent and then reapply or wash your face with a very mild cleanser and then reapply.
Posted: Skin Care Tips, Questions
11
September
2008
We have a new page dedicated to a very serious subject for those of us with acne that have the deep, painful acne that begins with serious hormonal imbalances and seems too hard to get rid of to even try sometimes. It includes a summary of the medical treatments available for hormonally related acne, as well as some natural solutions that will help to get those imbalances corrected through natural herbs and other botanicals that have shown through the years to help regulate hormone activity.
Many of us experience acne either on an ongoing basis or periodically thanks to hormones. Women experience acne many times because they have too many androgens, or male hormones, in the body, and men sometimes experience acne because they have too much estrogen, or too much testosterone in their bodies, and believe it or not it is possible to correct these issues through both natural means and medical treatments, and you can also help these issues through your diet and lifestyle in certain ways, which is also discussed on this important new page, so take a look - Hormonal Acne Treatments.
Posted: Acne News
9
September
2008
A lubricant that is used on condoms that are especially designed for people who work in sex industries to protect them from STD’s and also for gay men from contracting HIV as well has become somewhat of a sensation in Cambodia. I’m not sure how someone found out that the stuff can help the acne on your face (I’m sure I could venture a guess, but that’s be inappropriate content for our forum:)
At any rate, the lubricant that is used for condoms is called Number One Plus and has many talking about how it’s a sort of home remedy of sorts for acne spots. It is a water based lubricant, which as we all know is important in moisturizers, makeup and any other sort of ointment, cream, gel or cleanser we put on our face if we have acne.
The people who swear by it say that they notice their acne bumps dry up within a few days. I’m not sure if this is a separate moisturizer that comes with the condoms or whether you must garner the lubricant from the condom itself (I’m trying to imagine how that would go). No details on whether this is a cost effective alternative to actual acne medications and other herbal supplements or cleansers for acne or topical cleansers etc. that are made especially for acne prone skin, but if I hear more on this lubricant/acne treatment (wink wink), I’ll let you know.
Posted: Acne News
6
September
2008
We’ve talked about the very serious acne drug called Accutane several times here because it is currently the most potent form of acne medication available, and it only really used in extreme cases because of potentially very serious side effects. It’s biggest side effect is serious deformities in babies that are conceived by women who are on the drug, so serious that they are debilitating and patients must agree to go on birth control before they are even allowed to go on Accutane since doctors are that worried about pregnancies occurring while on the drug.
There was even a lot of business about a registry that was taking place because of the serious concerns raised by Accutane and pregnancy that raised some eyebrows, but now seems to be sailing along a bit more smoothly after some time has passed. A 24 year old woman recently died as a result of being on Yasmin, which is the birth control pill often recommended for female patients who are on Accutane for acne treatment.
A side effect of Yasmin and some other birth control pills, albeit an extremely rare side effect, is a pumonary embolism. An embolism is basically a blood clot that travels to the lungs. It is generall a rare thing, but especially a rare side effect of Yasmin according to manufacturers. Pulmonary embolisms are deadly if not treated. In fact, I believe this is what a patient died of who was a victim of unlicensed plastic surgeons just a while back in the news.
This young lady did end up passing away shortly after admission to a hospital after collapsing and being rushed to the hospital. Apparently she had symptoms of a pulmonary embolism and hadn’t gone to a doctor for it, which unfortunately may have saved her life. If you ever have a lot of violent coughing and breathlessness, please go get it checked out! How was she supposed to know though, I don’t know that any of us may have just thought we were coming down with something and not put two and two together.
Posted: Acne News
3
September
2008
Well, we have another exciting page for your to peruse for your acne beating reading, and it’s about a curious treatment that has actually beena round a while but which only recently took off as far as home treatments go. It’s the blue light, and also red light acne treatments that you can actually now perform on yourself in your own home at a tiny fraction of the cost it would be if you were to have these in a professional’s office.
Blue light is an extremely healing and therapeutic way to get the skin to heal faster. So is red light, but blue light is the one more often used for acne for some reason, although I myself have had fantastic results using my home soft light therapy wand on my skin, both with my acne as well as with my softer wrinkels around my eyes since it helps to regenerate collagen and build it back up.
Light therapy is a way to eliminate bacteria beneath the surface which is bound to cause acne, but it also helps to dramatically speed the healing and recovery of any current acne lesions, and also to lessen the time that any new ones will be a blemish to your gorgeous face! It’s gained rave reviews by many of it’s users for a reason, light therapy is a great, healing way to get rid of acne, and also to help plump and firm the skin by speeding collagen production, so it’s really a fantastic way to get two things done at once on your skin.
But don’t take my word for it, read more about acne blue light therapy on our new page, which has links to the top rated home blue light acne products as well if you’re interested in seeing how others review them (there’s tons of reviews too).
Posted: Acne News, Miscellaneous Alternative Therapies
