Acne Magazine : Skin Care, Tips, Treatment Reviews

My sister made me happy recently when she said she may find a job soon at a place where she can actually also enjoy the services instead of just work there, somewhere like a laser center.  I asked if she thought maybe she could get me a reduced price on services and she thought maybe, so I was already starting to fanatasize about getting these pesky age spots on the side of my face lasered right off, because apparently laser therapy can help immensely with age spots.

Also though, it may be able to help greatly diminish acne scars that are still pigmented.  I’m not sure if it’s a really good treatment as far as smoothing out pits and nicks from acne scarring, because that may require more of a serious laser resurfacing, which could potentially require a lot of downtime and pain, as opposed to a more superficial laser treatment that only abrades the outer skin layer instead of the deeper tissue which results in more pain and swelling and trauma, and increased down time before you fully recover.

She said that she had a few spots of sun damage lasered off and could tell a difference right away.  What  laser does it is zaps away the localized area, so it does not “wound” the surrounding tissue, and this localization allows it to focus the beam in one targeted area and essentially remove the brown spot all together, without making the surrounding area red or swollen, but instead taking the pigment out of that one specific area.

It also is one of the better treatments for age spots because it supposedly is not as likely to leave a white spot in it’s place, which can be a side effect of certain prescription fading creams that take the melanin out of the skin over time but also may whiten the surrounding are in certain skin types.

I just got done flying, and in addition to somewhat of a fear of flying in the first place, I also cant’ stand what the recycled, stale air on planes does to your skin.
My boyfriend and I were flying to South Carolina to enjoy his new nephew that was born just a few weeks ago.  We happened to be flying on a Continental Express Jet, which is the same type of jet that crashed in Buffalo New York recently, killing all people on board and one person on the ground.  We knew about that one on the way home, and since we heard the plane was de-icing on the way home we weren’t too fond of that either.

The express jets tend to be rickety to begin with and also they are not noise proof, so you can hear literally everything coming through, so you can barely hear yourself of anyone talk.  Also, because they are able fly at lower altitudes they tend to get more turbulence, which makes for a bit more of a nail biting ride.  The air on them is just like all other airplane air.  It is recycled, so if you think about it, it’s actually kind of gross because you are breathing all the other passenger’s air in because there is no fresh air.

True, they do try to recirculate it as much as they can, but it doesn’t always work so well.  This is also the reason that airplane air is so drying and irritating to your face, and also a reason that it’s so easy to contract the flu and colds on them.  The stale air, combined with the heat they blow on you to keep you warm (it’s cold up in the air, even in the summer), your skin instantly shrivels up.

We were only on the plane for about an hour and half total on the way there and the way back, and my skin was tight and uncomfortable, and looked awful when we went into the airport bathrooms to freshen up.  It also tends to aggravate acne because in response to extremely drying conditions, your skin tends to overcompensate and pump out more oil, which can aggravate your skin condition even more.

Before you get on a plane, make sure your skin is well hydrated.  Drink lots of water on the plane, and if you can, try not to wear any makeup, just a lot of moisturizer that’s deeply emollient, this can help to mitigate the rough environment on your skin.

I just saw a sort of unflattering photo of celebrity Lindsay Lohan on one of the pop rags that is linked from Yahoo or some other major outlet, which obviously was one of those full on – reality style shots that most of us get the luxury of seeing ourselves take – without the airbrushing and photo shopping that accompany a lot of these magazine cover style photos that you see in the magazines, which I am convinced are secretly conspiring to rid young women of all their self esteem and confidence by making them feel inferior.

Seriously, I think it’s really hard to be a teenage girl growing up these days with all the pressure to be thin and look a certain way, it’s a wonder that we can still instill good old fashioned soul-deep confidence in women.

With all the images they are bombarded with of girls with perfect skin, altered body parts and skinny bodies, it’s hard for women especially to maintain a sense that this is not what’s important in life when they see these types of women being adored and admired by men and other women.

I’m hoping that the tide is turning on this, maybe it isnt’ and I’m just aging and starting to see things from a different perspective, but I’m hoping that with all the ridiculous hoopla over things like Jessica Simpson’s weight or a zit that comes out on Cameron Diaz’ or Katie Holmes’ otherwise perfect complexions, people are starting to realize that this photo shop, cookie cutter look isn’t doing any good for any of us.

I have found that vitamin C is a great ingredient in a cleanser to look for if you have acne prone skin.  It is not irritating, and in fact, helps the skin to shed old dead cells and look more radiant, plus it helps to scrub away the bacteria that creates acne in the pores.  Now, the one thing I do think is a misconception about cleanser ingredients is that they stay on the skin, they don’t.

What you really want to make sure you buy high quality are the moisturizers and other products that actually stay on your skin, but cleanser does just wash away.  That doesn’t mean that some cleansers don’t do a better job at cleansing and not overdrying, but don’t go overboard on spending in this arena because in the end those ingredients are just washed away by water.

Have you ever noticed that avid, and frequent coffee drinkers almost always have problems with oily skin, or bumpy skin?  Many times, it also exacerbates acne.  I’m not saying that the occasional cup of coffee will hurt, but there are lots of people who are hooked on several cups of coffee every day, and that’s almost always bad news for your skin, unless you’re one of those lucky people whose skin seems to be immune to high doses of caffeine.

I, as frequently discussed before, happen to be one of those people is somewhat hypersensitive to caffeine when it comes to my skin.  Sometimes, I can drink one large cup of coffee, and depending on how rich it is (ie, how much caffeine is in it, the darker, richer roasts tend to be more heavily caffeinated unfortunately), I can almost be guaranteed to wake up with a few new “friends” on my face the next morning, or sometimes even that very same day.

I doubt everyone is as susceptible to coffee or caffeine as I am when it comes to the clarity and evenness of their skin, but I’m willing to bet there are a heck of a lot of people who are coffee drinkers and have bad skin that have not yet put two and two together.  I happen to know a few people as acquaintances who I guessed were heavy coffee drinkers by the look of their skin, and guess what, I was right!  They had a sort of “inflamed” look to their skin, with bumps and uneven tone, and a more oily look to it, which only exaggerated the look of the bumpiness.  I know because this is exactly how my skin reacts, only at a faster pace than some others.

I have to admit though, I really have grown to love the taste of coffee, so I’ve found that choosing a decaffeinated variety really tends to agree with my skin a lot more.  You see, decaf coffee is not truly 100% caffeine free, but it’s darn close.  They decaffeinate the coffee beans through a special process, so the coffee does taste a bit different, but if you go with a high quality decaf, say Starbucks or even better an organic brand, it’s really close to the real thing.  You can dress it up with cream just like you do with any other regular coffee, and it satisfies that craving.

I’ve switched to decaf in the afternoons when I take a trip down to the Starbucks that is in our building at work, and their brew is excellent.  It gives me that satisfaction, and a little tiny boost, and it doesn’t affect my skin at all.  Another thing I’ve noticed is that it has the same appetite suppression qualities as regular coffee does, at least for me, probably just because it’s still hot liquid, which tends to make you feel full.

One of the things I’ve sort of backed away from over the years as my skin has matured, is using a lot of topical acne treatment products, whether they are drugstore brands, online herbal higher quality brands, or prescription.  The reason is, I hate the fact that most acne treatment products that are topical in nature are also drying by their very nature. I’ve tried scores of topical products over the years, and unanimously my favorite I’ve always come back to are products that are made with a salicylic acid base.

I just personally find salicylic acid to be much less drying and irritating, with an added benefit of exfoliation and skin renewal, when compared to it’s other common acne fighting counterapart, benzoyl peroxide.  Benzoyl peroxide tends to be a little more drying and irritating, at least for me, whereas salicylic tends to be a more gentle alternative.  Some people may feel conversely, since all skin reacts differently to different products depending on the thickness of the skin, ethnicity and other factors such as sensitivity.

Because I live in Northeast Ohio, we have very rough, long winters here.  With long, cold winters comes another undesirable – dry skin.  My skin gets very dry during the winter months since the humidity in the house is virtually nothing (I know, we really need to look into getting a humidifier, I’ve thought about it plenty of times), and if I even put a topical acne treatment product on one blemish, that area tends to get very irritated, red and flaky.

You really want to try to use topical products for acne sparingly in the dry, cold winter months since your skin doesn’t have that extra moisture barrier that is provided by humid environments.

There’s been a lot of talk about how blue light acne therapy in a dermatologist’s office has worked wonders for those with what they think are hopeless cases of acne.  People who have tried everything under the sun including antibiotics, expensive topical treatments prescribed by dermatologists, and other acne drugs that have not worked, have been able to find degrees of success with blue light therapy.

However, as with just about every other single acne treatment under the sun, including the herbal acne remedies that I tend to talk about so much, blue light therapy for acne does not work for everyone.

Some dermatologists say that blue light therapy works on about 90% of their patients, and I would think that would be just about accurate.  Because dermatologists are able to offer the highest form of the treatment with the most strength, they should get the best results, and usually patients don’t have to do it daily but instead roughly once a  month – which is a good thing because they usually cost anywhere from fifty bucks to a hundred bucks a pop.

Blue light therapy is supposed to work much better on the specific skin problem of acne, whereas red light phototherapy is supposed to work better on aging skin to help soften wrinkles and lines, reduce age spots and rejuvenate the production of collagen.  Blue light is supposed to target the bacteria deep down in the pores that causes acne blemishes, and that is why it is the recommended light for acne.

Many, many patients have seen dramatic improvements in their skin from using blue light acne therapy, and there are also several home blue light acne treatment devices that cost a tidy sum but also that in the end save you hundreds of dollars over dermatologist office treatments.

I was reading a really interesting story on the changes ideals and beauty standards that have occurred over the past century and beyond, and noticed that there seems to be one consistent standard of all the women who have been considered the great beauties from the 1930′s and beyond : great skin.  That means great skin tone, color, and of course something that we can’t change unfortunately, which is bone structure and symmetry of the face, unless you want to undergo certain types of surgery which can improve some of your facial features to fit this “standard”.  But then what fun would it be if we all went around looking like the same person?

Some of the great beauties of the millenium have been women like Audrey Hepburn, who had luminescent skin that looked like it had never been in the sun – a common theme of beauties back then who were in the acting or entertainment profession.  Another one was Elizabeth Taylor, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford ( I never did like her harsh look though, something about those eyes just doesn’t look very kind, but that may be her daughter’s story rubbing off on me too), and then of course there were the alabaster skinned blondes that started popping up.

Those women included Betty Grable, Jean Harlow, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Mansfield, and a bevy or other more forgettable blonde beauties.  They all sported porcelain skin.  Remember, this was way before the “tan” look came in, and I’m hoping it comes back in, since it’s better for our skin that we just get the necessary amount of sunlight for our health and vitamin D intake, not enough to look concistently tan year round.

If you fast forward into the nineties, you’ll find that women with great skin still graced the pages of the “most beautiful” and some spilled over into the nineties from the eighties, such as Michelle Pfeifer, who is still as gorgeous as ever and has skin that looks untouched and natural.  Cindy Crawford’s another one with her natural, darker good looks and tawny skin tone, and Halle Berry is an example of flawless skin as well.  The bottom line is that good skin that is radiant and healthy looking is still one of the top qualifying qualities to have when people consider how attractive others are, whether a man or a woman, and that seems to be something that will never change.

It’s the very reason the skin care industry is so huge, and that so many people express concern about various skin conditions, as big one being acne.