Acne Magazine : Skin Care, Tips, Treatment Reviews

When it comes to back acne, there is one thing that is very important in preventing getting those big, plugged up comedones that seem to take forever to go away, and that is venting.  Yes, I said venting.

What I mean is that when you are say exercising, or you are going to be in the hot sun for a while, wear something that is very light and airy, not a thick material, even if it’s cotton which is one of the more breathable fabrics, because it causes the dirt and sweat to just sit there without evaporating, and this increases the likelihood of you getting a big zit in the area because of the clogging of the pores.

I made this mistake the other night in the sauna.  We have a far infrared sauna in our basement, which I love retreating to at night as a means to escape not only the harsh winter weather her in Ohio where I live, but also a means of skin purification, which I think has helped the clarity and tone of my skin immensely.  The bench seats of the sauna heat up as well on their own, creating a relaxing place to lay your back, especially if you suffer intermittent back and neck pain, as I have for fifteen years now thanks to a series of car accidents that left me with spinal misalignment.

I usually will wear a very sheer tank top into the sauna, but this time I chose a heavier cotton tshirt because I was too lazy to find out where my newly washed gauzy tanks were.  I laid down on my back like I usually do, for about fifteen minutes before I sit and start to read, and the next day, because of the trapping of the sweat and dirt (i’m almost positive that’s why), I woke up with a huge under the skin zit.

If I wear what I’m supposed to which is light and vented clothing with a lot of breathing space, then I dont’ get these, but if I don’t, then that is the outcome which goes to show it really does matter what you’re wearing when you know you’re going to be sweating a lot.  I have another example of trapping sweat and dirt in the upcoming post, but this one is about sunscreen.

I’d like to solicit some of AcneMagazine’s readers to share their experiences with various acne treatments, so that we can all better understand that some treatments may work well and some others may be total flops.  I’m not just talking about alternative or natural treatments, or even just over the counter, although I’d like for those to be included as well.  Heck, even include some crazy home remedies to help acne if you’ve tried them.

But I’d also like anyone who has tried various prescription medications for acne and had different experiences with them, and even salon or spa treatments (I’ll give examples of what I mean here : blue light therapy, soft light, microdermabrasion, peels, etc., those types of pampering treatments that are supposed to help with either acne or acne scarring.

The reason I’m asking is that I like to keep it fresh, and although I always try to stay abrest of what the latest options are in the treatment and skin care realm for acne, I certainly don’t profess to know everything, and I learn new things every day too.  I’m looking for an open forum on experiences if you’d like to share, just leave a comment below, and as long as it’s not spam and you’re not putting links in it that are irrelevant to this discussion, it will be accepted.

Thanks everyone!

I wrote about a week or so ago about how I had purchased a retinol based product called RoC deep wrinkle night time treatment cream, which has gotten high marks for helping to “iron out” heavy deep wrinkles, especially where I’m concerned, which is crow’s feet coming off he sides of the eyes.  It also may help with a little of the bumpiness that I notice from time to time on my chin I’m hoping, but there are also good acne scarring products that help to even out this unfortunate side effect of suffering from acne for years as an adolescent.

Retinol is actually a great product for wrinkles because it helps to exfoliate the skin, but it also helps to thicken the skin, or so I understand through the reading I’ve done on the popular skin care ingredient.  So, I figured that with my purchase of the RoC deep wrinkle product, I may enjoy not only wrinkle reduction benefits, but also benefits in my skin tone and evenness of it.

I wrote that I experienced a breakout initially when trying this product, and I did, but it has now subsided about a week later.  I think I’m noticing an improvement in my skin, but then again, the power of suggestion can be very powerful in the mind and I’m not discounting that it’s wishful thinking yet, especially since I’m not that far into using it yet. I’ll keep you updated on both the wrinkle reduction aspect and the possible benefits it may have for scarring or unevenness.

My boyfriend and I have embarked on a goal to lose the weight we’ve put on over the past two years of moving into our new, and first, home.  I guess I’ll chalk the extra weight up to stress, nerves, and being preoccuppied with decorating and preparing our first home in as short amount of time as possible to the weight gain, but in reality we got lazy and comfortable, and we both love our bad foods, so it really took it’s toll on both of our bodies, and of course, my complexion suffered at times also, but I almost felt I had developed a sort of immunity to eating bad after a while, as sad as that sounds!

Well, we’ve been back on the wagon since the end of January, and let me tell you, I feel like my face not only looks like it has so much more clarity and tone, but I also feel like I look younger than my 34 years would have you believe, and I feel like it has taken on that youthful glow it used to have also.  And guess what else?  Not very many random, unexplained breakouts either, go figure!

We’ve both been eating about 1400 calories (him about 1600 to 1800 a day since he’s bigger) , and we’ve really been increasing the vegetables in our diet, decreasing any type of sugar or refined white flour products, and also being very aware of getting fruit in daily. More specifically for me, which I think has made a huge difference in my complexion and less of a proclivity toward breaking out, is the fact that I get quite a large daily dose of antioxidants (the acne supplement Acnezine works on the basis of increased antioxidant intake) because I eat a lot of blackberries and blueberries in my yogurt with breakfast.

Since I also pair this with slivered almonds, and my diet is low in fat, I think it has created the ideal situation for my skin. I’ve also virtually cut out any alchoholic beverages, which I believe are dehydrating to the skin.  Plus alcohol is metabolized by the body like sugar, which is no good for hormone control and balance, nor is it good for the blood sugar, which should both be balanced if you hope to have clear skin for any extended period of time.

I’ve said it over and over again, but diet is key to having great skin.  I also believe exercise helps because it rejuvenated the circulation, and adds that special glow that only physical fitness can give to your skin.

We’ve discussed the wide use of antibiotics as an acne medication, usually for a shorter period of time hopefully since long term antibiotic use has so many dire implications now that we know it’s not good for us (it’s been linked to breast cancer in women, for example), and we’ve also discussed why I think anything more than even a few weeks on an antibiotic is a very bad idea (yeast imbalances, problems with replenishing healthy flora in the colon and intestines, where they are needed to promote proper digestion and comfort, and the list goes on and on there).

Well, apparently some grocery and drug store chains thought it was a good idea to fill antibiotic prescriptions for free last winter, and although this was an awesome outreach to their customers and a very good hearted idea, it may have actually been doing more harm than good according to the CDC, which is the Center for Disease Control, responsible for controlling outbreaks of disease and other spreadable illnesses.

They said that encourage antibiotic use may actually help to create antibiotic resistant strains of illnesses more quickly, since we’ve already jumped to more and more concentrated antibiotics, and the older ones like penicillin are practically obsolete because viruses have built up resistance to them over the years.  They say that what was definitely a good intentioned program may actually be promoting people to abuse and use antibiotics much more than they need to, and may be hastening our next leap into needing stronger and stronger prescriptions for certain illnesses.

I am 34 years old, so needless to say, in addition to fighting acne, which I’ve always had problems with on and off since I was 14 years old or so, I’m also worried about fighting the creeping crow’s feet and other various fine lines and wrinkles that have made an appearance on my skin in the last few years.  Because of that, I chose to go with an agressive retinol-based product which is supposed to be one of the better wrinkle fighters.

Retinoids are actually of the family that are in Retin-A and other topical medical acne treatments, and you can buy them in weaker form over the counter in anti aging and wrinkle creams and products as well.  They help to slough the skin off, but in addition, they are also supposed to make your skin a little bit thicker, which means that it is a little less likely to show wrinkles and fine lines.  Because of this, it may also cause some initial redness, flaking and irritation as advertised when you first begin to use it.

I chose a retinol based OTC cream called RoC Deep Wrinkle Night time cream which is formulate to attack those agressive deep wrinkles and expression lines that we all get as we age and our collagen breaks down along with the elasticity and integrity of our skin’s defenses against the elements.  It advises on the back of the tube of the product, which comes in a one ounce package for a little over twenty bucks in a drugstore, although I did find it online for cheaper at about eighteen bucks, that within the first few days of use you may experience redness or flaking and irritation, depending on the sensitivity of your skin.

I have been using it now for three nights, and I got two fresh pimples on my face, which I think are from using a new product, one on my lower right cheek, and the other on my lower left chin, which I’m sure have to be related to the use of the product and my skin’s adjustment since no other factors have changed that I can pin it to.  I’m going to keep using it though, I think my skin will adapt, and I really want to see how this retinol stuff works on wrinkles!

Anxiety plagues all of us to one degree of another, and for those of us who really “let it get under our skin”, it literally can ruin our skin during periods of heavy stress, because stress and anxiety throws our hormone balance off.  Anxiety can range from a mildly apprehensive feeling to a full blown panic attack.  Sales of anti- anxiety prescription medications are at a very high level.

When using prescription tranquilizers to calm anxiety, the drawback is that you become convinced that you need a pill to control anxiety and will not rely on your own inner resources.  Tranquilizers can become an addiction which in itself can cause more anxiety.

Natural methods to control anxiety are often the best way to combat your stress.  Practice relaxation techniques by sitting in a quiet room and maintaining a focal point such as the word, “calm” or “relax” and your breathing.  Once you are used to this in a calm quiet room, you can use the same technique in stress producing situations by returning to your focal point, for example the word “calm” and your breathing.

Yoga definitely helps to attain and maintain a sense of calmness.  Yoga helps to soothe tense muscles and oxygenates your body.  When anxiety takes off to a panic attack, many people are hyperventilating.  Deep diaphragmatic breathing can alleviate the hyperventilation.  To overcome your panic attacks, you must work on your thought processes behind your anxiety.

Remember that it’s okay not to do everything perfectly, you have options and it’s not that important what other people think.  These kinds of thoughts help to reduce anxiety.  Remaining positive in your outlook and hopeful for the future help to minimize anxiety too.

A little bit of anxiety can actually be a good thing to motivate you to prepare for classes, speeches and the like.  An overload of anxiety can block creative thinking, problem solving and make you ill at ease in any and all social situations.  If you suffer from high anxiety, it is a problem worth confronting through natural techniques where feasible, counseling and a reordering of your thought processes.

There are multitudes of topical ointments, creams and scrubs to take acne under control.  Also, in the fight against acne breakouts, there are dermatological prescription drugs such as common antibiotic prescription drugs like tetracycline and monocicline, and the most serious drug of course for the most severe of acne cases which is Accutane, but both of which you can take for severe cases of acne.

Nutritionally, there are some ways to try to keep acne at bay.  While there is no absolute cure for acne, proper nutrition can play a key role in minimizing acne.  Fatty acids can be quite effective in clearing up the cyclical acne that occurs in women right before her menstrual time.  The kind of fatty acids that are helpful to combatting acne are the ones that come from borage, fish and flaxseed oils.

Certain vitamins and minerals can assist in clearing up acne.  Beta-carotene, which is a form of vitamin A, helps to protect the skin from bacteria.  All of the B-complex vitamins, which help the body cope with stress, can help as a natural treatment for acne.  Acne flare ups and stress go hand in hand.

Another vitamin that is important for acne sufferers is vitamin C.  Vitamin C is imperative for the health of collagen, which is a major component of the skin.  Vitamin E helps the body absorb and use vitamin A.  Vitamin E promotes the health of the skin. Zinc is and important mineral to include for healthy skin.

Herbally, there are a number of herbal acne remedies and supplements that can be used to treat acne.  Certain herbs can be combined to brew a tea that can help heal acne through lymphatic cleansing.  The herbs useful for this purpose are red clover, burdock, yellow dock, dang gui, milk thistle, cleavers, schisandra, echinacea and licorice.

A steambath for your face using yarrow tea can be helpful in treating acne flare ups.  Lean over the basin of steaming tea mixture with a towel over your head to get the effects of the steam.  Keep your head close enough to feel the steam, about 12 inches, but be careful not to get too close so the steam will not burn your face.

Biore is one of those infamous product lines that started off with a single seemingly “revolutionary” product and then just exploded into several other product lines and spinoffs, some of which are subpar, some of which get the job done in my opinion.  They started off, of course, as being known as the company that came up with the Biore Pore Strip, which was a nifty little strip of something like flypaper that you wetter and attached to your nose and other big-pore areas.

Being the innate pickers that we are, we thrilled when, just a few minutes after the pore strip hardened, we were able to rip it off – but ever so carefully and at the right angle, so we got maximum debris to stare at – and marvel at the gunk that these little strips got out of our clogged pores.  However, these strips were sometimes met with criticism because they sometimes unplugged pores that were not repaired correctly, as they would have been in a dermatologist’s office, and many times a little hole would be left in the skin, or it would become inflamed and infected.

However, they sure are a fun little item to use once in a while, although I have not used them since that exact thing happened to me on a pore that was particularly oversized right by my nose.  I think since the novelty’s worn off a bit on the Biore pore strips, they figured that it was time to come up with newer products, and one of them is a new line called the “recharging” line that is supposed to rev up your skin, detoxify it of every day wear and tear, and make it look newer and brighter again.

I have not tried any of the products in the new line, but I’ll tell you what they’re going to be comprised of if you’re interested in trying one of them out (we sure would appreciate you posting a review here if you do try one of them).  The first product in the new Biore line is a daily scrub.  If you have inflammatory acne, I usually recommend you stay away from anything with “scrub” in it, since it often has small irritants that may cause more redness.  If you are not sensitive to scrub-types of products, then by all means have at it and give it a try though.

The second product is a cooling eye gel.  Another is a foaming face wash, which I’m always a fan of, since it feels like it’s really cleansing, but not drying like some soaps can be.  They also offer a self heating mask, which may help unclog the pores as well, and a day cream and night time skin serum, all which should help to renew and revitalize the skin, and they have also introduced a line of cleansing cloths, which are pretty nifty.  I used them, but not this brand before, by Oil of Olay a while ago.  It was kind of cool to wash your face with the cleansing cloths because they seemed to get your eye makeup off better, but I did have to stop using the Olay ones because they did not have any acne fighting ingredients in them.

I was researching to find out what topical products might be best at helping to sort of resurface bumpy skin areas or patches, since this is one my personal pet peeves about my own skin.  It seems to always come back on me, even though I do all kinds of microdermabrasion treatments, chemical peels and I also try to avoid caffeinated beverages and products which seems to make my skin worse as far as the bumpiness goes.

So I’m always on the lookout for topical products that might help with the bumpiness that is on my chin from years of suffering acne breakouts as a teenager and in my adulthood as well.

I found out that one ingredient that is used in a lot of anti aging product now called Retinol, may actually help with this because it helps to thicken the skin up and smooth it out, which is contrary to the products that I usually use in this arena, because they usually do the opposite – they strip away layers of superficial skin, leaving the newer skin cells exposed, which helps the skin look fresher, cleaner and brighter.

Not that I don’t like that either, and I think that there are purposes for both thickening the skin as well as stripping it away to help facilitate faster cell turnover, but I wanted to try something different so that I could see which method might work better both for my aging skin as well as for the remnants of my acne scarring (aka bumpy skin texture) on my chin and right by my nose.

So, I decided on a product that I’m going to try, but I haven’t gone out and purchased it yet because I’m waiting to use up my other cream before I buy it, like a good, financially responsible girl!  It’s the RoC product called Deep Wrinkle night time cream, and has one of the higher concentrations of retinol in over the counter that I read, so I’ll let you know how it works on my skin.