Acne Magazine : Skin Care, Tips, Treatment Reviews

Yes – you read correctly. I said “needles”.  Pretty much anything having to do with needles creeps me out to no end. I hate getting shots, am unable to give blood because of them, and don’t think I’d ever get Botox just because I really don’t like needles – they hurt and they’re just really brutal looking.

I associate needles with pain and discomfort, as many of us do. I’ve developed somewhat of a phobia to them because they almost never are associated with anything good – except maybe acupuncture, which I’ve never tried.

Well, I was moved to intrigue by reading about this little, roughly twenty dollar, device that has a bunch of “microneedles” on a roller that is supposed to help the skin.  The microneedles are really tiny, and they are made of stainless steel of course, because they actually are supposed to slightly penetrate the treated areas.

The microneedle skin device is on a little hand held roller that you literally roll all around on your face or other treated areas. Does it hurt? In my experience thus far, yes, there is definitely discomfort and an unpleasant feeling. Especially in certain areas that are more sensitive, like say the upper lip where there is very little fat to cushion the blow of a needle penetrating your skin.

So obviously you know by now, I bought one of them microneedle rollers for myself. I bought it because I read that it can help over time with things like fine lines, wrinkles, leftover acne scarring and age spots and hyperpigmentation.

I’ve used the microneedle derma roller exactly three times now. The first and third time I couldn’t get all the way through the whole prescribed regimen of rolling it ten times across one area and then ten times in an “X” pattern over the same areas.

As you are rolling it with normal pressure, you can sort of hear and feel the tiny needles making small punctures in the skin.  If you have really sensitive skin, it is recommended that you use a numbing cream. I did not use a numbing cream because I didn’t want all those chemicals on my face every time I used the roller, so I felt every little prick.

What is the idea behind the microneedle dermaroller? Well, it is supposed to help your skin treatments absorb much deeper and work much better.  But on another note, simply puncturing your skin in and of itself is probably another mechanism by which it works to smooth older scars and wrinkles out, and to break up things like age and liver spots, somewhat like the theory behind laser therapy for scarring, but not quite as effective.

The first time I used it, my husband said I looked younger the next day. The second and third I didn’t notice any differences the next day. I’m hoping as time goes by I can get better results with regular use. I plan on using it twice a week – on the weekends, so I don’t necessarily have to go anywhere for a few hours if I’m all red and irritated.

Happy Thanksgiving to all AcneMag readers!  We want you to have a happy, safe and indulgent Thanksgiving today. Forget about the stresses of work (and maybe even family) today and just let it ride.  Don’t go into a food coma if you can help it

HAVE A HAPPY SAFE THANKSGIVING DAY!!!

While it is of utmost importance that we eat an anti inflammatory diet to help keep breakouts at bay and keep our skin smooth, even toned and supple, it is also important that we use anti inflammatory types of topical products.

Why? Well, we don’t want to use products that irritate our skin even more with harsh chemicals and detergents – these actually PROMOTE inflammation. This is why we have some recommendations for natural, gentle acne cleansers that we feel help promote healing and smoothness as well as a reduction in any redness or irritation.

Some of the best anti inflammatories are antioxidants. This means things like topical vitamin E, argan oil, tea tree oil, lavender essential oil, olive and coconut oil, and other topical oils that contain large amounts of naturally soothing antioxidants seem to work the best when tending to overworked skin.

One of the recommendations for topical anti inflammatories has been rubbing ground up aspiring with a bit of water on the face. I never had too much luck with this reducing my acne breakouts, but some people do.

Try very hard to avoid things like parabens, sulfates, benzoyl peroxide and other harsher chemical types of ingredients. If the ingredient is several words long, for example, you probably can guess that it is a chemical concoction that isn’t so great for your skin.

I know a lot of the anti inflammotories I listed above are oils, and people who already have oily skin tend to shy away from this. That is totally understandable. But most of them are noncomedogenic. That means they do not clog the pores and lead to further acne breakouts.

If you use them minimally and don’t load them up on the face, they are less likely to cause pore clogging and you still can get the benefit of the antioxidant properties.  You can also gain a lot of benefit from this if you also have aging skin, or perhaps even rosacea, which is consistently reddened and irritated, flushed skin.

It is perhaps even more important to apply topically anti inflammatory products for skin that suffers both acne and rosacea, since these are both inflammatory skin conditions.

Argan oil is primarily known as an ingredient (a somewhat trendy one at that) in conditioners and shampoos for dried out and damaged hair. So now why are people talking about argan oil for the treatment of acne? Apparently there is some information that this active ingredient in the “Moroccan Oil” hair products may also have some thereapeutic benefits for acne.

Contrary to popular belief, there is a cure for acne, whether or not you choose to fix it through lifestyle and diet, or natural remedies. Whether you are trying to prevent, lessen the effects or completely cure a blemished face, argan oil will significantly help your skin. This oil is created from the nuts of argan trees.

The main ingredient in this great oil is the essential fatty acid linoleic acid which is actually an excellent ingredient in acne soaps and cleansers, which is known for its healing properties for the skin.

The culprit for most cases is an overproduction of sebum oil in your body. This is typically caused by a hormone surge in your body. Using this natural oil helps to reduce the production of the sebum oil in your body, therefore reducing or eliminating your blemishes. This great oil also has anti-aging and anti-wrinkle benefits, making it a perfect solution for smooth, blemish free skin.

Just how can this oil help? It is different than the rest of the creams and other solutions marketed to cure acne because it treats the root of the problem, rather than just offering a topical solution. By applying this oil to the body parts that are most prone to blemishes, you will help your body reduce the amount of sebum production. By balancing the amount of sebum oil in your body, your skin will be smooth and blemish free.

Using argan oil on a daily basis will also help to unclog pores that have been affected by inflammation and irritation from too much sebum oil. Clearing out these pores is like giving your skin a new lease on life. Clean pores equals clear skin, which means no more blemishes.

Since it’s is 100% natural, it’s safe for almost anyone to use, even those with sensitive skin types. With its antimicrobial and pH balancing properties it also aids in the reduction of skin irritations.

For smooth, wrinkle-free and acne free skin, a natural and effective approach is to use argan oil on a daily basis. Known for its natural ability to smooth skin and help to unclog the pores in the skin, after using it for a few weeks, you should notice a major difference in your skin’s condition.

Treating Cystic Acne With Retinol

There are several different types of acne, and each type requires a different treatment. Cystic acne is the most severe form, and it often does not respond to typical treatments. Retinol has proven effective in the treatment of cystic blemishes, although it has some potentially serious side effects.

Anyone at any age can get this medical condition. There are several myths surrounding how not to get it, such as different foods to avoid and ways to wash the face. The fact remains that some people will suffer from this medical malady, regardless of what they do.

Cystic blemishes are the most severe form of this illness. Many people will refer to a severe case of this illness as being cystic, but in order to truly be cystic, it must be coupled with soft, fluid filled cysts under the skin.

The cystic sufferer may complain of the cysts being very painful. Sometimes the cysts can be accompanied by hard lumps under the skin as well. These hard areas are called nodules and they are painful too. The worst cases of this illness takes a long time to heal and often leaves areas of discoloration where a blemish was.

Retin-A hit the market over 30 years ago as a way to treat the worst cases of blemishes. Over the decades, this medication has been improving and is now available in several forms. Retin-A is vitamin A in its purest form. Vitamin A is one of the best vitamins for the skin.

The retinoids in vitamin A work to decrease the amount of excretory fluid released by sebaceous glands and regulate the rate at which skin cells are sloughed off, the two main causes for the worst type of blemishes caused by this illness.

Until recent years, Accutane was only available in pill form. The treatment consisted of taking oral vitamin A for a period of time, as determined by a physician. During this time, patients were required to undergo blood tests to make sure the vitamin A was not harming the body.

Recent years have seen the addition of a topical preparation of vitamin A. The topical preparation is most effective for patients who suffer from mild to moderate acne vulgaris. Side effects are significantly less with the topical preparation of Retin-A, and results have been almost as effective as the oral preparation of this medication.

Retin-A is an effective way of treating the most severe case of blemishes. This medication is now available in different formulations for patients to use. The main ingredient in Retinol is vitamin A. Patients will need to be followed by a physician while using Retinol to ensure no adverse effects of this medication are experienced.

What is the number one rule when it comes to “popping pimples”?  Hopefully you answered “You should NEVER pop pimples, you should always let them come to a soft head on their own and own gently extract them when they are good and ready”.  Why is this?

Well, because when you extract a pimple before it is ready, which is when it is not really under the skin any more, but almost completely surfaced to where it only has a very thin and fragile layer of skin on top of it and almost comes out at the softest touch, you do damage.

You do damage to your skin because you are essentially breaking small capillaries and busting the skin around the pimple, simply to get it to surface. Nine times out of ten, you won’t even get a pimple to surface that way. Instead you end up with redness and irritation, and an even worse looking area surrounding the pimple.

It also increases the chances of acne scarring by tenfold when you cause trauma to the skin around the pimple like this before it is ready to surface. If you even have to push with a little bit of force, you are doing it too early.

If you are impatient and you aren’t seeing the pimple surface within a day or two before you felt it form, then there are some ways you can help it to surface a little more quickly.  One of the best ways is to hold a warm washcloth on the area for several minutes. This helps to encourage the pimple to the surface a little quicker.

You can actually go in to a professional aesthetician if you are worried about messing up your own extraction. A trained aesthetician can extract blackhead as well as whiteheads. They can gently heat them, and they have special extraction tools that will help them to minimize trauma. The pimple still has to be “ready” though.

For pimples that are deeply under the surface of the skin, you can actually make an appointment with a dermatologist and get a shot. They shoot an anti inflammatory literally right into the pimple, and it usually heals and dries up within one day.

Now, of course this can get expensive.  Typically only people that can afford this type of luxury get this done – such as starlets who have a deep pimple before a red carpet event!  But if your dermatologist offers them at a reasonable cost without an expensive office visit fee on top of it, this may be an option for you.

Sea buckthorn essential oil is an oil that is extracted form the sea buckthorn berry. It’s not the cheapest thing in the world, so it is often used sparingly in skin care products that contain it.  Sea buckthorn berries are rich in something called palmatoleic acid, which has skin soothing and moisturizing properties that get deep into the skin.

It has naturally anti inflammatory properties as well, and has demonstrated some success in helping to heal acne scarring as well as burns, cuts and other wounds as a salve.  It is high in vitamins A, C and E naturally as well. These are all excellent vitamins for the skin.

Sea buckthorn extract has a very distinct scent to it.  I would personally described it as a very earthy, dense scent that has a hint of fig or raisin to it. It’s not unpleasant by any means like other essential oils can somtimes be such as carrot seed oil. Again, that’s my personal opinion. What one person deems offensive to the nose another deems delightful!

Sea buckthorn essential oil shows its potent antioxidant capability in its deep orange color. This often shows that an oil is rich in antioxidants, as many of them are naturally rich and dark in color when found in nature.  I have used it on my skin in the past mixed in with lotions as a way to help heal my skin as well as to help keep wrinkles and fine lines at bay.

It has never caused me to break out, which makes me believe it is not pore clogging. However, this may of course vary per individual.  Since it was most commonly used in skin healing for things like contusions, burns, bumps and bruises, it can be very useful when an acne lesion first begins to heal to help along the process.

Since it contains vitamin E naturally, it helps act as a soothing agent as well as an antioxidant that helps prevent further cell damage and scarring from the original wound. It is also excellent for mature skin as it shows properties that it retards aging in older skin (this would be true for younger skin too of course).

While it is not an “acne treatment” oil in and of itself – in other words, it would not be used in a natural acne cleanser, it has powerful healing qualities that would be good in a lotion or cream – noncomedogenic of course – in lower concentrations if you were looking for something with a healing effect.

In order to have good healthy clear complexion, it’s very important to develop healthy habits. Maintaining good skin cleansing and diet habits is imperative in order to have clear healthy complexion. Here are some tips that one can use on a daily basis. Remember to use gentle care when attending to your skin.

Over washing your skin on your face and other areas, can result in extremely dry areas. One tip, that is essential is never go to sleep with make up on your face. That will lead lead to clogged pores, which in the majority of cases lead to acme. Another tip, the temperature of the water you use to rinse off dirt and or make up should be room temperature, versus very cold or very hot.

Always use extreme gentle care when removing makeup from your face – you know from reading before if you’re a frequent reader that I’m an advocate of natural acne skin cleansers that are gentle because over drying or irritating the skin with harsh chemicals or surfactants is a surefire way to increase breakouts, not defeat them.

The following tips seems to be very beneficial to a nice natural glow, is to use natural products, on your face. They tend to be less harsh. Harsh chemicals in commercial products can cause a lot of damage. Some natural products that work well are Almond oil, it probably is the best natural moisture one can use. It is only necessary to use extremely small amounts, around the eyes and mouth, and in any other dry areas.

This is much more potent then any commercial product you may have used in the past, so it’s important to use as little as possible. A little goes a long way. Mayonnaise works very well as a moisturize too, but not for people with acne I might add – people with acne are better off to use  noncomedogenic moisturizer that is all natural. These products are to be used on dryer complexions, if they are used on oily complexions, it may make the condition worse.

Scrubs are very good products to use on all complexions, mud based ones, or apricots scrubs work best. Gentle is the word that is very important in all rituals for a great complexion. Make sure to always keep your hair out of your face, if your hair has a tendency to fall onto your face, use a headband or elastic to keep it off of your face.

The oil from the hair can make acne worse, or in some cases bring it on. Many think that the sun can make acne better. It can for a very short period of time. You should always use sunscreen, because sun burn can cause permanent long range damage, in some cases it can lead to death. Avoid junk food.

The presence of acne on the skin is not something anyone wished to deal with. However, many people in all age ranges do have to deal with the presence of acne, and many times diet has more to do with it than one would even venture to guess. Obviously, they will want to get rid of the problem – but are they willing to make the dietary changes necessary to get clearer skin and a pimple free existence?

Among the ways to do this would be to try and determine the dietary factors that contribute to such a skin condition.   It’s pretty easy – you will start to notice patterns of when you eat certain foods a lot and when you break out.

One common subject that comes up when it comes to issues related to skin breakouts would be a bad diet.  Can your food selections contribute to skin breakouts and pimples? A closer look at the subject may prove revealing.

There are two extremes of poor dietary choices which can contribute to skin breakouts. The first would be a diet that is heavy in fats and the other would be a diet very low in fat. It might seem ironic that both extremes can cause pimples but this is the case.

Another common contributor to the development of pimples would be sugar. Granted, the connection may have been overstated in the past. However, sugar can be a contributor.

Similarly, white flour can be a contributing factor which is why those with acne need to curtail eating food items with such flour. It would also be enormously wise to avoid eating fried foods and these are also notorious contributors to those with hypersensitive skin.

However, it is really not the food choices per se that necessarily contribute to the total problem. In most instances, it will be the chemical and metabolic reaction of the body that leads to breakouts. That is to say certain people’s body’s will react differently to food choices. Consider this the reason why some people will suffer from skin breakouts while eating the same dietary choices of others that do not experience such breakouts.

Regardless of one’s food selections, if you are suffering from a bad skin breakout then you may wish to take the steps to alter your dietary habits. Upon doing this, you can then take a few steps bad to determine whether or not making the proper alterations leads to the skin clearing up.