Acne Magazine

I have been using the same old trick at night for years when it comes to a blemish that I can just feel blanching the surface of my skin, before it becomes a full on red, erupted and scar-worthy zit on my face.  It’s really nothing special.  All I do is apply my mask, whatever kind it happens to be that I have laying around.  For a while it was a zenmed acne mask, then it was a Proactiv mask, and now I have a mini sized Murad acne mask that has lasted me forever that I got free with my face wash last time I purchased from them.

They are all a mud type mask, that is very thick and almost a chalky consistency, so thick that it will stay put as soon as you slick it on over a zit, or a burgeoning zit, as I do.  You should just need enough so as to cover the zit itself and only then the immediate surrounding area, careful not to put too much on around the radius fo the bump itself so that you don’t accidentally overdry the skin around it, which can end up looking worse than the zit itself.

I do this at night and then I leave it on all night long, and sometimes it works to clear it up, but if it’s a really hormonal zit that’s destined to come through the surface and hasn’t stopped gathering inertia toward becoming a full fledge boil sized zit on my face, it will only make it a tad bit more dried up, and I’ll still have to go through the motions of caring for the zit once it completely breaks through the skin’s surface. 

If you catch a new zit when it has just started to hurt a little bit, and you can see a faint bit of red and a very beginning of a bump or irriation in the spot where the bumpd is about to sprout into a full fledged zit, then you can often catch it and get it to go down if you just apply some sort of reputable acne cream, or my favorite is a thicker mask because it stays put and doesn’t come off all night until you wash it off, as long as you don’t accidentally rub it while it’s still wet. 

As I sit here typing this, I have a dot of the mask on my face, on a brand new bump that surfaced today because of the massive stress I’ve had to deal with today getting things organized and looking over documents that I didn’t understand for hours, as well as catching up on many things for work that were on deadline.  One minute it wasn’t there, the next I happened to look in the mirror and there it was!  Oh well, what are masks for.  Hopefully this one will be tamed by the mask! 

Well, I had promised to keep you posted on my newly purchased everyday moisturizer, the very popular Aveeno Positively Radiant lotion for the face with SPF 15 in it.  I really liked the fact that this particular lotion was expressly made for both improved skin tone and clarity as well as additional protection from the sun’s damaging rays. 

I get a little bit of sun protection from my Bare Minerals makeup, but after I found out that powder SPF may not be so effective, I decided I wanted additional protection in my daily moisturizing lotion.  I also found out that with Bare Minerals, your Mineral Veil does not contain any SPF, only the actual colored foundation, and since I use way more Mineral Veil than I do the actual foundation color, I figured I needed additional SPF quickly, because I wasn’t getting the kind of sun protection factor that I thought I was when I initially started using the foundation.  Don’t get me wrong, I still like the Bare Minerals, but I need something a  little more.

Anyways, didn’t mean to get off on a tangent like that, so back to my original point now.  I purchased the Aveeno Positively Radiant daily moisturizer, and was a little leery, as I always am of new moisturizers on my skin, that it might do more harm than good and cause me to break out, especially because it has SPF in it, and many times any type of SPF will make my skin break out faster than you can snap your fingers.

It’s been about 4 weeks now that I’ve been using the moisturizer, and so far so good, I haven’t had any breakouts or even an increase in bumpiness on my chin as I many times do when my skin gets irritated.  I can’t say it would be noncomedogenic for everyone, but it appears to work pretty well on my personally acne prone skin. 

I’m pretty bummed, actually, that what I’ve always pretty much known to be true is actually really true still after all these years.  Sunscreens ALWAYS made my face break out when I was younger.  I thought maybe it might have been since when I was younger there used to be harsh additives to sunscreens, and a lot of those irritants have since been removed from common sunscreen, especially facial, but I really think I have a sensitivity to sunscreens that may not be all that common. 

I purchased a new moisturizer that has a 30 SPF in it.  It’s by Aveeno, and since I kind of like the acne wash I purchased by them, I figured I’d try another product in their “radiant” line.  So I bought the Radiant moisturizer with soy extract (good stuff usually) and an added benefit of having the extra sunscreen in it, in addition to the sunscreen my Bare Minerals makeup offers (which may not be full coverage as I’ve been told recently). 

I’ve only been using the Aveeno moisturizing cream for a few days now, but I noticed yesterday that I was getting small bumps on my chin, which is exactly where I get the acne bumps when I irritate my skin with stimulants, caffeine, and other things my skin rejects as toxins.  Well, the only common denominator is that I did have a small cup of coffee - and I mean SMALL at my moms two days ago, but that amount normally would not make my skin rough, and this time it either did, or my new moisturizer with 30 SPF is to blame. 

This is a shame that they can’t make sunscreen lotions for the face completely noncomedogenic.  I thought this one would have been but I may be wrong.  I’ll keep you posted on whether it’s the sunscreen or not.  Hopefully not since one of the best natural acne treatments is to stay out of the sunlight, which is contrary to what some may think!  Also, I owe you a review of the Aveeno foaming acne face wash, but I’m too tired to do that one now, so it’ll have to wait

It occurred to me that I used to constantly do this, so I thought I might share the knowledge that it’s not such a good idea for those that didn’t really think it was a big deal. I’m referring to the use “acne spot treatments”.

Clean & Clear acne products have been around for ions, at least in my book they have. These cheap acne products, specifically geared toward teens with acne who do not have a lot of money to spend on acne skin care, were one of my first forrays into the world of acne skin care.

Topical erythromycin is an ointment or gel, prescription only, which is of an antibiotic nature, and is used expressly for the treatment of acne on the surface of the skin.  Erythromycin may also be taken internall in pill form, as an antibiotic for various uses, including for the treatment of acne vulgaris. 

Typically, the use of either topical or internal erythromycin is supposed to clear acne within a period of 6-8 weeks, and if it does not clear it up, the dermatologist will usually move the patient to a new type of acne treatment.

Potential side effects of topical erythromicin ointment, gel or cream may be excessive dryness, hives in some people who may have a reaction to it, redness and other less known and obscure side effects that may be due more to individual allergies or sensitivities. 

Topical Erythromycin’s indications are usually that it be applied directly to the affected acne areas twice a day, depending on the patient’s situation and the discretion of that particular dermatologist who is treating them.

Benzoyl peroxide is probably the most common acne fighting ingredient found in over the counter topical gels, creams and face washes.

This chemical mixture can be fairly effective topically in treating very mild acne in my opinion, but it just doesn’t cut it for more severe acne that is usually related to hormonal imbalances or high stress levels.

This more severe and “deeply rooted” cystic-type acne is much more stubborn and usually requires a more agressive oral treatment aimed at calming hormones and cleansing the skin from this inside, so to speak.

Benzoyl peroxide is a solution that acts as an antibacterial agent, and helps prevent further infection and growth of acne cysts and postules.

When I’ve used benzoyl peroxide, it was effective for me only in one product for spot treatment - Neutrogena acne spot treatment gel. It helped dry out the blemish, and seemed to keep it from reforming a whitehead pretty effectively. The drawbacks to benzoyl peroxide for me were: increased redness and irritation, excessive dryness and flaking.

Many times these side effects override the benefits, since dry, flaky, red skin can look just as bad if not worse than the acne itself!

Bottom line, this OTC acne medication can come in handy for some spot treatment, but I wouldn’t rely on it for serious acne or any type of cystic acne needing a more serious approach like internal natural medicine (recommended) or even a dermatologist prescription. 

Acne is not only the number one skin-enemy of teens, but now it affects adults at great lengths too, prompting thousands to seek out alternative and effective ways to banish acne for good. Although acne involves physical pain only in the most severe cases, the condition usually has a negative psychological impact because of its high level of visibility.

Unfortunately, acne is right on your face for everyone to see, and sometimes we even get it on our backs and chests, which are very visible in the summer when we wear less clothing. People with terrible acne tend to exhibit more outwardly signs of self consciousness and lack of confidence, since every glance in the mirror is a reminder that the skin is working against us and not with us. 

Clear Pores is a comprehensive acne treatment system that actually works in tandem with your body’s chemistry to calm the skin internally, via an all natural supplement, and then treats your skin topically, with a special cleanser and a protective cream. 

Their websit boasts many before and after pictures of successful use from clients, and literally PAGES of testimonials.  That is why I recommend the Clear Pores system so highly.  See here for multiple testimonials and reviews : Clear Pores Customer Reviews and Testimonials

This may seem a bold or trite statement to make, but in a world obsessed with physical perfection and social interactions, acne can be a sometimes unbearable burden which affects us emotionally, physically and socially.

Early breakthroughs in the use of various substances and the large number of patients willing to try anything has been the basis of finding new methods of curing acne, whether permanently or temporarily.

One of the best ways to fight mild cases of acne is to speed up the natural exfoliation process of your skin. Exfoliation is the process by which the topmost layer of your skin, which contains many dead cells, is removed by mechanical or chemical means. Clearing away dead skin helps prevent the clogging of pores by a combination of excess sebum and dead cells. 

Not only that, but exfoliation is the number one recommendation to get rid of acne scarring such as ice pick scars, pock marks and depressions in the skin. 

Exfoliation is not meant in the visible sense of the word, since you won’t see skin peeling away as in the case of shedding. The topmost layer of your skin is too thin to be seen with the naked eye.

The recommended procedures for speeding up the exfoliation process feature the use of mechanical means or chemical means. Salicylic Acid is actually the most recommended exfoliation agent, since it also helps to unclog pores whose openings have already been obstructed by sebum and dead skin cells.

Over-the-counter Salicylic Acid solution or cotton pads soaked in Acid should be available in every pharmacy or drugstore. You can safely and easily use these at home to take care of acne flare-ups. If you want a complete and comprehensive system that employs the use of this pore-unclogging acid, you can try the ClearPores system.

The effective comprehensive system combines the cleansing and pore-purifying power of  salicylic acid and alcohol SD with herbal acne pills as well as a protection cream in order to get rid of acne now and prevent further inflammation and flareups in the future.

The herbal acne fighting pills kill bad bacteria which tend to multiply in clogged pores, while the deep facial and body washes open up the pores to release pent up dirt, grime and oil that causes blackheads and those all too familiar whiteheads.  Finally, the acne protection cream acts as a protective environmental shield for your skin.

The thing I like most about this acne cleansing system is it targets multiple areas of acne fighting, including deep cleansing treatments, daily gentle cleansing and internal causes of acne (with the pill) , ClearPores is not a single product, but a full solution designed to destroy acne with the utmost effectiveness.

A lot of people - especially adults - with acne, since their skin is aging and they also have acne with sagging, lined skin, tend to try to use alpha hydroxy acid creams and products on their skin in an effort to combat aging. But, before you do that, you should know something.

I actually used to be one of these people.  I unknowingly was dousing my skin and my acne in something I thought, that since it was natural, it was good for my skin and would not make me break out worse.  The problem was that the alpha hydroxy was making my acne worse.

It seemed to make my skin more red and irritated, and even seemed to conjure up more acne lesions than I had before I used it.  Could I have been allergic to it?  Sure.  But I did a lot of searching on the internet and on forums to see if anyone else had this problem and sure enough a lot of people who used alpha hydroxy acids in their cleansers, their moisturizers and their other skin care products said that they had inadvertently aggravated their acne. 

So, although these fruit acids work well in general, if you have acne and need to use an anti aging cream, you may want to aim more for creams with DMAE and hyaluronic acid, both of which are firming, but do not contain inflammatory ingredients. 

There are other uses for the organic compounds found naturally in tea tree oil. While these are mostly not medically proven, there are people who report success in using this natural antiseptic for several other health issues, mostly fungal or bacterial in nature, so it does make sense that this particular natural product may work well for related types of infections of issues.