Acne is a very irritating skin condition to begin with, especially for adolescent girls and boys with particularly sensitive skin already. This skin condition greatly lowers their self esteem most especially when the case is severe. Such people tend to use any treatment, even if it is just too rough for those with the sensitive skin type, just to get rid of acne.

However, this is never a right choice to make. These treatments vary in terms of how strong they are and the possible effects on the skin, whether negative or positive. It is therefore important to know your skin type. People with sensitive skin should get acne treatment for sensitive skin.

The best acne treatment for sensitive skin is a natural product. Compounds like sodium lauryl sulfate which is often included in acne skin cleansers are very strong and hence inappropriate for sensitive skin.

This type of acne treatment will destroy the skin and in the long run make it susceptible to other skin infections. It is therefore important to invest in sls free acne treatment as it is gentler on the skin.

Essential oils like jojoba and tea tree are very good acne treatments. These are gentle on the skin and are sls free. The oils are just the right amount on the skin and therefore chances of having clogged pores are minimal. The oils are also easily absorbent in the skin. This makes them less sticky than other oils which trap dust.

Tea tree and jojoba oil are usually combined to provide faster and better results. The two are combined in a ratio of 3:10. These are 3 parts of tea tree and 10 parts of jojoba oil as tea tree is stronger than jojoba oil.

Tea tree mainly works as an antibiotic. It kills the bacteria that cause acne. These bacteria are also responsible for the formation of pus in the bumps. If they are eliminated early, chances of the acne developing into severe type are minimized.

Jojoba is important for its non-greasy and absorbent aspects. Aloe Vera is also a good natural treatment for acne. This works by killing the bacteria and at the same time moisturizing the skin.

Natural treatments should be used on the affected area at least twice a day. This should mainly be after a bath when the skin is fresh. It is very important to ensure that you do not use harsh soaps on the affected skin area while you use these treatments.

In conclusion, before you embark on any treatment for acne, ensure that it is good for your skin.

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.

So, as you know, I’m a big proponent of not overdrying the skin – especially skin that is acne prone. This is because I know first hand the damage that over drying can do to your skin when it comes to acne breakouts. It actually ACCELERATES the rate at which your skin puts our sebum (or oil), which is the very thing you want to reduce.

This is because excessive sebum output, which is what all acne sufferers have, makes it so that dirt and bacteria get stuck in the pores. This causes inflammation, which is basically a zit. It can be a white head or a blackhead – either way, you have a pimple from it.

I emphasize that you need to still  moisturize your skin, just like anyone else, when you have acne.  You are not going to make your breakouts worse if you use the right product for your skin. This is why from time to time I like to review for you some of the many moisturizers that I use on my skin which also don’t give me a problem with my oily skin.

The one that I’m using now (I change them frequently, but I do have a few favorite stand bys), is by the natural skin care line Alba Botanica.  It is called Sea Moss moisturizer, and I like it for a couple reasons.

First off, it does not contain parabens, which are a chemical preservative that is thought to cause certain health issues if it is used often. Since many of our common skin care products and lotions contain it, many of us have a lot of this in our bodies.

It’s best to choose paraben free skin care products whenever possible.  This Alba Sea Moss moisturizer fits that bill. Secondly, it has an SPF of 15 and uses some of the safer forms of sunscreen called oxybenzone, and octinoxate, as well as avobenzone.

I know that a lot of women and men with acne prone skin shy away from using SPF on their face, but the fact is, you absolutely must protect your delicate facial skin during the daylight hours to prevent photo damage and premature aging.

The Alba Sea Moss moisturizer also contains several antioxidants, not the least of which is the sea moss itself. I love skin care products that have antioxidants in them, it’s like a vitamin for your skin - topically though of course!

The scent of the lotion is very light and pleasant and it is a light weight lotion that is perfect for the day time. It keeps my skin hydrated throughout the day, and protected from the sun. And it does not make me break out.

One of the ingredients in skin care products that I’m totally against as a former serious acne sufferer and still occasional breakout sufferer (I’m a stress break out kinda gal), is mineral oil.

Mineral oil probably sounds natural and harmless, but it actually is a biproduct of petroleum, which is the same base that we use for the gasoline and oil that fills our gas tanks and powers our cars. Yeah, that drippy, oily, thick stuff.

Mineral oil is used in a LOT of products, because it is cheap and easily accessible though, so you do need to be diligent in reading the ingredient labels to make sure you’re not getting any of this stuff in you skin care products.  It can go by other names as well, it’s not always labeled as “mineral oil”.

Mineral oil can be labeled as paraffin oil, paraffin, petrolatum, albline, lignite, glymol, and more.  If you see an ingredient that has the base “petro” in it, chances are, it may be a mineral oil derivative.  Why is mineral oil not recommended in skin care products, especially those with acne?

Well, it is a pore clogger for starters. It does not allow the skin to breathe, and coats the pores, instead of letting them breathe as well as not allowing them to trap dirt, oil and other things that cause acne postules to form from inflamed and infected pores.

Mineral oil is also questionable as far as safety goes, since it is a derivative of petrolatum.  I personally don’t feel comfortable using it on my skin since it can be toxic, and all products that I put on my skin are absorbed directly into my blood stream with no filter, as they get when I eat something and it goes through the digestive system.

There are plenty of safe and more natural, breathable ingredients that can be in moisturizers for the skin. Those skin care products that are labeled noncomedogenic will usually not contain mineral oil in any capacity, so those are usually pretty safe.

Baby oil is made almost entirely of mineral oil, so try to avoid ever using baby oil on your body for anything.  You may not even want to use it on your child and find a safer alternative.  I remember all those times when I was WAY younger, slathering myself in baby oil so I would tan better. More like burn usually!

I also remember that I would inevitably break out in zits where I had applied the oil, which only confirms why those with acne problems should not use it.

I’ve always said that it’s important to screen your face from the sun.  Although I’ve come around in the past year or two in believing that you HAVE to get sunlight to remain healthy, and that sheltering yourself from the sun your whole life can really be a detriment to your health, I still believe that your face is one of the most important parts of your body to shield from the potentially burning UV rays.

Your face is out there, front and center, when you’re out in the sunlight. This is why your face is the first part of your body to get burnt (well, that and your shoulders).  Because our faces are where we show our age that most, and this is the part of our bodies that are considered most important since we talk, communicate, and put forth our first impressions with, it’s of vital importance that you make sure you keep it healthy, smooth and young looking (and of course, acne free!) for as long as possible.

So, I’ve always used a noncomedogenic sunscreen on my face for as long as I can remember. Even if you have acne prone skin, you must use a sunscreen, and there are some that cause zero problems that contain sunscreen. L’Oreal Future e is one of them. This cream also contains vitamin e, which is a great antioxidant.

Antioxidants help to protect your skin against UV rays as well. They aren’t actually a sunscreen, but they help your body to defend itself against free radical damage, which is exactly what the sun does – it causes free radical damage in that it causes cell damage to occur to over exposed cells.

The L’Oreal Future e cream is a day cream that has an SPF of 15, and it’s a light, delicately scented lotion that has given my skin no problems thus far.

It’s about $12 a bottle, but it will last a while because it’s a pretty generously sized bottle.  The only thing I wish was different about it is that it does, like most other commercial brands, contain chemical preservatives and other chemicals that I am really trying to avoid in my skincare right now. 

I’m working on making all my skincare products all-natural, because I’ve come to realize that there are some serious consequences for using all skincare products with these dangerous chemicals. Over time, they really absorb into the blood stream and can affect the bodies chemistry.

I know that I go over this every spring and summer, but again I’m going to reiterate the importance of wearing sunscreen. Especially on your face, since it’s the first thing exposed to the sun’s harsh rays when you step outside, and your poor face is the first one subjected to every other environmental ravage as well, which is precisely the reason that facial skin is one of the first parts to show the signs of aging and photodamage (damage caused by the sun).

This is unfortunate, since your face is the very thing by which so many people judge and view you.  That’s why skin care is so vitally important, and making sure that your facial skin is protected at all times from sun damage is of the utmost importance.  Just the tiniest bit of sun an really dry out your facial skin and magnify wrinkles. I know this from personal experience since I’ve accidentally let my sunscreen wear off or I’ve been in the sun a little too long when I thought I’d only be outside for a few minutes, without sunscreen.

My face almost always looks worse for the wear the very next day, which is a true testament to me that it’s important to keep your face out of the sun as much as possible.  Of course, the sun’s rays are necessary to produce vitamin D, but there are plenty of other body parts that are larger that can soak the rays up for you.  That is one party the face always has to miss out on.

So, without further delay, I wanted to again tell you the various facial sunscreens that I’ve compiled and tried over the years which I have found to be both very effective and also totally noncomedogenic. That’s right, they blocked the sun’s rays effectively with SPF of 15 or higher, and they moisturized really well too, without clogging my sensitive pores or causing any type of irritation bumps or rashes.

The first one is my favorite because it’s cheap and it’s a great moisturizer. It’s Aveeno’s moisturizers, in both calming and soy formulas (I like them both). They both have 15 spf and they also come in a generous sized bottle that lasts me two months or so for about $15.  There is also one by Avon that is a face perfector. It’s a powder/liquid that is translucent and has an SPF of 20.

I like to mix this with a little bit of tinted moisturizer or glow lotion for great SPF coverage and a nice, even but light coverage for the summer time to help my skin look more even. This product is called Avon MagiX Facial Perfector.  You’ll love the texture, it’s a velvety mix of powder and tiny flecks of light reflectors for great sun protection and a light foundation coverage for summer time.

If you have ever suffered from acne in your life, which there is a good chance of if you are reading this right now, then you know how imperative it is that you find the right kind of moisturizer with an SPF in it that makes a difference when it is summertime.  In fact, you should really wear a moisturizer during the day with an SPF in it all year round, whether you live in a temperate climate where the sun shines year round or not.  You see, you still get significant UV ray exposure in the winter as well.  The sun still shines in the winter, and the rays can sometimes be just as damaging as they are in the summer.

You get UV expsoure in your car, walking outside during the day, and simply being outdoors at all during the winter, even though you think you are safer because the days typically get shorter and there is much less sunlight.  There’s still enough to warrant covering your face from their harmful exposure, so it’s good to just get in the habit of wearing a good moisturizer that also acts as a sunscreen all year round, then you  don’t even have to worry about it or think about applying one of each.

I know that the thought of sunscreen immediately turns you to thoughts of breaking out.  Of smearing on some goopy, smelly, thick and unpleasant cream that turns your face white because of it’s consistency, but sunscreens that are a 15 which are also doubling as a moisturizer aren’t this way at all. I found a great one in the Aveeno products which doubles as a moisturizer and also happens to come in a larger 4 oz. size. It’s non irritating and I also feel that my face is protected with it, and it’s not heavy.

It acts wonderfully under my makeup, just like any good moisturizer would, but I’m adding an extra layer of SPF 15 under my SPF 8 foundation, which gives me a better, more even covereage against the sun.  If you have acne, find yourself the right product for you.  Look in the facial care section of your drugstore, not the sunscreen section. More and more of the better day creams are adding SPF to them, so it’s easier to find something that’s both good for your skin, wears well with makeup, and protects you vehemently against the sun’s UV rays.

I think I wrote about this product when I first purchased it about a month and a half ago, but if I didn’t, I wanted to let you in on an SPF lotion that can be worn during the day, while improving the appearance of your skin and also helping to contribute to the calming of the skin, so it helps with any redness or irritation also, while providing excellent protection against the sun’s damaging UV rays.  It’s got an SPF of 15, and it’s not pore clogging at all, which is great if you have acne prone skin and need a good SPF lotion to wear for the daytime that’s not heavy or clogging to the pores at all.

It’s in a larger bottle too, so even though I bought it over a month ago, I still have over the half the product left, and I don’t apply it sparingly either, so you can generously apply it and ensure that you are getting proper skin protection against the sun’s rays, without worrying about wasting too much product and having to run out and buy more right away.   It’s got chamomil in it.  It’s actually made for people who’s skin gets red easily, and also is good for those with rosacea and acne rosacea.  I love that you can wear it comfortably under makeup, and that it’s not heavy at all.

It does add a bit of the dewy effect to my skin as well, so it adds a nice base for your foundation, and is sheer, so you feel like your natural skin comes through nicely.  It’s about sixteen bucks where I found it, so it seems like it’s a little more pricey for a drugstore brand of daytime face cream, but when you consider the considerable value because of the SPF 15 protection, and the fact that it really does not clog pores or cause any issues for problem skin and protect you from the sun, it’s quite a good deal, and much cheaper anyways than expensive noncomedogenic brands of SPF which are probably the same type of product, just with a more expensive label.

If you buy this Aveeno Calming lotion, you will have it for a while, trust me.  It’s a great deal, and if you apply it liberally, and also have SPF in your foundation, you can rest assured that your face has full protection from the sun’s rays all day.  Just make sure you reapply if you’re going to be in the direct sun for an hour or more, that’s important, and even though you think the sun may help “dry up” acne, in fact it irritates it more by stimulating your sebum to produce and further inflaming acne.

I was at Wal-Mart today, browsing through the moisturizers, in search of a good, light daytime moisturizer that wouldn’t clog my pores and that also happened to have an SPF of at least 15 in it.  I’d come to the conclusion that the foundation and glow cream I used, both with SPF in them, were not doing the job since I kept getting sun exposure up by my hairline even though I wore the makeups all the way up the hair line every time, so I needed an additional, allover SPF protection.

I almost settled on a bottle of retinol infused daytime moisture cream by Neutrogena, which cost about fourteen bucks, because I figured that not only would it offer me the SPF I was looking for, but it would also help sculpt and lift my fine lines since I happen to be in my thirties.  However, I was concerned that this would just irritate my face more since Retinol is a potential irritant, and I only put potential irritants that are anti agin on my face at night, when the skin tends to repair itself.  I just wanted a more straigtforward, multi purpose moisturizer for the daytime.

So I settled on the Aveeno product, which is supposed to be good for those with rosacea and redness to their skin as it is “calming”. It advertises that it is calming to the skin and contains feverfew and chamomile, which is a great skin soother.  Although I don’t have rosacea or acne rosacea, I thought that a nice, calming cream would be nice for during the day, and to boot it has a SPF of 15.  I’ll let you know how I like the Aveeno Calming moisturizer after I use it for at least a week.  I’ll be reporting soon, so stay tuned.

L’Oreal, one of my favorite “drugstore” makeup and cosmetic product brands, has a line that is relatively low priced that includes some creams that are suitable for the daytime that contain a high SPF of 15 in them that I have found do not break me out. 

I happened to find the line Noticeable Difference when it was on sale at a TJ Maxx type store by where I live for even less than drugstore prices I’m sure, and thought I’d use it this summer on my face as a light moisturizer under my foundation which also has an SPF of 15 in it to keep sun damage at bay during the harsh sunlight months of the summer here in Ohio. 

The one I chose is a simple moisturizing cream that helps to keep moisture in, and is not any kind of intensive moisturizer or intense anti aging cream, sometimes of which can be harmful to acne prone skin since they contain way too many heavy emollients that can clog the pores and cause acne postules to form on the face, namely in the chin, nose and forehead area where oil tends to form the most to begin with.

It’s a very light formula, and it has no artificial coloring in it which is great for the skin as well.  It is almost a whipped consistency.  As far as moisturizing I would say it doesn’t do any better than any other drugstore brand and there is nothing really miraculous about the way it makes my skin look, but I love that it has the SPF in it, so I use it primarily as a sun proection factor and not really as a skin improvement cream.