Acne Magazine

Well, it appears that there may be a new herb for female hormone regulation that I had either never heard of as a female hormone regulator, or just didn’t read enough about it.  I had, though, heard of the ChasteBerry herbal remedy before, I just didn’t understand what it’s therapeutic uses were for before I recently read about women using it to help regulate their hormones. 

Chasteberry or Vitex, as it is also called, is a remedy derived from the Chaste Tree.  It is known for having diverse qualities, meaning that it may have a totally opposite effect when either taken by a different person, or taken in varying quantities by the same person. 

A good example of this in my life is when I took too much Kava Kava, an herbal relaxant, one night before bed, and kept waking up with restless legs and a buzzing head because of the quantity.  Because I had taken too much, the oppositie, ideal effect of the herbal remedy, which is relaxation, then turned in to stimulation! 

The same can be true with Chasteberry, so you just want to be careful in dosage if you want to try it as a woman to help regulate the endocrine system, or help to normalize your male vs. female hormones, which happens to be the single most major contributor to acne vulgaris. 

In addition to its reputation in helping to regulate the hormones, Chaste also has been known to possibly produce aphrodisiac-like qualities, and is often used as a period regulator and as an herbal remedy to help stop premenstrual cramping in women.  This is probably not supposed to be used in men for regulating hormones, because it specifically is indicated to help normalize and balance the female hormone production of progesterone. 

Another herbal remedy that I feel helps normalize the whole endocrine system and also helps to internally “calm” stress and help reduce inflammation and acne all together is the Dermacleanse system - the good thing about it is that it can be used by men and women though. 

Question from reader : Hi,

Thank you so much for your tips. I also break out with stress and I
am almost always stressed out with school work.

I’ve been on the Zenmed treatment for about a week and my acne has
gotten a little worse so far, but I am also a week away from my period
and that usually causes me to break out more as well. About how long
did it take to work on you?

Thanks,
XXXXX

Answer : 

Dermacleanse capsules are one of my favorite natural acne remedies right now.  Of course, it’s been over four years since I used them, but I loved what they did for my face and still consider them one of the best natural acne treatments on the market today. 

I stayed on the natural acne pills for about four months, and while my skin did get worse at first, as is common from what I understand on many herbal and even medical pills used to treat acne, my face cleared beautifully while using the entire Dermacleanse system, and I never had to use the capsules again. 

I’ve had the occasional breakout since then of course, but not nearly the severity of what they used to be.  I usually just use spot treatments now when I have problem areas.  I would recommend you take a look at them for sure.  I wouldn’t have them on here if they didn’t work (at least they worked well for me!). 

Here are the active ingredients in the Dermacleanse Capsules by Zenmed :

You’ve undoubtedly read that there are certain “dietary supplements” which can supposedly help clear your acne up, and are probably curious if they really work, are worth the time, money and hope, and if they are safe. 

Well, I thought it would be good to go over exactly how the government regulating agency the FDA actually defines a “dietary supplement” - whether it claims to help with acne or other skin conditions, or has other purposes in human health promotion. 

A dietary supplement is one that is sold over the counter (OTC), and is taken voluntarily by an individual, whether it be to improve upon a health condition, or simply enhance their health, well being (mental and physical), or perhaps comsetically improve their appearance. 

The latter, cosmetic dietary supplements, are becoming more popular and widely used, such as herbal acne supplements aimed at clearing up acne and other skin problems, or simply improving the overall condition of the skin. 

There is an act that was enforced by the FDA called the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which stated that the dietary supplement maker was responsible for ensuring that it’s dietary products was safe for human consumption, before any marketing even took place, and certainly before anyone was sold the dietary supplement.

The FDA is also responsible for taking action against any dietary supplement which is deemed unsafe through a series of checks and balances after it reaches the consumer’s market. While dietary acne supplement manufacturers do not need to register their product or gain approval with the FDA, they are not allowed to label the supplement in any way that is misleading or omits any ingredients. 

I had a curious conversation with a good friend tonight over dinner.  She said she asked her dermatologist about a very well known natural alternative to treat her particular skin condition, and although hundreds of people have experienced great relief using this particular skin car product, the dermatologist “poo pooed” the treatment.

This doesn’t really surprise me all that much.  I mean, if these natural treatments really did work, oh my gosh, the dermatologists might be out of a job some day.  While I’m being facetious of course, this is a good example of how the medical field will try to discredit a number of natural treatment options, on everything from cancer to skin care, without actually knowing or studying that particular natural treatment.

It’s just interesting, that’s all.  Especially when I receive emails all the time telling me how natural acne treatments have worked for people where traditional medical acne treatments have failed them.

I get a lot of email from people who’ve read reviews or articles posted on this magazine, and want more information or simply want to share their thoughts or ideas on how best to treat acne, acne scarring, teen acne, adult acne, rosacea, acne rosacea, etc.  I thought it would be a great service to start posting these emails, without names of course, for privacy, for everyone to see. 

I figured if one person has this question, there must be others out there who have the same question too.  You may have noticed I’ve posted a few already, but I just decided to make it regular practice.  Here goes, this one is about the medical acne treatment alternative Acnezine :

Comment : I definitely like your review about acnezine and thank you
very much for it because people these days tend to be very skeptical
about acne products since there are so many on the market. I know acuzine
will work for me since i have acne and acne scars and the thing is that
my dermatologist told me to take accutane since i have a long history
of acne including pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, on the face,
back,chest and arm as well. That is why i have the acne scars and am trying to
eradicate them. if you have any additional comments of acuzine that
will be great otherwise i will order 6 month supply since your website
stated to use it longer for the permanent results right? please offer any
other suggestions if possible one more thing, i am using a medication,
topical one, for my face acne so topically i am fine but i think my
problem is more internal 

Reply : You are correct, that you can only do so much topically to treat your acne, then at some point, you do need to start treating it internally, and there are natural ways to do this, that are not harmful like antibiotics can be, and we all know accutane’s reputation. 

Acnezine is indeed a good product to take which internally goes to work on treating acne.  What it is, is a powerful antioxidant combo which internally “cleanses” your skin and again brings you back to clarity through a series of attacks on the internal impurities and toxins that are causing your hormones to tell your skin to produce acne.  Now, what I always tell people about Acnezine, is to be patient. 

True, some people may clear up in just weeks, but also some people may find that their skin gets worse in the first few weeks of treatment (similar to accutane and some other medical acne treatments), because the skin is bringing all of these impurities to the surface, before they are all eradicated.  This is normal, so don’t think it’s not working - this SHOULD just be temporary, if it even happens to you at all.  This is also why I recommend longer treatments - 6 months if possible, to ensure permanent, lasting results, as well as allow for this possible “adjustment period”.

I only mention this because it has been reported, but these people also report their skin then cleared up very well after this “adjustment period”.  Acnezine is an excellent choice.

Hope this helps.

Please feel free to join this free forum on acne discussion also:

DiscussAcne.com
 

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.

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.