Acne Magazine

You’ve probably heard a lot about “anti inflammation” or anti inflammatories that naturally occur as a natural acne remedy or herbal acne remedy to be used to help quell what causes acne, which many times if rootly caused by hormones, but which is actually “carried out” by inflammation in the skin cells, which in turns causes those nasty little eruptions that you’re probably all too familiar with if you are reading this blog about acne. 

So, what are some naturally anti inflamation foods, juices, fruits and veggies that can help fight acne and other unsightly skin problems like rosacea and acne rosacea which are largely attributed to inflammation of the skin.  Well, one of the best is omega 3 oils, which are naturally heart protective and also tend to help the skin by reducing inflammation and promoting faster healing.  Anti oxidants are also often excellent anti inflammatory agents that go to work on free radicals, which cause their own form of destruction by going against the healthy skin cells that make your skin look great. 

Omega 3 oils can be found in supplements, such as fish oil supplements, but they can also be found in almonds, macedamia nuts, certain types of fish, acai berry (which also happens to be one potent antioxidant!), olives, olive oil and other foods that are a bit too numerous to mention here.  Those ones I mentioned are some of the best sources you will find for omega 3 essential oils though.

As far as antioxidants which also perform double duty as anti-inflammatories, there is the acai berry which is typically found growing wild in the Amazon forest, and elsewhere may be farmed, raspberries actually have a wonderful anti inflammatory property which is said to be almost akin to taking a pill for inflammation, only obviously much healthier, blueberries, strawberries, and dark leafy veggies - and by dark I mean the darker the better, and the more antioxidants!

I have just started a body wrap and cellulite reduction program through a local salon by me, and I think I may actually be getting a little fringe benefit that I wouldn’t have expected - less blemishes.  It’s either just because my hormones are really settled right now (coincidence), or that the thermal body wraps that are part of the regimen are helping my facial skin clarity and tone.  Not only have I noticed my blemishes improving, but my skin looks “fresh”.

Of course, that could be because I’m sweating my butt off with every body wrap since it’s a thermal (infrared) body wrap which produces extreme heat so as to penetrate the layers of skin and the deeper fat layers and prepare them for a massage therapy that then breaks up the fatty tissue beneath, and hence the cellulite.

Here’s how the thermal (infrared) wraps work that I’m having done now, twice a week, alternating it with a machine that sort of massages the fat and cellulite and smooths the skin out in problem areas like the thighs and buttocks.  You are laid out on a table with towels covering what they call “hot spots” that tend to get too hot and can even burn your skin if your skin is not protected. 

It’s a rubber wrap that you are wrapped tightly in, and you basically sit there while it heats up for 50 minutes, and sweat like you’ve never sweated before.  It greatly increases circulation and also is said to have detoxifying effects since you are supposed to sweat a lot of the toxins out of your body. 

This may also account for the skin benefits, but I can’t be sure of course because I don’t know enough about the science of these treatments to know for sure that they would benefit that skin.  It just seems to be a small benefit that I’ve personally noticed.  Hmm, maybe this could not only be a treatment for my cellulite, but sort of a complementary alternative treatment for acne prevention. 

Another natural astringent is a good old favorite, witch hazel, which is dirt cheap. Unfortunately, I’ve never liked the way witch hazel has worked on my skin personally, but I certainly can’t speak for everyone. Hey, if you want to try it, you don’t have much to lose since it’s cheap!

I am currently testing a product, as I believe I’ve mentioned over the last few posts, and the one component of the product that I still can’t decide on is the Tea Tree Oil Toner.  I really do not like the smell, but I think that it cleans my pores very well.  Tea tree oil is a very potent natural astringent that is used as a natural antiseptic, and had just recently gained some notoriety for being beneficial in the natural treatment of acne, as a natural cleanser and toner that gets deep down in those pores and helps clear the pores and open them up for some serious cleansing. 

The color of tea tree oil, at least in the toner I am using is a very deep amber color, almost an orange like iodine would look, but not quite as deep.  The smell, to me, is not pleasant, but it definitely smells pungent, like a cleaner should.  I do see a definite good bit of dirt and grime on my cotton pad after I’ve swiped over my face a few times with just a little squirt of the toner, especially after I’ve swabbed my nose, which seems to be a magnet for dirt and grime.

All in all, I think tea tree oil can definitely be of benefit to acne sufferers, but honestly I think it may be a little too rough to use on the skin alone, but rather should be used as a complementing product, in combination with others that are a little more mild to offset the antiseptic feel of the tea tree oil.

Cystic acne is a very severe, and often even deforming type of acne, which becomes so inflamed and painful that it can often swell up to the point of deforming the section of the face or body that it has “taken over”.  Cystic Acne treatments often are more serious in nature because they are so severe and so powerful that they make for a very noticeable, embarrassing and often life-altering change in a person’s facial features. 

I had a good friend who suffered from terrible cystic acne when we were teens together.  She was so embarrassed about the severity of her acne that she would cake cover up and foundation over the acne bumps, unfortunately making them even more obvious.  They would eventually come to a head, and unfortunately would leave terrible red and infected looking scars. 

These were the days before istotretinoin (accutane) and all the great natural acne treatements and herbal acne supplements that seem to dominate the natural remedy market today.  She was forced to use terribly drying topical treatments which only seemed to further the aggravation and irritation of the topical acne and further inflame and swell the acne lesions on her face, turning her pretty face into literally acne upon acne. 

This is why cystic acne requires not only externally applied medications like retin-a, erythromycin and the other topical acne treaments that abound on the pharmaceutical market today and are prescribed by dermatologists and physicians only, but this type of acne is so stubborn that it also always needs to be treated internally. 

This means the person with cystic acne needs to take an internally swallowed pill or product which helps to balance the body from within, and correct the imbalances and issues that affect the skin from their source -inside the body and the physiological body processes that cause cystic acne to start.  This can be done either with a natural acne treatment or with a medical acne treatment.  It’s your choice. 

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.

Here are some more ways you can remove blackheads, or extract them, in the comfort of your own home. 

2.)  Steam your pores.  Fill a pot up with about 1/2 full of water.  Put it on your stove top.  Turn the heat up, just so that you can see a gentle steam rising off the water. You do not want to bring it to a boil, as this may be too hot.  Be very careful not to get your face too close, or you could end up burning yourself. 

Get a bath towel, and stand over the steaming water, makin a “tent” over your head with the bath towel.  This acts as a little “steam tent” which will help to open up your pores, and allow the pores which house your blackheads to open up and allow you to get to the dirt and grime in the pores that is causing the blackhead.

Get a mask, preferably with salicylic acid, since this is the acid that will actually seep into the pore and remove this type of stuff, and put it on your face right after your finish steaming (steaming should only be about 1 minute long).  You can do this, or you may even want to use a Biore Pore Strip to remove it. This will loosen up the really stubborn blackheads that won’t come out without a little coaxing. 

You should not have any problems either manually (by hand) extracting, or extracting with the mask or pore strip then.  Voila, your blackheads should be gone.  For product reviews on treatments and skin care products that will help cut down on the formation and removal time of blackheads, see Acne Product Reviews

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.

Just a side note about microdermabrasion for acne.  You probably should not get this process done if your acne lesions are still in the process of healing - meaning that if you still have active acne vulgaris, ie open wounds and lesions, you probably will not want to undergo the microdermabrasion process, because it may tear them up.

Instead, microdermabrasion is more of a process which helps to erase old acne scars and bring smoothness and clarity, as well as pore perfection to your face AFTER you’ve already conquered the active acne breakouts for the most part.  If you have one of two zits, that probably won’t matter, since the technician can work around those, I’m just talking about people who have acne pretty bad, and widespread throughout their face.

I asked my aesthetician (I know, I know I keep talking about her!) about whether they do pore and blackhead extractions during facials and she told me that they do extractions only for “corrective facials” which are not just the relaxation, steam ones, but are specifically designed to agressively get rid of facial skin imperfections.

An extraction is usually an extraction of an inflamed pore or a blackhead that just won’t go away.  They can also perform extractions on whiteheads and stubborn under-the-skin and painful pimples that just won’t surface so you can get them.  She said that a new thing that is becoming popular now too is hot stone facials.

I asked whether the hot stone facials were just therapeutic and relaxational, or whether they actually provided a benefit.  She said that while they did help to open the pores and stimulate circulation, they were mostly meant as a therapeutic technique - almost like a massage but for the face only.  She also mentioned that people with high blood pressure or broken capillaries could not get the hot stone facials.