Saturday, January 22, 2011

Body Acne Treatment Simplified

It's normal this time of year for your skin to behave badly. I'm talking about those of us who have trouble with skin blemishes. For me, the acne occurs mainly on my back. This is good and bad. As an adult, it's better than having breakouts on my face. However, the pain and irritation of acne on my back are real nevertheless.

In previous years, my body acne treatment routine was, how shall I say, "complex." This year, I've reduced the ritual to only 8 steps -- my checklist. This makes it easier for me to actually follow my self prescribed acne treatment plan. So far so good. If you are still with me, here are some tips that I've learned along my journey to getting rid of my acne.

Don't Do This If You Want Clear Skin:

#1 Wash Your Face Too Often

Washing your face too often causes overly dry skin. Dry skin is more sensitive and flakey. This will block your pores and cause more acne. Counter intuitive but true.

#2 Scrub Your Skin Hard

If you scrub your face and/or back too hard with a towel or washcloth, you will irritate your skin. This tends to cause more acne. So wash with lukewarm water and pat dry. I spray a skin cleanser detox on my skin after I wash to kill the P. acnes. More on this later.

#3 Not Clean Your Sweaty Skin

Working out, doing chores around the house, dancing, etc. can cause you to sweat. The heat and the sweat is a great environment for bacteria to grow on your skin. Disgusting! So wash your face, neck, and back after sweating, but don't use a chemical wash as those tend to dry you out.

#4 Pop Your Zits

They are tempting and ugly, I know. I've had my fair share on my face, my neck and on my back. But as tempting as they may be, popping them can irritate your skin and push the pus deeper into your pore. Not to mention scarring. When I have an outbreak, I simply spray a skin detox on my zit and they go down the very next day.

#5 Not Shampoo Your Hair

What?? Oil from your hair can seep down onto your face. This can cause more zits. So shampoo your hair and change your pillow case every couple of days. The same holds for your sheets and your back.

#6 Get Hair Styling Aids On Your Face and Back

Gel, mousse, hairspray are great for styling your hair, but they are bad for your face and back. These things can clog your pores. Just cover your face and back when putting on the hairspray.

#7 Eat Food With Alot of Sugar and High in Grease

Eating the proper foods is good for your body and your skin. Avoid foods with a lot of sugar because they can create an environment in your body that make it easier for acne bacteria to grow. About the grease, you and I know that it is bad in so many ways.

#8 Use Skincare Products That Have Unhealthy Oils and Chemicals

Look, this was my biggest lesson. When I switched from using products like makeup, moisturizers, and acne medications that had alcohol and chemicals to natural ingredients, my acne went away. That's the truth! It's okay to have oil in your skincare products. Olive oil, Tea oil, glycerin, sorbitol are okay. Avoid, alcohol in your products because they dry you out. Benzoyl peroxide is especially harsh on your skin.

That's all I wanted to share today. I hope that you too will benefit from my lessons learned.

Nikki Sweetnam is a regular contributor to the online beauty magazine OneLookMag.com. The skin cleanser detox that she mentioned for her body acne treatment can be found at Beauté Claire.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nikki_Sweetnam

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Acne Treatment Skin Care Tips

Before going for any treatment for your acne, you need to be very careful. Below are several acne treatment skin care practices you should observe while applying medications to treat the skin problem.

Using Medications Against Acne

If you are using and applying medications to treat your acne problem, there is no need to overlook basic hygienic practices. While treating the skin condition, you should also keep on observing acne treatment skin care practices. This is to make sure the medications would really work and the possible recurrence of the problem could be avoided.

Acne is a skin condition that results from attack of bacteria in impurities that clog skin pores. Bacteria action is worsened by the production of excess oil from the sebaceous glands. When there is acne breakout, it is important to keep hygiene intact especially when handling and dealing with acne infection.

Clean The Skin Regularly

It is a basic in every acne treatment skin care to clean the skin gently and regularly. This is to make sure the breakout would never get worse as you apply medications to treat it. Wash your face at least twice daily, in the morning and evening, with clean water and a mild cleansing soap or facial wash. It is not advisable to use rough scrubs and strong soaps for the meantime.

You may also opt to shave your face if you are hairy to help maintain hygiene and avoid further infection. Gently shave your beard or moustache using safety razors to avoid formation of any wound. Do not nick blemishes.

At the same time, you should resort not to frequently touch or handle your skin especially the infected part. When there are acne lesions, you should try not to touch them as doing so might aggravate infection. Do not pinch, pick, or squeeze acne so as not to incur dark botches and scars.

Choose Your Cosmetics Carefully

Another important acne treatment skin care tip is to choose and use cosmetics carefully. There could be a need to replace several cosmetics you use while under acne medications. This is because some cosmetic products contain ingredients that do not go along or react well with acne treatments' main ingredients. Remember that moisturizers, hair-care products, makeup, and eye shadows you use should be oil-free while you are treating acne. The oil could only make your breakouts worse.

To be sure, it is always best to consult a dermatologist before using any acne treatment. This is to make sure you are choosing the safest for your skin type and you would be using the medications as they should. As an acne treatment skin care tip, it is also best to ask about possible interactions between acne medications and cosmetic products. You should be guided accordingly so you would know which cosmetic items to set aside for the meantime and how frequent you could still use some.

Remember that you need to keep your skin clean at all times. Whatever cosmetic or facial product you put on should not incur any unlikely reaction with your current acne medication.

What Acne Treatment Skin Care practices should be observed while you are treating your skin condition? Learn about those at the link At Home Acne Remedies today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ingrid_Lihan