How to Cure Acne
How to cure acne properly is all about eliminating inflammation. Most skin care products and treatments in the market place use harsh ingredients such as aggressive Alpha Hydroxy Acids or Benzoyl Peroxide.
When using these products the skin can clear temporarily but is left feeling sensitive, irritated, dry and flaky. This usually leads to the person then trying another product to moisturise and help restore skin normality and balance, only to break out once again and repeat the cycle of imbalance. When the correct skin care products and ingredients are used the skin becomes calm, redness and irritation is reduced, oil flow is normalised, and natural antibacterial ingredients help restore balance and strengthen the skin’s resistance to further breakout.
The 5 main organs involved in elimination are the liver, kidneys, lungs, intestines and skin. These organs work together to ensure that our body is able to survive our environment. Our skin is a filter, which helps remove toxins from our bodies. These toxins are often responsible for acne and skin breakouts. Whether from diet, hormones, stress or candida; the toxins that are released can appear on the face, back or chest and occur chronically, monthly or intermittently.
What is acne?
Acne is a skin condition medically known as Acne Vulgaris. It starts when greasy secretions from the skin’s oil gland (sebaceous glands) clog the tiny openings for hair follicles (clogged pores). If the openings are large, the clog forms a blackhead. If the openings stay small, the clog takes the form of a whitehead. Both types of clogged pores can develop into swollen, tender inflammations. In severe cases pimples develop deeper lumps or nodules which may develop into cystic acne, which thankfully is not very common.
Who gets acne?
Acne usually affects teenagers as well as people in their 30’s and 40’s, which is terribly distressing as it is not expected to happen at that age. People with acne are increasingly self-conscious and miserable about their skin. The attitude to acne seems to know only extremes: acne is either underestimated or taken care of obsessively.
What makes acne worse?
In women, hormonal changes around the monthly period may cause a flare-up of spots.
Thick oily make-up (foundations) suffocate and clog the skin causing blemishes, breakout and congestion.
Picking skin and squeezing pimples can cause further inflammation and skin damage, which may result in scars.
Excessive sweating, hot humid conditions, steamy greasy kitchens and tight clothing, headbands, bra’s, collars etc can contribute to blocking pores.
Some medicines such as steroids can make acne worse.
Diets high in sugar and milk products may also contribute to acne problems.
What causes acne?
There isn’t one easy answer to this question. Acne is influenced by different factors and manifests in different ways in people. Diet, stress, hormones and the type of skin care and make up we use can all play a part in breakout. Pimples form when oil is being trapped in the skin by dead skin cells that are shed into the pores. You can see this as small spots (pimples). In most cases, acne does not progress beyond a mild to moderate stage of small pimples, blackheads and whiteheads. Please note that the black of the blackheads is due to skin pigment and is not due to dirt as some people think.
Types of acne
P-Acnes
When acne progresses beyond the mild stage into a more severe acne it is known as P-Acnes or Propionibacterium acnes, which cause bacterial infection in the skin. Small numbers of this bacterium normally live on the skin and iff a large number develop in the trapped oil the immune system may react and cause inflammation. If inflammation develops, it causes the surrounding skin to become red and the pimples become larger and filled with pus (pustules). In some cases the pustules become even larger and form into small nodules and cysts. Small pit scars are commonly left on the skin where there was an inflamed spot and do not fully fade away.
Hormonal Acne
Hormonal acne in girls and women may be linked to polycystic ovary syndrome (POS) a condition that cause excess male hormone to be made in the ovary or adrenal gland. This can cause other symptoms in addition to acne, such as thinning scalp hair, excess growth of facial or body hair (hirsutism) and other problems.
Candida Acne
Candida is a form of yeast naturally found in the human body and forms part of our oral, intestinal and skin flora. When candida is out of control bad digestive health maybe the number 1 reason people suffer from acne. People often don’t realize how important it is to have healthy gut health. Gut flora, together with candida and thousands of different species of microorganisms coexist. The balance is very delicate and many things can upset that balance. Some factors include: Diet, cosmetic products, illness, medications such as antibiotics, and chronic stress. Whatever aggravates inflammation in our bodies can also cause candida to multiply. Healing candida overgrowth in your gut is a step towards improving the health and the look of your skin. But as far as acne is concerned you will need to treat it topically to clear pores, help heal pimples and restore skin clarity and health.
How to cure acne and pimples
Do not wash more than normal: every morning and evening is perfect. Use a gel cleanser such as Clear Skin Cleanser that does not strip the skin’s natural protective barrier, but cleanses effectively and leaves the skin feeling refreshed and clean.
Use a natural acne defence serum containing retinaldehyde (Vitamin A) which has been proven to be effective in helping boost cell turnover, balance and normalise oil flow, fight blackheads, cystic acne, and acne scars and reveal new, healthy skin cells (cell renewal factor).
Use a gentle AHA (glycolic) exfoliator to remove surface dead skin build up 3 x per week to help eliminate blockages and congestion trapped under the skin surface. This is an important part of skin care especially for an acne or congested skin. It works in conjunction with the Clear Skin Serum which stimulates cell turnover (skin cells moving from the lower level to the upper level) and Resurface Exfoliating Gel, which removes surface dead skin build up that compacts on the top layer, leaving skin feeling smooth and looking vibrant.
Moisturise with a light weight Vitamin B3 (niacinamide) and Hyaluronic Acid hydrating moisturiser/serum to boost moisture (water) in the skin, normalise, balance, calm and hydrate skin, as well as even pigment production and help fade red scars, reduce dehydration and flaky skin and restore the protective function of skin. Do not use oil or oily products, as this will cause further breakout: bacteria thrive in oil.
