Skin-Care - How to prevent Acne
For most of us that take pride in the way we look, the thought of suffering with acne or Zits, may at first seem awful; but things are gradually improving for sufferers. It is one of those areas where research has continued to make advancements; this is good news with the range of effective skin care treatments improving all the time. Despite the number of acne skin care products currently available on the market, they are broadly categorized into three distinctly separate groups:
Preventative: Creams, lotions etc. to help cleanse and tone the skin
Over-the-counter
Prescription only: doctors or dermatologists prescribe special treatments
Many skin care products are used as a measure to prevent acne; for example, special toners and skin cleansers. In the real sense, these products are just those that should be part of your daily routine; many use these products to protect their skin from the environment even if they do not have the acne condition. Some of these products are designed to act like an acne skin care product and act against the causes of this complaint; they are formulated to reduce and limit the amount of oil in the pores of our skin. When the pores become clogged with this oil, bacteria which can cause the problem begin to grow.
Skin care treatments such as ex foliation skin peels, clean the skin and help control the spread of the condition; there is now a variety of this type of product available over the counter. This type of peel helps reduce the chance of oil clogging up the pores as well as removing other skin impurities; this can reduce the bacterium growth on your skin. There are specialized acne skin care products available over-the-counter, they do not require the need of a prescription. Most of these creams etc. are based on benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, both of which are the enemies of bacteria (and hence acne); they work by removing the excess oil from the skin and halt the growth of acne.
Generally it is best to start using this type of product with only a small amount of benzoyl peroxide (less than 5.5 percent is recommended), just to see how the skin reacts; an alternative to this includes products which contain alpha hydroxy acid. It might just be a case of trial and error to find an acne skin care product that works; if nothing you use is effective then speak to your dermatologist for advice. There are benefits of seeing your doctor or dermatologist, they can prescribe you with a prescription for treatments not available over the counter, for example a course of antibiotics.
In more serious cases your skin care specialist may decide that a small surgical procedure can be used to remove the oil and infection from your pores; this is not something you should ever attempt yourself. An alternative that has been shown to work well is hormone therapy; studies show that hormone based skin care treatments often prove effective. Science has produced many effective treatments for this unkind condition.
Tags: Natural Health Tips