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Microdermabrasion
- Acne
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| » Inflammatory
Acne » Skin Care Products |
» Acne
Information |
Acne
Acne is a chronic (lasting many years) disorder
characterized by excess production of oil from sebaceous glands causing
hair follicles generally
on the face, chest and back to become plugged. Pimples, papules,
pustules and comedone, (black heads and white heads) cysts and infected
abscesses
can form in acne depending upon its severity and whether or not
it is treated appropriately.
Acne is a complex disease and all but the mildest forms of it should be treated by a board certified dermatologist. In regards to African American skin care, acne too often results in long lasting discolorations of the skin. (These dark spots are regularly very treatable at home after the acne finally goes away.) Acne therapy is the same for all skin types. It is important to use topical agents that minimize irritation of the skin. Unfortunately many young people do not consult a dermatologist about their acne until it is out of control and they have serious scaring and dark spots on their face. Acne can be both prevented and treated.
Mild Non-Inflammatory Acne
In these cases, simple open comedones
or blackheads exist also there can be closed comedones or whiteheads.
Noninflammatory kinds of whiteheads or closed comedones do not
have swelling or pain associated with them. There exists on everyone's
face, an area known as The "T" Zone. This is
a T shaped area including your forehead, nose and the area slightly
to each side of your nose, plus your chin. This is the area of
the very highest density of sebaceous glands and is generally the
area of worse acne flare-ups. Both of the noninflammatory comedones
can be treated with daily home microdermabrasion plus improved
and more frequent face washing. Be sure you use cleansers that
are;
Plan to wash your face three
times a day and if you use makeup, be certain that it, like your cleansers,
is oil free and non-comedogenic. Your first face washing of the day should
be in the morning as soon as you get out of bed. Working women should wash
their face at lunch time and reapply their makeup. If this is not possible,
than their second face washing of the day should be as soon as they get home
from work. Then the third face washing at bedtime.
Inflammatory Acne
At the first sign of swelling or painful deeper
pustule stop the microdermabrasion get yourself to the dermatologist ASAP.
(No kidding) Swelling or painful bumps usually mean infection and this
requires treatment by a real physician, preferably a dermatologist. Inflammatory
acne comes in mild, moderate and severe cases. Do not attempt to treat
yourself with over the counter products or microdermabrasion. That will
likely only make your acne worse.
Skin Care Products - Do Your Part
Take the acne medicine your dermatologist prescribes most faithfully. Be mindful of what ingredients are in your skin care products like shampoo, soap and conditioners. Keep your hair clean and off your forehead. Shampoo and conditioners should be oil free and non-comedogenic, just like anything that touches your face. Also be mindful, discipline yourself, so that you do not pick at your acne lesions unconsciously. Touching your face with a fingernail will only add new and potentially harmful bacteria to your acne infections.Acne Information
First of all, let's dispel a big fat acne myth. Diet plays a minor role in the cause and subsequent flare-ups of acne. Don't worry, go ahead and eat reasonable amounts of chocolate or what ever you like. There are a very few people who suffer acne flare-ups when they eat certain foods. Your chances of being one are about the same as your chances of being in a car accident, (if you are a sober careful driver) maybe 1 in 23,000. If you are one of those rare people, you should notice what foods cause your acne to flare-up and simply avoid them. In modern medicine, it is generally agreed that a healthy low fat diet of grains, fruits and vegetables plus regular exercise is a good idea for everyone.What does cause acne and acne flare-ups are things like hormones, androgen and testosterone these are the big culprits. That is why you often see acne start in young people when their hormones kick in. Androgen is thought of as a male hormone. However, women also produce it also in smaller amounts. There is not much you can do about it. Androgen stimulates sebaceous glands to produce more oil and that can start the pore clogging acne cycle in those people prone to it. Young women sometimes develop acne after their first menstrual period. These young women often continue to have acne flare-ups just before their period, often for many years. This is known as premenstrual flare. Acne is also a familial disorder, meaning it tends to run in families. So if both your parents had it, the chances are you will too. Stress is another big factor in the cause of acne flare-ups. Most dermatologists will tell you that students with acne tend to have flare-ups around exam time. Stress is just about the only thing you may be able to control in order to decrease your acne flare-ups. For everything else, there is no substitute for seeing your dermatologist.
Acne Scars
For people who have had acne in the past and
now have residual acne scaring and dark spots on their face, there is plenty
you can
do to improve your skin's appearance. Depending upon the severity of your
acne scars, you may require surgical or laser skin resurfacing. Some procedures
are
expensive and because they are cosmetic, they are most often not covered
by medical insurance. Find out who does these skin resurfacing procedures
in your area (usually plastic surgeons) and seek consultation, which is
almost always free. See at least two if not three of these physicians to
get a feel for who has your best interest at heart and who is merely in
the business of "pushing expensive procedures". You will have to be your
own advocate. Arm yourself with knowledge before you make any doctor's
appointments.
Two good places to get information:
http://surgery.org/public/procedures skinresurface.php
http://www.facemd.org/patient/procedures/resurfacing.html
Acne Damage Skin Treatment
After your acne finally goes away and if your scaring is not too serious and/or you have dark spots you may want to give home microdermabrasion a try. It takes about eight weeks of daily treatments to get good results and it can take even longer, for persons over sixty-five years of age. However, home microdermabrasion is very inexpensive and requires only about one to two minutes per day of extra shower time. It also dramatically reduces the appearance of facial wrinkles.
Typically one 8oz jar of home microdermabrasion cream will last most people the eight week mandatory starting time. This eight week starting time is required in order for your skin's physiology to change sufficiently to produce the desired results. Home microdermabrasion is something you can do by yourself, for yourself and it produces very good results for minimal time, effort or cost.
It seems certainly to be worth a try before dishing out five to ten thousand dollars of your personal savings for surgery. Most skin resurfacing procedures carry with them grave surgical and anesthesia risks. It is a whole lot safer with home microdermabrasion. The risks of home microdermabrasion
are far less severe, amounting to some mere blushing of the skin if you are too aggressive with yourself. This resolves in few days and can be camouflaged with makeup. Surgical complication range from serious to catastrophic. Most people become wildly enthusiastic about their results
with home microdermabrasion, even before finishing their introductory eight week period.