Acne Vitamin - How It Helps Your Skin

There are numerous acne treatments available in the market today. Some work on everybody; some don’t work on anybody and others work only for select groups of people. The best skin treatments are those that include nutritional health. If you don’t get your vitamins and minerals, your skin suffers along with the rest of you. Adequate amounts of the appropriate acne vitamin can do much for lessening the incidence of acne.

Face it. We eat way too much processed, cholesterol laden, nutrient deficient food. We drink too much caffeine and we load our bodies with sugar. We think about vitamins when they are in the news; we take note of it; we talk about it. And then we go out and order our double cheeseburger with a milkshake and regular fries. We just do not make an effort to get enough of any acne vitamin. The ramifications show up in our health, our hair, and our skin. When our skin isn’t healthy, it shows. According to skin care experts, getting adequate vitamins can help to prevent and heal acne.

The Sources and Value of Acne Vitamins

A: beta-carotene

This potent antioxidant attacks toxins, supports the skin and prevents acne by inhibiting the production of sebum. The best sources for beta-carotene are carrots, spinach, and red or yellow bell peppers.

B Vitamins

These are known as the stress vitamins. When you don’t get enough of your B complex, you have fewer defences against the impact of stress on your body. B vitamins are also helpful for skin tone. Stress and skin issues contribute to acne. These vitamins are best taken together as a complex. The best sources for B vitamins are in whole grains, liver, and beans.

C: antioxidant

This vitamin strengthens the connective tissues of the skin, supports our immune system, protects against cell damage, and guards against bacteria with its bioflavonoids. That makes vitamin C a powerful defence against acne. The best source for C vitamins are in citrus fruits, tomatoes, strawberries, bell peppers, potatoes and broccoli.

E: antioxidant

This healing vitamin helps repair soft tissue in all its forms. It is a preventative against free radicals. The best sources for vitamin E are in eggs, oils and green leafy vegetables like spinach.

Minerals for Acne Prevention

Minerals are another important part of a healthy lifestyle. The two minerals most essential to healthy skin care and the prevention of acne are zinc and chromium.

Zinc

Repairs tissue, slows the manufacture of sebum and fights free radicals. Zinc is commonly used to fight acne. Sources include high protein foods, especially red meats and dark. Pumpkin seeds and nuts are other good sources for zinc.

Chromium

This mineral helps to fight against skin infections. Chromium does not absorb well from food sources alone. Take chromium as a supplement.

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While vitamins and minerals are essential for healthy skin and the prevention of acne, taking any acne vitamin in excess is never a good idea. Be sure to adhere to the guidelines of RDA and your doctor. Get your vitamins, heal your skin and wipe out that acne by getting proper nutrition.

Acne Basics -Effective Over the Counter Treatments For Acne

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Most acne problems can be controlled with over the counter treatments for acne. When topical acne medication is used with a regular skin care program, mild forms of acne will respond to it quickly. If you have mild acne, your solution is probably sitting on the shelf at your local drugstore.

The Best Over the Counter Treatments For Acne

• Benzoyl Peroxide - This is the most widely used form of acne treatment. It works by killing the bacteria that may be the cause of the acne. These types of acne are called “propionibacterium” acnes. Benzoyl peroxide also helps by removing dead skin cells. If the dead skin cells aren’t taken out, they will build up and cause a worse case of acne. This medication can cause excessively dry skin and can bleach your clothes, so it must be used with care and in the right amounts. Use the minimal amount it takes to clear your acne. If 2.5% works, don’t make the assumption that a higher concentration will do the job faster. It will only make the side effects worse without being any more effective. Severely dry skin can be as irritating as the acne itself.
• Salicylic Acid - Aspirin is made from salicylic acid. It helps by dissolving pimples and blackheads and reducing inflammation and redness. It is an effective treatment option when it is used correctly. This medication is typically available in the form of soaked pads which are rubbed on the skin. When you use the pads, it not only works to clean and dissolve the acne, it retards the process of build up within the pores, helping to prevent future breakouts. Don’t use salicylic acid with other topical over the counter treatments for acne. Combining it with other medications can cause more skin irritation.
• Resorcinol - This over the counter treatment is effective for many people. It works especially well when used with sulfur. This breaks down the acne pustules and makes it possible to clean out the pores. It helps to prevent future breakouts by keeping the pores clear of bacteria and debris. Resorcinol should not be used with anything containing alcohol.
• Alcohol and Acetone - These are safe to use but they are not usually as effective as the medications described above. Alcohol can kill bacteria and clean oil from the surface of the skin. Acetone cuts through the oil on the skin, too. The problem is that neither of these works to take care of what is under the skin - where the acne starts. Cleaning the surface is good but it does little to fix the problem. Both of these cost less than the others. It is better to use them as part of your skin care regimen and not as your acne medication.

All over the counter treatments for acne should be used according to the directions on the box. If they do nothing to help your condition over the next couple of weeks your problem gets worse, you should see a dermatologist. You may need a medical prescription to get rid of your acne.

Acne Basics - Acne Scars and Treatment

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Unfortunately, acne can cause problems long after the acne is gone. Issues that come up after have to do with acne scars. Mild acne does not usually cause scarring but there are other types that do.

If you have redness and bumps for a while after your acne has been successfully treated, that may not be caused by acne scars. Those usually go away after a while - sometimes it can take up to a year. Those problems aren’t permanent and they are not acne scars.

Real acne scars are caused by changes in the skin tissue caused by healing. As the skin heals, fibrous tissue develops because of changes made to the underlying skin tissue because of white blood cells attacking bacteria. When fibrous tissue develops and stays, you will have permanent acne scars.

Acne Scars - Various Types

Ice Pick Scars

These are small pinholes in the skin. It looks like someone was poked over and over with an ice pick. That is how the name is derived. These can be too deep for treatment with dermabrasion or laser therapies.

Boxcar Scars

These are similar to ice pick scars but they are flatter. These are usually shallower than ice pick scars and resurfacing techniques like dermabrasion and laser treatments may help these types of scars.

Keloid scars

These types of scars can grow past the area of the original acne. They are also more firm fibrous tissue caused by an over production of collagen. They are pink or red in color. These types are more difficult to treat than the other kinds of scars.

Acne Scars - Therapies

Dermabrasion is done with a high speed brush that removes layers of skin. A local anesthetic is used first as it can be painful. When the skin regenerates, it is usually scar-free. Microdermabrasion is a form of dermabrasion that does not use a brush. Instead, aluminum oxide crystals are combined with a vacuum that causes them to move rapidly and take off layers of skin. It is not as invasive as dermabrasion but because of this, it may not be as effective.

Laser treatments for acne scars can be very effective for some scarring. They work by changing the size and shape of the acne scars. CO2 lasers can remove some of the tissue. Redness can last for several weeks following a laser treatment because lasers work by burning off the tissues.

Ice pick scars may be treated by “punching”. This is a surgical procedure that cuts into the subcutaneous layers of fat. The hole is then repaired. This can be done with stitches or skin grafts.

Subcisions involve cutting the scar tissue away from the rest of the skin. Sometimes it works but sometimes it can just cause more scarring.

Topical retinoids or steroid injections are the most common way to treat keloid scarring. They are the best choice for keloid scars. Sometimes this manner of treatment works. Sometimes it fails. Keloid scars are the worst type of acne scars to treat.

Acne Basics - Who Gets Acne?

Who gets acne? Well, the answer to that is almost everybody will get acne at some time or the other in their lives. There are some conditions that factor into whether or not one has a problem with acne. Boys and girls, young and old, brown, black, white…. All of us have the potential to develop acne and at some point in our lives and most of us do.

When the pores become clogged with dead skin cells and sebum, the pores trap the mixture and it cannot drain out as it normally would. Bacteria grows, ruptures the wall of the follicle and cause acne. Androgens, a hormone in common with men and women, are believed to cause an increase in oil production. More oil production increases the chance of oil getting clogged in the pores and causing acne breakouts.

Twenty-five percent of acne sufferers have breakouts on their back and upper chest areas. For many, acne is a painful and even debilitating condition. Forty percent of people with acne find it severe enough to discuss with their doctor or dermatologist.

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Who Gets Acne - The Wide, Wide Range

Teenagers are prone to acne breakouts because of androgen levels rising in the body. Girls are affected at around 11 years of age and boys develop it at about 13 years of ages. Those ages correlate directly with the average start of puberty in each of the genders.

Boys are affected more by acne when they do begin puberty. The androgen levels in boys rise significantly higher and at a faster rate than androgen levels in girls, so acne is often more severe. It slows down for them as they enter their twenties. For women, the 20’s are when acne is even more apt to develop.

Women are the most prone to acne throughout most of their lives. Their menstrual cycle and hormones of pregnancy keep acne a part of their lives during these stages. Forty-four percent of women between 20 and 32 have acne on a cycle. Women over 30 have high odds of it as well. The odds for men are lower but they have been known to experience acne problems well into their fifties, too.

Babies have been known to get whiteheads. These usually disappear on their own but it can take up to 6 weeks for them go away. Even people over 50 years old can have acne. There aren’t any age ranges shown to be completely clear of acne. Though it doesn’t affect every person as they enter their senior years, it still affects some of them.

Some prescription drugs like barbiturates, corticosteroids and lithium are known causes for the development of acne. These should not be used without a medical prescription or without a medical reason.

Acne affects every race: Caucasian, African, Latin, Asian… Acne does not care about your ancestry. It does not discriminate.

In conclusion, I guess the answer to the question, “Who gets acne?” is: Anybody can develop acne.