How To Clear Up Your Acne Naturally!

Let’s first discuss the facts and then we’ll dispel some of the myths of “acne”. After this, we will talk about the normal drug treatments and offer some natural alternatives.

Acne is a skin problem that affects almost 95% of all teenagers and is one of the most common skin diseases today.

Causes of Acne
Acne can be caused a number of things, but dirt isn’t normally one of them as is generally believed.

The causes of acne are numerous, but generally it’s either caused by bacteria or by the hormone testosterone or a combination of the two.

These two effects combined cause a build-up of oil in the hair follicles. This causes blackheads and whiteheads to form.

For some people, their acne does not progress beyond this stage.

However in other people, the build-up of oil in the hair follicles creates an ideal environment for a bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes to grow.

These bacteria normally live harmlessly on your skin but when this ideal environment is created, they grow. They feed off the sebum and produce substances that cause a response from your body's immune system. This inflames the skin and creates the redness associated with spots.

In more severe "inflammatory acne", cysts develop beneath the skin's surface. These acne cysts can rupture, spreading the infection into nearby skin tissue. This can result in scarring.

Although bacteria is the culprit in a lot of cases, the primary culprit however seems to be hormonal imbalances in the human body which are accentuated in teenage years. During adolescence, the pituitary and the thyroid glands become very active and develop the sexual organs and sexual hormones in males and females.

During this period, the child's body is transformed into an adult. Hormone production is increased. This results in a rapid generation of cells in the walls of hair follicles and an overproduction of oil by the sebaceous glands which are located at the base of hair follicles (each skin follicle consists of hair follicle and a sebaceous gland).

The areas most likely to be affected by acne are those where the sebaceous glands are large, namely the face, the chest, and the back.

The sebaceous glands produce an oil call sebum which is a thick, fluid-like substance containing fatty material and soft cellular debris.

Acne blemishes form when dead skin cells mix with your body’s natural (sebum) oil, forming a plug in the hair follicle.

Dirt may play a role in clogging the follicle but more often than not, the culprit of the plugged pore is "scale" or dead skin cells that slough off the inner lining of your hair follicle.  

Because dirt is not causing your acne, over washing your face or body (more than 2–3 times per day) will not make it better.  In fact, too much washing or overuse of harsh scrubs and “pore strips” can actually strip the skin of the oil it needs to stay soft and pliable. Over washing may stimulate your skin to create more oil, thereby worsening the problem.

A few other typical causes of acne may include things as:

• Certain drugs (such as corticosteroids, lithium, and barbiturates).
• Oil and grease from the scalp, mineral or cooking oil, and certain cosmetics.
• Bacteria growth inside pimples.
• Can be aggravated by squeezing the pimples or by scrubbing the skin too hard.
• Some environmental conditions such as pollution or humid conditions can also irritate the skin.

A Few Myths About Acne
Now, let’s dispel some common myths.

Contrary to popular belief acne is not caused by eating fatty food. Neither is it caused by eating chocolate.

It’s also not caused by dirt, so washing more does not help. However if you do not wash your skin at all, bacteria will be able to multiply

Acne is not contagious, so you cannot catch it.

What Makes Acne Worse?
There are a number of things that can make your acne worse. These include the following:

Picking and squeezing the spots may cause further inflammation and scarring stress can make acne worse in some people, although it is not clear why in women, outbreaks may be affected by the hormonal changes that occur during the menstrual cycle excessive production of male hormones such as testosterone from conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome may be another cause.

Some medications and even contraceptive pills may make acne worse also. This is primarily due to the type of progestogen hormone in some pills.

Do not stop a prescribed medicine if you suspect it is making your acne worse, but tell your doctor.

Treatments With Drugs
Dermatologists usually treat acne externally. They prescribe such treatments as benzoyl peroxide, retinoic acid drugs such as tretinoin (Retin-A), salicyic acid, sulphur, zinc sulphate, and antibiotics such as minocycline (minocin), clindamycin (Cleocin), or erythromycin (ATS Gel or T-Stat solution), isotretinoin (Accutane).

All of these treatments offer temporary solutions as they are topical and mask symptoms leading to a reoccurrence of acne upon halting the treatment.

Also, many of these harmful chemicals have severe and nasty side effects. It’s generally not good to use antibiotics over lengthy periods.

Why would you use chemicals on your Face?

Natural Acne formulas are superior, safe and gentle.