Acne Free Online

When it comes to being acne free, this is what every teenager should know.  In order to get the best results from your skin care regimen, it is important to know your skin type. Also, some of the best treatments don’t have to cost a thing.  Lastly, if all other treatments fail, it may be time to seek the help of a professional. By the end of this post, you will be better equipped to make the best decision that will work for your acne situation.

First, in order to find the right product for your acne problem, it is important for you to know your skin type. If you notice that your skin is usually tight and that your pores are barely noticeable, then you probably have dry skin.  With dry skin you wouldn’t want to use a product for oily skin as this will only leave your skin even drier.

Oily skin is generally characterized by large noticeable pores and a visible shine from the surface oil.  You may notice when you touch your skin that this oil can transfer to fingertips or clothing.  As with dry skin, for oily skin you would not want to use a product for dry skin as this will only exacerbate the problem by adding additional unwanted oils.

Combination skin is generally described as having both dry and oily skin characteristics at the same time.  The oily skin can generally be found on the T-zone, the area of the forehead down through the nose and chin, and the dry skin is typically found on the cheeks and around the eyes.  Unfortunately, this can be the most difficult to treat as your battling both skin types at the same time.  Fortunately, there are products on that market that are specifically formulated for combination skin.

Second, acne treatment products can be expensive but it’s good to know that there are things you can do that don’t have to cost anything. Before going out and spending a fortune on products why not start doing some of these things that are free?  For instance, eating healthier foods and drinking fresh water will go a long way in helping you combat acne. Caffeine, white sugars and carbohydrates have all been shown to interfere with proper hormonal function.  It is these hormones that can cause the sebaceous glands to go into overdrive and make more oils to clog your pores.

Rest is also a very powerful, free, acne treatment.  How you ask?  Rest recharges our immune system so that it can fight the bacteria causing acne another day.  So, when someone says they are catching up on their beauty sleep, they really are helping themselves to more beautiful skin.

Lastly, sometimes the best thing you can do for your acne is to seek medical help.  The acne you suffer from may be caused by a hormonal imbalance that could require prescription medication.  Also, you could have an underlying infection causing your acne that requires an antibiotic.  A medical professional would be the best person to help in these situations.

So, take the time to get to know your skin type so that you can find the best acne products for you.  Start doing the free things to help your body fight acne and lastly, if all other methods fail, consult a doctor or dermatologist who will be able to find the root cause of your acne and prescribe you the right medication.

Acne, to a teenager, is a curse. To an adult who thinks they’ve maneuvered through the waters of puberty and left those unsightly blemishes behind, acne is an aggravating annoyance to say the least.  But what is this skin problem that causes us anywhere from mild embarrassment to physical and emotional scarring?

The American Academy of Dermatology states that acne vulgaris, or simply called acne, is the most common skin disorder in the United States.

Acne, at its most basic, starts when the oil and dead skin cells clog up the hair follicles or pores in your skin.  Sometimes germs also get trapped in the pores and the result is redness and swelling (inflammation).  These clogged pores can become blackheads, blemishes, whiteheads, pimples, the slang word zits, or in its most severe form cystic acne.

Acne can appear just about anywhere on the body but most of the time you will find acne on the face, neck, back, shoulders and chest and even the inside of ears and nose.  Because there are no hair follicles or pores on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet, acne will not appear on these areas.

As to severity, acne can range from a mild case which is just a few blackheads, pimples or a small number of red spots to a severe case which includes hundreds of pimples and blackheads covering the face, neck and back.  An even more severe case could include large red bumps deep under a person’s skin that are painful cysts, called cystic lesions.

Acne typically starts in the teenage years for most people.  When we hit puberty hormone changes make the skin oilier.  It is safe to say that most young people will get at least a mild case of acne during their teenage and even preteen years.  But don’t fret, most of the time this mild form of acne starts to clear up and does get better once we become a young adult.

But acne is not just a teenage problem and I can speak from experience.  The American Academy of Dermatology reports that 80 percent of adults between the ages of 20 and 30 suffer from mild to moderate acne. And that over half of all women, regardless of age, suffer from some form of acne. In my life this has been a frustrating problem, especially when I thought I had left those skin problems behind in high school.

Personally, I had very mild instances of acne in my teenage years.  When I hit the age of 26 I was plagued with a moderate onset of adult acne unlike any of the acne I had in my teenage years.

The good news is I was not left a victim to this condition and neither are you.  We’re going to explore the causes of acne and even more importantly the treatments to help us be acne free.