Sunday, September 27, 2009
Acne Medicine: Finding The Right Medicinal Hero To Defeat Acne
Acne Medicine Solutions: Which Is Best for You
No acne medicine is thoroughly effective for everyone. What works for another may not be as effective for you. This could be due to a number of factors: skin type difference, how serious the condition at hand is, and even a person's lifestyle.
Acne Medicine Prescribed by Your Doctor
There are certain acne medicine products that may not be purchased without a doctor's prescription. Even if you find a way of purchasing it without your doctor's permission, it's still for your own good if you consult your doctor regarding the acne medicine product before using it.
Topical Antimicrobials - These acne medicine products work by attacking the bacteria causing acne to appear on the surface. As the term "topical" suggests, they are applied directly to your skin.
Topical Retinoid - This type of acne medicine product mainly uses vitamin A to unclog pores and minimize production of whiteheads and blackheads. This product however may cause a person to suffer skin irritation problems as well as heightened sensitivity to sun exposure.
Oral Antibiotics - Yes, it's possible indeed that you can cure yourself from acne through oral medication. It's imperative however that you use the right dosage or risk having your body immune to the medicine's effects.
Oral Contraceptives - Although this has been effective in treating acne, remember that it was not primarily intended for such use. As a result, manufacturers hadn't concentrated in ensuring that their products don't have any side effects when used for treating acne.
Off the Counter (OTC) Acne Medicine
On the other hand, there are readily available acne medicine products being sold in drug stores and which don't require a prescription from your doctor. Be sure to read the instructions carefully to ascertain that you're not at risk of suffering from any side effects.
Benzoyl Peroxide - This is one of the most popular OTC acne medicine products being used. It may however cause a slightly painful sensation when being applied. It may also cause your skin to become dry and your hair bleached so care must be exercised when using it.
Salicylic Acid - This ingredient can be found in numerous types of OTC acne medicine products and in various forms such as creams, lotions, and even pads. It is only effective however in treating mild cases of acne.
Resorcinol - This ingredient is not as popular as the two previous OTC acne medicine solutions discussed. Nevertheless, resorcinol is able to effectively treat mild acne and in mitigating blackhead and whitehead production.
Sulfur - This is another lesser-known ingredient found in several OTC acne medicine products in spite of the fact that it has been used for more than half a century already.
Herbal Medications - Be wary when using herbal medications to treat acne because many herbal acne medicine products have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
5 Safe Steps to Great Acne Care
If you are afflicted by acne, remember, you are not alone. Almost every American, rather every one else anywhere around the globe would have gone through this at some point of time or the other during the course of their life. Acne care therefore has turned into an industry, particularly in America.
The cosmetic factors of acne are more irksome than acne itself, more so in the case of women. No wonder then that there are so many acne care products available across the counter. Yet, not all forms of acne may respond well to these OTC drugs. Knowing the causes of acne and putting preventive measures in place can help you. Here are some of the facts to aid you.
Type of skin
Ahead of identifying the proper treatment method, it is essential to understand the type of skin you. It can be oily, dry or at times a combination of both. Acne care should be tailored to suit the type of skin.
Face wash
The primary acne care step, even before looking at any treatment method is to regularly wash your face. The excess production of sebaceous glands is responsible for the onset of acne. The fluid secretion from the glands into the skin pores. In cases where the face remains dirty for long periods of time, the fluid is trapped in the pores leading to infection. But, when you are doing this as part of your acne care exercise, you need to follow these guidelines.
You can apply lotion to your skin to heal it. But, remember that what most OTC products would do is to dry up your skin and not heal it. Dry skin can promote acne and you may aggravate an existing problem.
Was your face on a need basis. If you have been engaged in any form of physical activity leading to plenty of sweat and dirt accumulation, wash your face as soon as you finish the task. Allowing the sweat and dirt particles residence until you get home may not be of help in acne care.
Cleansing products with high alcohol content may do more harm than good for your skin. Salicylic acid, Aloe Vera, Niacinamide, Benzoyl Peroxide are among the better cleaning agents.
Do not overdo the washing and be gentle with the process. Rubbing or scrubbing your face can add to your woes.
Ex-foliators
There are several types of ex-foliators. You can choose one that suits you best to remove the bacteria and dead skin from the surface of the skin.
Scratching and picking
Acne does cause irritation, but picking and scratching your skin is certainly not a remedy. In fact, you may contribute to a more intense affliction. You could also be potentially inviting scars which might stay put even long after your acne is gone.
Sun and Acne
If you have acne, keep off the sun as much as you can. Acne medications will only make the skin more sensitive to damage from the sun. Sun blocks tend to assist clogging of arteries because most of them are oil based.
Serious Skin Care for Men. But Do They Need It?
For men, skin care can be something that they never consider. The closest they may come will often be the use of an aftershave so that they smell better. However there are good reasons why they ought to consider high quality skin care for men.
You see skin care isn't just about looking good, although more and more men are also becoming interested in their looks. But skincare for men is also about health. Because our skin is the biggest organ in our bodies, and just like other organs our skin is affected by age, and can become unhealthy.
Often if our skin is unhealthy that's a reflection of our general state of health. Unhealthy skin, unhealthy inside. So serious skin care for men, or for that matter women, doesn't just involve the use of high quality skin care products, though of course that's essential.
Good mens skin care involves a total approach. If unhealthy inside equals unhealthy skin, then healthy inside equals healthy skin. And this is equally true for women. So good diet, including plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and a good exercise regime both contribute to overall health, and good skin health.
And there's 2 things that men should never do if they want to maintain overall skin health. The first is to smoke and the second is to avoid sunburn. Both are extremely damaging to the skin, and both can lead to serious skin problem.
Smoking, for example causes vascular problems, and poor blood circulation is not good for the skin. And sunburn can lead to serious skin problems, including skin cancer.
So men, like women, should take care of their overall health as a part of a good skin care routine. Good skin care for men starts exactly where it starts for women.
And for men, skin care should also involve the use of high quality skin care products and anti aging products. Men also should be able to maintain healthy skin that keeps adequate levels of moisture, for example. And which has good levels of collagen and elastin, 2 essential skin proteins that help maintain skin complexion, suppleness, youthfulness and skin elasticity.
As men age their skin loses skin collagen and skin elastin, and it's essential to replace these. Using a skin care product that has collagen and elastin in it won't replace the lost collagen and elastin as the molecules of these 2 skin proteins are too large to penetrate the skin, so remain on the surface.
But modern science has found a way to stimulate the skin to produce more of it's own collagen and elastin, and the best skin care products in the world contain ingredients that will replace lost collagen and elastin like that. Way more effective than trying to replace them by adding them to the bottle and hoping they go in, which they won't.
So for men, as for women, a total approach is needed to skin care. Serious skin care for men requires a healthy lifestyle, avoiding smoking and sunburn, and the use of the worlds best skin care products.
The worlds best mens skin care products aren't found on the shelves of your local department store, just as the worlds best womens skin care products aren't found there either. You have to track them down, they're made by a small niche skin care company.
So men, skin care is important. Be serious about skin care for men, and you, and your skin, will be healthy and look great, and serve you well into old age.