There are a few lucky people who go through their entire adolescence without ever getting a pimple. For the rest of us, acne is a condition that a lot of people feel that they just have to put up with until they grow out of it.
Acne can develop when the pores in the skin become clogged with oil. In our teen years, glands in our skin makes an excess of an oil called sebum. Raging teenage hormones means lots of sebum and that means pimples, blackheads and cysts. Because there are so many of these oil producing glands in the face, back and chest this is where acne usually strikes. Changes in hormonal levels also explains why some women develop acne as they approach menopause.
Teens already have a lot of stressful things to deal with and having acne can cause even more stress and embarrassment. When your social life is just starting to become so important to you, having skin that seems to pick the most inconvenient times to break out only adds to the stress.
So what can be done about it? Here’s some ideas on ways you can fight back against acne:
Keep your sheets and pillowcase clean. When you lay down at night the oil from your skin rubs off on your pillowcase. The next night you’re laying your face down on the pillowcase and applying the same oil back into your skin. If you don’t have a large number of pillowcases it may be more practical to just lay a clean towel down over the pillow before bedtime.
Stop it before it starts. When your pores get clogged the bacteria that is normally found on your skin starts to grow and multiply in the clogged pore. With no way to get out these otherwise harmless bacteria produce chemicals that build up and can degrade and inflame the walls of the pore and begin to form what is known as a pimple. Regular use of a gel or cream that contains Benzoyl peroxide will kill these bacteria before they have a chance to get out of control.
Get a soap made for treating acne and wash twice a day with it. Do it first thing in the morning and last thing before bed at night. Scrubbing harder isn’t better either. Take it easy and be gentle to avoid aggravating the oil producing glands any more than they already are.
Make sure that you’re taking your vitamins. Your skin is the biggest organ in your body and like every other organ it depends on proper nutrition if you expect it to function properly. A good multi-vitamin can help fill in any gaps in an otherwise healthy diet.
Try not to pick at the pimples or blackheads on your face or body. Besides the possibility of an ugly scar the pimple can become infected and now you’ve got a bigger problem. If you do pick, make sure to use a disinfectant antibiotic that can help to kill bacteria causing infection.
Start taking pharmaceutical grade omega-3 supplements. These supplements have powerful anti-inflammatory fatty acids that reduce the swelling and inflammation of acne lesions. Other benefits are improved hydration within the skin, enhanced mood and reduction of stress and a decrease in the production of keratin and therefore less acne-causing sebum.
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