Part Two – Causes, and Natural Prevention

Who Gets Acne? Nearly 50% of adults and more than 90% of all adolescents are affected by acne. No wonder people are concerned because it is one of the most wide spread medical conditions in the world.

Causes of Acne

The condition – Acne – is influenced by a variety of factors, many of them are simplely out of your control. There is no one cause of acne.

Acne usually begins at puberty, in both males and females, when the body begins to produce male hormones called androgens. These hormones cause the sebaceous glands to enlarge – a natural process of the body’s development. With acne sufferers, the sebaceous glands are over stimulated by androgens – often continuing well into adulthood.

When the sebaceous glands are stimulated by androgens, it produces extra sebum. During the journey up the hair follicle pore to the skin’s surface, sebum mixes with natural skin bacteria and dead skin cells that have been shed from the lining of the hair follicle. This process is normal, but the presence of the extra sebum in the pore increases the chances of clogging and can cause acnr.

On your face there can be as many as 500,000 bacteria per square centimeter. This bacteria is present in all skin types and is part of the skin’s natural environment. Once the pore is plugged however, the bacteria can multiply quickly in a closed space which fosters the development of acne.
The body sends white blood cells to attack the unwanted bacteria. This process is called chemotaxis. It results in pimples that become red, swollen, and painful.

Pollution has been proven to be one of the major causes of acne. This is because particles that become trapped in pores will block the pores and the result will in most cases be infections.

Prevention

There are lots of ways to control acne. Cleanse your skin up to three times a day with products containing the mangosteen fruit that will not strip your skin of all its natural oils but will stimulate skin turnover and exfoliation. Change your pillow cases and bed sheets often. The buildup of dirt on your face after a long day adds to the toxins on your face. Also the moisture from sweaty or wet cloths can irritate your skin and cause blemishes. Many don’t realize that some of the acne on other areas of the body are worse than the arne on your face.

The sun is not a cure for acne as believed by many people. Small amounts of UV light are essential for skin health, but getting a tan can cause unbalanced skin cell shedding which causes even more acne to appear and it can easily out weigh the benefits of UV light. Cosmetics are another common cause of acne. A lot of the products not only contain dangerous toxins but they plug the pores and most cleaning products are unable to remove the pore plugging debris of the makeup. Smoking is also harmful because it reduces collagen in your skin, this makes acne wore and scaring more likely.

Treatment

The first step is to cleanse the skin with natural plant compounds which stimulate skin growth and help exfoliate old cells. If you have particularly oily skin you may need to cleanse three times a day (morning, afternoon and bedtime).

Using liquid compounds capable of penetrating deep into the pores of the skin to dissolve sebum and dislodge debris is the next step. A product having the mangosteen fruit as a main ingredient will have remarkable natural antibiotic compounds which have been laboratory tested and proven to control p-acne and staphylococcus aureus, – the two bacterial strains known to be involved with acne.

Also products with the mangosteen fruit contain large quantities of anti inflammatory phytochemicals which reduce the severity of acne skin lesions. If these phytochemicals can remain on the face over night in the form of a moisturizer it can be a further benefit. If possible acne sufferers should use a gel moisturizer and not a creamy moisturizer since the high secretion of sebum which is a natural moisturizer may be sufficient.

Conclusion

Acne can be very emotionally and socially damaging whether it is confined to adolescence or continues through adulthood. Studies have shown acne can leave people to feel ugly, dirty, angry and depressed.

Fortunately you do not have to live with acne. There is always something you can do to help the health of your skin. One of the newest plants to be incorporated into skin care products is the mangosteen. The mangosteen fruit has been shown to exhibit anti inflammatory properties, anti bacterial properties and is a potent anti oxidant which are ideal properties to have in the prevention of acne.

Decided to fight acne and win? With so many acne creams and treatments on the market some of them surely have to work. But which ones? Here you will find the list of best acne cream treatments that actually work.

DDF BP Gel also includes Tea Tree Oil

DDF BP Gel contains 5 percent benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide works well to treat acne, and 5 percent is a mild but effective concentration. This cream also contains tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is generally beneficial for your skin, and it fights acne as well. It has antibacterial properties that help prevent acne breakouts. Most people who use this cream notice that their skin feels better after a week of applying the cream. It is effective to cure acne and it doesn’t dry your skin out.

Acne Solutions Emergency Gel Lotion by Clinique

This product has many positive customer reviews. It really helps to fight acne that keeps reappearing. It unclogs pores filled with bacteria and controls oil production on your skin. You will see reduced redness and inflammation in just a few days. Clinique Acne Solutions is a strong cream with high concentration of benzoyl peroxide. One disadvantage – it is more expensive than other acne control products.

Persa Gel by Johnson and Johnson

Works very effectively to treat present acne spots and to prevent feature breakouts of blackheads and whiteheads. This product also contains benzoyl peroxide; the concentration of it is 10 percent. This is the highest concentration allowed for non prescription acne medicine. Persa Gel is water based, so it works for all skin types. This is a very popular acne cream; you can find it in any chemist shop.

Blemish Double Agent Treatment from Biore

This cream is not benzoyl peroxide based; instead it protects your skin from acne by sealing in salicylic acid. It also keeps out the dirt to prevent farther inflammation. The manufacturer claims that you will see blemishes reduced after one application, most people report seeing results in 3 – 5 days. It is gentle and doesn’t dry your skin.

Oxy 10 Balance Emergency Spot Treatment

This is a very strong acne cream that will cure the worst of acne. However, use it with care; it only should be used to cure existing acne, not as a preventive method. It also might irritate sensitive skin, so if you applied Oxy 10 and your skin feels irritated, this product is not for you.

Clinique Acne Solutions Concealing Cream

This cream belongs to the same line of Acne Solutions by Clinique as the gel mentioned before. This is not a medicine as such, but a make up item. Everybody who has acne knows that finding the right make up to hide it is a problem. Most foundations and concealers only make your acne worse. In contrast Acne Solutions Consealing Cream is specifically formulated for acne affected skin. It heals acne as well as hides it. If you use make up for acne, this cream works very well to conseal blemishes. But like all Clinique products it is not cheap.

Natural hearbal acne creams

You would be surprized but you can make some effective natural acne creams at home. One effective treatment is a mix of banana, avocado and vitamin E ointment. You can buy vitamin E concentrated cream in a chemist or order it online. To make the cream take half a tea spoon of vitamin E ointment, one small avocado and half a banana and blend them in a blender. Apply this acne remedy to your face and keep for several minutes.

Natural acne remedies work very well for some people. The only disadvantage is that you can not store them like you would do with a bought cream. For example banana and avocado cream can stay in your fredge for a day, but not much longer.

A word of caution

Acne creams are effective in getting rid of acne, but most of them have the same drawback. It makes your skin very sensative to sunlight. So when you use an acne control cream, use a good sunblock cream as well.

If you decided to get rid of your acne try some of the acne creams we reviewed. Instead of squeezing and pinching your pimples, apply an acne cream treatment once a day for at least a week. You will see how much better your skin will look.