How to Get Rid of Pimples
It’s not right that only teenagers are affected by pimples. Many adults may also experience sudden onset of pimples at certain stages in their lives. While pimples are not life threatening, they can certainly cause feelings of irritation and frustration. In more severe cases, pimples can also make a person feel extremely self-conscious and cause feelings of low self-confidence.
A Few Pimple Myths
1. Dirt Causes Pimples Although dirt feels unpleasant on the skin, it does not cause pimples. E.g. many construction workers have relatively clear skin although they are exposed to dirt, debris, mud, etc in their work.
2. Pimples can be dried up Water can be dried up but not pimples. When you’re trying to ‘dry up’ your pimples, you are really drying up the water in your skin cells. This can disrupt your skin’s natural barrier function and increase the presence of bacteria in your skin. Your skin can also become dry, flaky and irritated, thus worsening your skin problems. The right thing do really is to balance sebum production by using the right product. This process is not simply about ‘drying up’ pimples. As a result being misled by this myth, many suffered from dry, flaking surface skin even while they have acne.
3. Pimples can be spot-treated Pimple ‘creation’ takes about 2 to 3 weeks before it pops out on the surface of your skin. There’re underlying skin issues that cannot simply be zapped away by spot-treatment. Therefore, to treat pimples from its root, you have to know the various factors that cause pimples and address them directly.
Thread Carefully with ‘Oil-Free’ Products A product that is marked as ‘oil-free’ does not necessarily mean it will not cause pimples or clogged pores. Read the ingredient carefully and watch out for ingredients like silicones, synthetic colors(especially D&C Red colors), and waxes etc.
The Four Main Causes Of Pimples
1. Hormonal Imbalance
Sebum production is activated by male hormones/androgen, especially testosterone. Testosterone is transformed into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), another form of male hormone that latches on the sebaceous glands.
Pimples that appear during premenstrual or menstrual period is an example of pimples caused by hormonal imbalances. 8 to 10 days before the start of the period, testosterone in the bloodstream starts to rise. This is caused by a decrease in the female hormone, estrogen, leading to a sudden larger percentage of androgen in the bloodstream, which in turn causes an increase stimulation of the sebaceous glands.
Other factors that trigger hormonal imbalances include stress, birth control pills, pregnancy, menopause and of course, puberty.
2. Excessive Production of Sebum
Sebum is essential for healthy skin and hair. But, when produced in excess due to hormonal imbalances, the skin takes on an oily and unsightly appearance and may even lead to irritation and inflammation in serious cases.
Hyperseborrhea is caused by an increase in the size and activity of the sebaceous glands resulting from the effect of androgen. The enzyme,5 alpha-reductase, found in the sebaceous gland, converts testosterone into dihydroxytestosterone (DHT). Sebaceous gland is activated when DHT works on the activity of the hair follicles, resulting in an increased production of sebum.
3. Accumulation of Dead Skin Cells On Both The Skin Surface And Inside The Pore Due to Irregular Skin Shedding
Pores can get clogged with excess dead skin cells when they do not shed normally. Combined with excess sebum, a soft, white substance that clogs the pore is formed. When the surface of a clogged pore is covered by skin, a whitehead/milia is formed. On the other hand, a blackhead is formed as the top of the oil clog is exposed to the air and oxidized.
4. Development of Bacteria The growth of acne-causing bacteria, propionibacterium acnes, is caused by excess sebum. This is followed by skin irritation and inflammation which cause the walls of the oil gland to break, releasing oil, dead skin cells, bacteria, etc into the surrounding skin tissues. Your body’s immune system is then activated. Lymph is transported to the inflamed area to help with repair (and causing swelling). A pimple develops.
What About Food?
This depends on the individual’s body constitution. Some people can eat loads of junk foods without even getting a single pimple while others experience outbreak of pimples with the slightest bite. We believe it’s because every individual’s body chemistry is different.
Various Types of Pimples
1. Acne Vulgaris Also known as common acne, usually starts during puberty. Symptoms: Infection-induced pustules (pus-filled pimples) on the surface of the skin.
The pustules usually discharge this white pus when squeezed.
Appears on the upper chest, upper and lower back and the face.
2. Symptoms of Cystic Acne: Nodule, cyst-like deep infections
Infections do not surface and do not discharge their waste materials
Infections heal very slowly and permanent scarring is possible.
A slight, reddish and hard bump may appear on the skin surface which does not diminish for a long time. May feel slightly painful.
3. Signs of Acne Rosacea: Consult a doctor
Redness and blotchiness of the skin which spread across the nose and cheek areas.
Skin keeps flaking and crusting.
Does not respond to usual acne treatment. In fact, ingredients normally used for acne treatment, such as salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide etc, may worsen the condition of acne rosacea.
How to Get Rid of Pimples
Available Types of Treatment (By Prescription)
1. Antibiotic (Oral) Several studies indicate that antibiotics, such as tetracycline, erythromycin, and clindamycin can help to reduce acne-causing bacteria when used in conjunction with topical Retin-A treatment. But, antibiotics should only be used as a last resort as they can produce some adverse long-term health problems such as chronic yeast infections and stomach problems. In addition, acne-causing bacteria can become immune to antibiotics if taken for prolonged period of time.
“Antibiotic treatment in patients with severe acne causes development of antibiotic resistanceThe prevalence of antibiotic resistance to tetracycline, erythromycin, clindamycin, and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole was found after two to six months. When patients with acne are treated with antibiotics, the risk of development of antibiotic resistance should be realized. The use of antibiotics to treat acne should be restricted and other regimens should be tested.” quoted a paper presented at the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in May 2001.
3. Hormonal Therapy By Oral Intake This is only for ladies. Ortho Tri-Cyclen and generic norgestimate/ethinyl estrodial, which are low dosage birth control pills, have been approved by the FDA for treating pimples. Low dosage birth control pills work by reducing excess androgen which can peak just before menstruation. This reduces the production of sebum that causes pimples.
But, there may be side effects like nausea, headaches, breast tenderness and weight gain. Other health risks also include heart attack, strokes, blood clots, breast cancer, vaginal bleeding. The skin may also develop melasma or dark brown skin patches.
Besides low dosage birth control pills, a testosterone-blocking drug, spironolactone, is also frequently prescribed for acne treatment. But, the results are controversial.
3. Tretinoin (Topical) Tretinoin is a form of Vitamin A. Products that contain tretinoin include Retin-A, Renova, Avita and Retin-A Micro. Tretinoin changes the way the skin cells are formed in the layers of skin as well as in the pore. Tretinoin can transform cell production by improving skin shedding and unclogging pores. Tretinoin are but, not able to kill acne-causing bacteria. So it must be used together with antibacterial agents for best results. One of the major drawbacks of tretinoin is the irritation it can cause. It also makes the skin more vulnerable to sun hurt.
3. Accutane (Oral) Accutane (isotretinoin), which is a drug derived from vitamin A works by arresting sebum production in your sebaceous glands. It literally shrinks these glands to the size of a baby’s. This prevents the sebum from clogging the pores. Normal sebum production resumes after you stop taking Accutane, and the sebaceous glands slowly start to grow larger again. But, they will not be as large as they were before the treatment.
Severity of the pimples/acne will determine the dosage level and treatment duration. Usually treatment takes about 16 weeks. An eight-week rest period is required between treatments if a second treatment is necessary.
Accutane can cause severe birth defects in babies born to women who took Accutane while pregnant. Dry skin, dry lips, dry nose(leading to nosebleeds) ,, joint pain, lower back pain, depression nausea, blurred vision, stomach pain, skin yellowing, increased cholesterol levels, headaches, dry eyes are other side effects.
Conventional Pimple Treatment Cosmetics Many skincare products targeted to get rid of pimples contain lots of harsh, drying ingredients. These ingredients do more harm than excellent to the skin because pimpled/acne skin must be treated gently as it is already in an imbalanced and fragile state. Many so-called ‘deep cleansing’, scrubs and ’spot-drying’ products will only cause more injury to acne skin. Ingredients such as alcohol, peppermint, and eucalyptus, which are commonly found in many pimple-treatment products are highly irritating to the skin. When the skin becomes weakened through irritation, it is even more prone to bacteria infection.
Examples of commonly-used harsh ingredients for getting rid of pimples: Alcohol, menthol, camphor, eucalyptus, peppermint, myristic acid, palmitic acid, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate
Vitasence’s Method to Get Rid of Pimples
Vitasence do not use any of the harsh, irritating ingredients commonly used in getting rid of pimples. All pimple-causing factors are taken into consideration and addressed in a wholistic manner. In addition to eliminating pimple-causing bacteria, our pimple treatment products work with your skin to help your skin regain its balance and strengthens your skin natural defense mechanism against bacterial proliferation.
In other words, our goal is to optimize your skin’s natural ability to ‘fight its own battle”. The synergistic combinations of biodynamic herbal actives in Vitasence products also optimize your skin’s healing ability so that your skin recovers quickly from pimple scars, marks and inflammation.
Coreenna Ong, herbalist, speaker and author, is known for her expertise in combining Chinese and Western herbs to treat pimples and comedones and help people achieve clear, gorgeous skin. For more information on the herbal actives and ingredients she use in her products, please go to Get Rid of Pimples
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Originally posted 2010-01-02 15:36:57. Republished by Ancient Post Promoter
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