Bye Acne

Many people all over the world fall into the same trap when trying to discover how to prevent pimples and acne. We see the breakouts on our skin and naturally, we assume that acne is a skin problem. I mean we see the pimples right there, don't we? We see how oily our skin get's and we know that clogged pores, again in our skin, lead to breakouts. It's not really that much of a stretch to say that acne is quite obviously a skin problem.

Well yes and no. All the problem do exist on our skin; as I said, we quite certainly know this for sure. However the real issue is what causes these problems and conditions to exist on our skin in the first place. Sure we have oily skin, but why do we have oily skin? Dead skin helps clogs pores, but what causes it? Finally, we come to the acne bacteria, P. Acnes. This bacteria exists on every single person in the entire world. So what is it about us that makes us get pimples?

These are questions that led me down a long road of discovery about the real nature of acne a few years ago. When I first developed my own acne problems as a teen, they were never a big deal at all. I had at most one or two pimples on my face at a time. I knew I would eventually outgrow it and wouldn't have to worry about acne ever again.

Except as I got older, my acne became worse and worse. It was so bad by the time I was 22 that I almost never left the house because my face was covered in cystic acne. I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror it was so bad.

At this time, I had tried so many treatments that didn't work that I was almost ready to beg my dermatologist to go on Accutane. I was a bit worried about some of the side effects but I would do anything to get rid of my pimples. Instead, I started learning more about natural cures for acne; things like baking soda, apple cider vinegar and the like.

What I discovered was that these products worked fairly well on my skin and even better, I finally could stop moisturizing ten times a day. The natural products were just much gentler on my skin and it was a relief to not have to worry about scratching my face all day. But I still had a lot of pimples that those products couldn't quite get rid of.

Which is what ultimately helped me to discover why my acne wasn't going away. Put simply, I wasn't doing a single thing to take care of the real causes of my breakouts. Think about this for a second; imagine you live in a house with a big hole in the ceiling. Would you just put a bucket under the hole and say the problem is solved? Silly question, right? I mean, you're just using a quick fix that doesn't do a single thing to take care of the actual problem; the hole.

Well putting stuff on your face to cure your acne is doing the same exact thing! If you properly patched that hole in your roof, the problem would go away forever. The hardest thing for most people with acne to understand is that when they use anything on their skin and expect it to work, they're effectively ignoring the real problems and only treating the symptoms. If you never take care of the real problems, the symptoms will just keep coming back over and over for the rest of your life.

So what are the real problems? Well they are all within our bodies; somewhere no gel, cream, or natural product used externally can ever get to. For instance, I'm sure most of you are aware of insulin and have a general idea of what it does. Simply put, it helps the body convert food into energy but that's not that important. What is important, however, is that too much insulin in our bloodstream causes some very, very interesting side effects. It is a very powerful hormone and too much of it can upset the delicate balance within our bodies.

For example, when there is too much insulin present in the body at any one time, it causes our sebum glands in our skin to produce far, far too much oil. Also, it causes our skin cells to thicken, dry up and die off much more quickly than it should. In case you missed the significance of that, it causes our skin to produce to much oil and dead skin, which in turn leads to clogged pores, which leads to acne.

But it get's even worse! The causes of too much insulin in the bloodstream is typically due to our diets; too much processed flour items such as breads, crackers, etc and not enough vegetables and the like. We also don't typically drink enough water throughout the day. The combination of all these issues leads to large releases of insulin into the bloodstream. This occurs daily throughout our lives for years and years.

Because it is so taxing to our body, our immune system starts to wear out and get run down. We develop a low-grade chronic inflammation that ultimately hurts us health wise. What this means for us as acne sufferers is that the P. Acnes bacteria is now allowed to multiply out of control on our skin. This is how it get's into clogged pores and begins feeding on the dead skin and oil trapped there. The body's response is to send anti-bodies and white blood cells, which is how pimples are formed.

In a way, we're lucky as acne sufferers. Our genes cause us to get breakouts where others might just become sick and tired all the time, others might get constant migraines and headaches, and still others might gain weight much more easily. Our problems are relatively minor when looked at in that light.

Now the important thing to know is that this entire problem, the years of buildup from this insulin release can be reversed with a very simple but incredibly powerful method. To say it plainly, don't eat solid food for a week!

It's slightly more complicated than that, of course. Doing a fast from food isn't something that you should just jump into. Your body has years of buildup of toxins and other junk from what we eat everyday. If you started a fast tomorrow, you would feel awful and would most likely quit before you saw any of the benefits. You must ease into a fast slowly; about a week out from your fast, slowly start eating less meat until the day before the fast, you only eat raw fruits and vegetables. This helps alleviate the "cleansing hangover" and will make the fast much more enjoyable.

The easiest and best fast is a raw and fresh pressed juice fast; your body get's all the vitamins and minerals it needs, but since it doesn't have to digest any food, all that energy is redirected into healing whatever is wrong with the body. I cannot stress how important and powerful this is for anyone looking to finally cure their acne.

I did a fast four years ago; I still go to happy hour with my friends, I still eat pizza on the weekends and I've never once thought twice about touching my skin. Maybe 3-4 times a year, I'll have one or two pimples show up. It works that well.

Acne affects people at any age. It is a skin condition that is not usually associated with any serious health conditions. It can appear at any age; it even affects newborns and infants. It is not strange to read a report by the National Institute of Health that about 85% adolescents or people between ages 12 and 24 get affected by acne. Acne is developed due to both internal and external reasons. Many times, if we take some precautions, we can fight acne breakouts.

To prevent acne from developing, or to prevent it from getting worse, we should not pick, squeeze or pop acne. Squeezing acne can end up in infection and scarring. The condition can become worse. As other precaution, we should keep the towel and pillow covers clean and wash frequently. These are the places which harbor bacteria and germs that help acne to get worse. We should avoid the hair from falling on the skin while we sleep. Sweat is another threat and we should avoid sweat to remain long on the skin. This we can do by taking shower soon after our daily workout. When sweat combines with skin oil, bacteria and dirt can get trapped in the pores.

As more precautions, we should never sleep without freeing first with the makeup. Sleeping with makeup on can clog the pores, which leads to acne breakouts. We should also be careful while using cosmetic brushes and not only we have to keep them clean by using soap water, we should also keep changing them frequently. Moreover, when we suspect acne is going to form or when we have to prevent acne from developing, we should use some safe over the counter cream.

It is known that acne can be caused by both internal and external factors. Addressing it externally may not produce the desired results. Moreover, if we want to stop acne from developing or from getting worse, we should pay more attention on the internal causes. Stress and hormonal imbalance are considered the factors that trigger acne development. If we really want to avoid acne and want to get success from our efforts, we have to control the triggers too. Taking efforts to control the hormone levels and avoiding constant stressful living conditions can help the matter a lot.

If we take some simple steps we can control the acne problem to a great extent. Moreover, if we try to control acne formation by addressing the internal causes, the results will be much better.

Acne is caused by many different factors. Not only does dirty, oily skin cause outbreaks in people, but so does the normal maturity of an adolescent into adulthood. Also sometimes something as small as stress can cause a breakout of acne in an individual. Each reason for an acne breakout will call for a different form of treatment per the individual.

There is a wide array of medical treatments but one of the lesser known forms of treatment is simple exercise. When you exercise the body, you promote the blood flow through the body. This increased blood flow will assist the skin cells by bringing extra amounts of oxygen and necessary vitamins to the upper layers of the skin. The increased blood flow will also move waste from the skin cells which can cause acne outbreaks. Exercising can also reduce stress which is one of the main causes of acne breakouts.

Medicated treatments work just as well if not better but they do not solve the root of the problem, just treat the effects of the problem. Benzoyl peroxide is a cream which is rubbed onto the skin. This works by having the topical seep into the pores thus drying out the skin and pushing all the dirt to the surface. Sometimes there are some small side effects from using benzoyl peroxide such as redness of the skin and even peeling of the first layer of skin.

A second, commonly used treatment which works similar to benzoyl peroxide without all the side effects is simple alcohol. This dries out the skin, making it easier to push the 'black heads' to the surface. In some cases, people also steam their face which also tightens the pores.

Hormonal treatments are also popular. These treatments are most commonly used by women and not available within the United States. This treatment used an antiandrogen cyproterone in unison with estrogen, also called Diane 35. This effectively reduces the androgenic hormone levels. In some cases people have tried anti-inflammatories. These are made of Nicotinamide which is vitamin B3. This treatment is most commonly used by dermatologist.

However the best and easy way to treat a basic case of acne is to wash your face with warm, hot soapy water. This is the best way to clean the pores if the condition you are experiencing is not severe. It is wise to get the advice of a dermatologist if the acne persists or becomes worse.