Use a toner before you go to bed. Avoid the use of alcohol products to tone your skin. Since alcohol is a strong astringent, it can strip the upper layer of your skin. This process can cause the sebaceous glands to produce more oil. Do not scrub the affected area vigorously and avoid touching your face with dirty hands.
Do you have oily skin as well as long hair? Your long hair could be detrimental for your acne prone skin. The oil content in the hair attracts dirt and when the hair touches the skin on your face, neck, shoulder, etc. (this is more likely in case of long hair) the oil and bacteria problems are intensified. Shampoo your hair frequently and keep it away from your face.
Since acne is a result of excessive oil and grimes along with bacterial attacks, it is a more likely phenomenon for people with oily skin. Hence if you have oily skin, you should try to keep the oil in control in order to avoid being threatened by acne. Using an astringent regularly is a good idea to get rid of the extra oil on your skin. You should also wash your face twice daily with soap to free your skin from oil and grime.
There are various ointments and lotions available in the markets that help in fighting acne. Most of these products contain benzoyl peroxide that is a bleaching agent. These may be effective for a short-term cure but they may damage your skin and make it dry and rough if the bleaching content is too high. If you are still keen on using these bleaching products take care to use only the mild ones.
After you have tried all remedial steps and have also taken care to consume healthy food there is one more thing you should remember. You need to have patience. You should give a minimum of two months’ time for your treatment to prove its effect. There are various effective antibiotics that need quite some time to cure your acne.
Water is considered to be very helpful in reducing oil in the skin and in protecting the skin against acne. The goodness of water can be utilized not only by washing your face with it but only consuming it in a large quantity. A minimum of 8 glasses should be taken everyday. Water helps in flushing out harmful toxins from the body and in hydrating your skin. Exercise also flush toxins and maintains blood circulation.
Rinse your face with lukewarm water and use a mild soap to cleanse the dirt away. Washing you face also helps to remove plugs from your skin pore, which is a mishmash of bacteria, sebum and dead skin cells. The accumulation of dirt only increases the infection by working together with oil and skin debris. But avoid excessive washing of your skin as over washing can stimulate production of extra oil and irritate the acne prone areas.
Never try to pick or squeeze the acne in any way. Instead of bringing the bacteria out, it rather pushes it back deeper into the skin and makes the area appear red and inflamed by spreading the infection. Squeezing pimples -- or "popping zits" -- can also leave behind permanent blemishes even after the acne dries off.
Hormonal activity is another major factor for the occurrence of acne. Excessive output of hormones from the adrenal glands and activities like the menstrual cycle are chief causes. Using medication containing halogens, exposure to high level chlorine compounds, use of antibiotic steroids, accumulation of dead cells of the skin, scratching and skin irritation are other general causes for the appearance of acne.
Milk acts as natural cleanser. To avoid the use of soaps, you can soak almonds in milk and apply the paste to clean your face and neck. To stay away from acne, you can also make an herbal facial mask of lemon juice, honey, green clay and yogurt. Another way of preparing the facial mask is to mix the white part of the egg with cornflower, oats, rose water and kaolin.
Bacteria, hormones and clogged pores on the skin may lead to the formation of acne. Acne may also be a result of heredity. The action of bacteria and dead skin leads to pimples. When pores get blocked and closed and finally protrude out, whiteheads are formed. On the other hand, when the blocked pores remain open but the top area becomes dark, they lead to the formation of blackheads.
Acne, usually referred to as pimples, is an inflammatory skin disease. Acne starts appearing on the skin because of a comedo, an enlarged hair follicle plugged with bacteria and oil. The comedo is placed beneath the skin surface and is invisible to the naked eye. Under favorable conditions, it germinates into an inflamed lesion. The bacteria inside the follicle flourish due to oil production from the skin.