Natural Acne Treatment

Now that you understand how acne develops and its multifactorial causes, it's time to examine how to treat-and cure-your problem. This chapter covers preventive natural acne treatment-always your first line of defense-as well as how to clean your face.

Natural Acne Treatment - On the Road to Wellness

While we've clearly established that acne is a hereditary condition that is heavily influenced by hormonal activity, maintaining a healthful lifestyle helps keep your skin in top shape.

Nutrition

What you put into your body affects your skin's overall appearance. Skin should be naturally treated from the inside out:

Drink plenty of water so skin is properly hydrated.
Maintain a healthy diet. Make sure your nutritional intake includes the recommended daily allowances for all vitamins and minerals.
Minimize your consumption of caffeinated beverages.
Limit alcohol intake.

Lifestyle Choices

Taking good care of your body also takes care of your skin. The following is a great natural acne treatment regime:

Get regular exercise.
Make sure you are getting enough sleep each night.
Take steps to reduce stress.
If you're a smoker, quit.
If you abuse drugs, seek professional help.
If your self-image or self-esteem needs work, make an appointment with a counselor.

One of the worst issues with acne, according to Lydia Preston, author of "Breaking Out," is that acne provokes acne. What Preston means is that stress produces acne, and increased breakouts produce stress. It's a vicious cycle, and acne sufferers need to find ways to develop the patience to allow their natural acne treatments to work-as well as to engage in some type of stress-reduction regimen. The more stressed out you are, the greater the impact on your immune system and your body's ability to rally.

Instead of fixating on your acne, you need to find outside activities that will distract you and boost your self-esteem so you can allow your natural acne treatment to work. Worrying will not help lesions resolve, and it potentially makes them worse. Many physicians believe that meditation, yoga, physical exercise, martial arts and other similar activities can have a significant impact on how your mind affects your body.

Natural Acne Treatment: About Face

Acne sufferers need to make a conscious effort to avoid touching the face, which transfers bacteria from your fingers to acne-prone areas. In addition:

As we've stated before, do not poke, pick or squeeze lesions, which spreads inflammation.
Disinfect your home, work and cell phones on a regular basis, as oils accumulate on the mouthpiece and transfer to your chin.
Replace pillowcases frequently, as they collect oil and bacteria.
Thoroughly remove makeup before going to bed-no matter how tired you are.

Natural Acne Treatment: Cleaning 101

Natural Acne Treatments, regardless of which products or drugs are used, has three objectives:

Unclog pores.
Kill bacteria.
Reduce inflammation.

Properly cleaning your skin is the first step. You need to remove dirt, oil and makeup to prevent acne flare-ups.

Finding the right products to clean your face is critical to achieving our three stated goals. Generally, one product alone is not enough to resolve acne, unless you have an extremely mild case. For acne vulgaris, moderate acne and severe acne, you will need to employ a product regimen consisting of several components, beginning with a cleanser.

Most physicians recommend a mild cleanser such as Cetaphil, Neutrogena Facial Cleansing Bar, pHisoderm or Purpose soap-all readily available over the counter. You can also opt for a cleanser designed specifically for acne-prone skin, and there are many brands on the market. Your doctor can make recommendations that best fit your degree of acne, including use of a prescription cleanser.

Regular soap is usually too harsh for acne sufferers, and it often contains moisturizers and fragrances that can promote breakouts. While soap is fine for the rest of your body, keep one container of facial cleanser near the bathroom sink and one in the shower. This is a good facial natural acne treatment (preventative).

You'll need to wash your face once in the morning and before bedtime. Additional cleansing will likely dry out your skin-and while your goal, indeed, is to eliminate excess oil, stripping the skin of too much oil actually stimulates overproduction of sebum (referred to as the "rebound effect"). You will use other products to supplement your cleanser and cope with "oil slicks" during the day, so avoid the temptation to wash your face every hour. You'll wind up with more pimples. (The one exception: When the weather is unusually hot, or if you participate in activities in which you build up a sweat, you may need to wash one more time during the day to zap perspiration. Any additional washings will begin to dry or irritate the skin.) And during the summer, you may need to wash your hair more often to keep oil under control and off your forehead.

If you have combination skin, wash the oilier areas first: the forehead, the nose and the chin. Then move on to the more normal areas.

Avoid using cleansers that contain abrasive particles, such as apricot kernels. They can create small tears in the skin, leading to redness, irritation and breakouts.

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