Women often experience the odd spot or pimple now and then, but others can suffer ongoing reoccurrences right from puberty.
Some women see a regular flare-up coinciding with their menstrual period, with spots developing around the time of ovulation only fading once her period has begun.
Women who are most prone to acne will tend to have overproducing oil glands in their skin along with a greater tendency for the lining of the skin pores to block. Unfortunately a combination of these two problems will enable bacteria on the skin to be trapped, usually causing an outbreak of closed comedones (whiteheads), open comedones (blackheads), spots and in some cases cysts.
What can women do to help reduce or prevent these mild forms of acne? Firstly, there is no proven acne remedy. If you asked a doctor they would probably recommend buying an over the counter skin wash that contains a substance called benzoly peroxide liquid to control your symptoms. Ask your pharmacist for advice about the best type to try. Wash with this twice a day, in the morning and before going to bed.
If your skin is very greasy, start with a product containing a 10% solution, otherwise if your skin is dry or sensitive, try a 5% solution to avoid excessive drying and irritation. See how your skin is responding after a week of regular treatment. If your skin is clearing up well, then you may only need to apply the solution to problem areas as they start to develop rather than treating the whole face.
As part of your beauty regime you could try using a cleanser that contains a mild amount of salicylic acid. Again, ask your pharmacist for advice if you are unsure about which acne remedy products contain these ingredients.
Some women with mild acne can also notice spots developing on their chest or back during their menstrual cycle. These spots can also be successfully treated with these products.
Among all the acne remedy products you will find lined up on the pharmacy shelf will be ones that contain glycolic acid. There are a lot of gels, lotions and creams on the market manufactured under different brand-names. Take your time to read the ingredient labels to establish what levels of glycolic acid the product contains. Ideally you should look for products containing around 8% glycolic acid in their formulation. This should be applied to the face after first washing and drying, making sure you avoid the eye areas. Glycolic acid works to prevent old skin cells from building up on your skin and blocking pores, thus helping to reduce the number of spots forming.
Once you have your acne under control, but you are worried about any dark marks left behind from healed spots, then you could try using a skin bleaching cream. These are available from pharmacies, but do remember that these will not work on acne scars.
Follow a good skin-care routine every day, and you should be able to keep the problem under control. Ensure that if you use a moisturiser it is oil-free. Read the label if you are not sure, and replace it with an oil-free one if needed. Most women with oily skin may not need a moisturiser, but those who have combination skin, with the familiar 'oily T zone' across the forehead, down the nose and chin, but with dry skin elsewhere, may need a moisturiser formulated for combination skin.
If you regularly wear make-up, go for oil-free products that are labelled 'non-comedogenic' or 'non-acne-forming' which do not block up your pores.
To squeeze or not to squeeze? Resist the temptation to squeeze spots and blackheads! Squeezing is definitely not an acne remedy! This will only make your spots look worse by aggravating them and causing the area to become more inflamed.
While a spot is healing, keep it moist by dabbing it with an anti-bacterial gel before bed. Most people will have heard that air is good for healing cuts and grazes, so often don't apply plasters to these wounds to aid healing. But exposing a wound to the air encourages the damaged skin to dry and form scar tissue. Keeping a spot moist while it's healing will go a long way to prevent scarring.
Do not be tempted to pick at your acne scabs!! I know it is very tempting to pick at scabs, especially if they are on your face, but don't do it! Removing a scab before it is ready to drop off by it's own accord will only result in a scar forming - and you don't want to encourage that do you?
Speed up healing with vitamin C: We all know that vitamin C is important in repair and formation of body cells, including the skin, so taking extra vitamin C while your skin is healing will help greatly. Now I'm not telling you to run out to the store to buy up all their oranges, but if you want to add extra fruit to your diet, you cannot go wrong with a couple of oranges a day. You could always take a vitamin C tablet twice a day instead, one with breakfast and one with dinner totalling about 500mg vitamin C per day. Vitamin C is water soluble, so taking it twice a day will ensure adequate amounts are available throughout the day for your body's repair systems.
How to deal with acne scars: A scar can be defined as a raised or depressed section of fibrous tissue caused by the healing process of the body. Most women would describe them as a permanent pain in the neck! When we pick at acne spots we are effectively damaging the epidermis, or top layer of the skin, which can leave us with a light mark once the spot has healed, and can disappear completely. However, if we damage the deeper layer of skin called the dermis, we risk creating scars forming after the spot has healed.
Effective camouflage tactics can be employed to deal with existing scars, for example, using a good quality foundation can cover up uneven discolouration from reddened or light scars. If you are unsure about what shade you should use, ask the sales assistant for help choosing the correct shade for your skin. You can also ask for tips about how to apply it for the best effects.
For deeper acne scars there are products on the market that use collagen fillers. These are commonly used to fill and disguise fine lines and wrinkles, but they can also be effective in covering acne scars and will even out the skin surface. This will also help when applying other make-up such as blusher and powder.
These are just some tips to get you started, but there is a whole host of other helpful advice revealed by a team of experts in the management and treatment of acne in my new ebook, available for acne sufferers no matter what your age. See my Author Box for more details.
M Newbold is a prolific writer who enjoys writing about family life, health, fitness and sports. Get a free Acne mini ebook by visiting www.acne-home-remedies.weebly.com www.acne-home-remedies.weebly.com
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