Acne affects about 80% of all teenagers and adolescents. This skin condition is so common among young people that it is considered a normal part of growing up. Acne skin care is something that everyone should be familiar with. In the majority of cases you don't need to resort to professional skin care to help your child with acne and to help prevent outbreaks as much as possible.
Many people wonder about the cause of acne and how they can prevent it and have healthy skin for the rest of their lives. If your teenager is suffering from acne, he may be experiencing a tough time emotionally and as a parent you want to be able to help him with this. You need some knowledge about acne skin care if you hope to help your child cope with this condition.
Most adolescents get the skin condition around the time of puberty. Girls get it at about 11 years old and boys at 13. It may last through the teen years and even into the twenties. Most professionals agree that there is no prevention for acne. If you are going to get it, you will get it regardless. However, there are things you can do to affect the severity of it.
Types of Acne
To understand acne and how to help your teen with it, you need to know what acne really is. There are two basic types of acne that exist:
1. Non-inflammatory-- has a few whiteheads and blackheads on the face, may appear sporadically.
2. Inflammatory-- has whiteheads that become inflamed and pimples or cysts develop.
Acne causes inflammation and blemishes to appear on the skin usually on the face but also on other parts of the body such as the neck, back, shoulders and even the buttocks. Samples of blemishes you could have include:
o Whiteheads
o Blackheads
o Papules
o Pustules
o Nodules (severe acne)
o Cysts (severe acne)
Acne Myths
With something that has been around as long as acne and that affects so many people, it is no surprise that there are a lot of myths floating around regarding it. Everyone claims to have some home remedy or quick fix to help with the problem of acne but you must be careful with what advice you take and make sure you learn to recognize the myths from the facts. If you want to help your teenager get through this skin condition, you need to weed through the myths and discover the truth.
o There's no scientific evidence that junk foods or chocolate cause acne or make it worse.
o Still, some people notice certain foods seem to trigger acne.
o Poor hygiene, oily skin and hair do not cause acne, but can impede treatment.
o The idea that the sun improves acne by drying out greasy skin is not correct.
o Washing your face multiple times throughout the day will improve your acne. (once or twice normally is enough, over washing can cause more trauma to the skin of the face)
o Exercise will not make acne worse. Clogged pores due to sweat from exercise can irritate the condition.
The exact cause of acne is not known but studies have shown many contributing factors that can make your acne worse. Whether your child has oily skin, dry skin, combination skin, pimples, a rash or painful cysts and ulcers, it's important to know what skin care will work for acne. There are also basic hygiene tips that will help your teenager improve their acne skin.
Treating Acne
Here are some things you should make sure your teenager is doing to help clear the skin from acne.
1. Wash your face once or twice a day with usual soap and cleaner.
2. Avoid food or drinks you believe to be a trigger.
3. Avoid sleeping with makeup on.
4. Avoid heavy makeup or makeup altogether if it seems to make it worse. (makeup clogs the pores)
Medications
You may choose to try over the counter medications to help improve the acne skin. If home remedies for your acne skin care don't work, see a dermatologist. Drugs can be prescribed for more severe cases, including gels, creams and oral antibiotics. Doctors may surgically drain large abscesses. There are also medications and treatments available to help with acne scarring.
Don't assume that your teen will just naturally outgrow acne and tell him to 'get over it' or 'wait it out'. Lack of treatment will cause the acne to get worse and can even lead to permanent problems and scarring later. This is not even considering the emotional trauma that goes along with a teen that has acne. The face is the first thing people notice about you and the teenage years is a time when looks matter quite a bit.
Acne Scarring
Unfortunately, scarring is a common problem associated with teenager acne. The acne will eventually clear up as your child grows older but scars can remain for a lifetime. The more severe the acne, the more severe the scarring that results will be.
There are different methods of removing or lessening the affects of acne scarring but be warned that most are very expensive. They include:
o Laser treatment
o Filler substances
o Dermabrasion and microdermabrasion
o Chemical peels
o Topical treatment
o Keloid scar therapy
The best method is always prevention as much as possible. What are some ways your teen can prevent acne scarring?
1. Never pop, pick or scratch at your acne blemishes.
2. Always wash your hands thoroughly before touching the face or applying treatment.
3. Always apply treatment exactly as described.
4. Don't over-wash the acne skin and cause more irritation.
5. Keep your acne as controlled as possible (with your doctor's help).
Remember: the more you mess with it, the worse you can make it.
Proper skin care is very important to the treatment of acne. These tips will help you get the most of your results and help your teen cope with this common skin condition.
Simon Petch is a successful writer and Internet Publisher providing valuable tips, advice and product reviews on all aspects of www.no1-in-beauty.com beauty care including www.no1-in-beauty.com/skin_care.htm skin care products and www.no1-in-beauty.com/perfume.htm perfume.
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