Dealing With Acne

Aug 16, 2013

Brittany F.

(Written by request)

As a makeup enthusiast, It is a no brainer that skin care if very important. If you apply a product, no matter how amazing, on crappy skin, it will look as good as the skin itself. Great skin, can make any product look good. So to me, skin care is very important.

A struggle many girls from teen to adult deal with, is acne. There are many types of acnes, and the key to treating yours is to find out what kind you have.

The most mild types of acne are known collectively as comedones. These are blockages of hair follicles that consist of oil and dead skin cells. With comedones there is no redness or inflammation. They do not hurt when you touch them. This is more commonly knows as blackheads or whiteheads.

To treat acne of all kinds, the first step is good hygiene. A mild cleanser and a toner will help clean out the infected pores. Using water based makeup is also less likely to cause comedones, because it won't clog the pores. Now, those two steps are usually great for keeping acne away, but here are specific regimens for already developed acne.

Comedones, as we were taking about earlier, are quite easy to get rid of. Now, you hear of all these different chemicals to get rid of acne but wonder why they don't work? It is because they are very specific in what they do, and understanding them will be your best friend. As you know, the two types of comedones are black heads and white heads, both very differently treated. Whiteheads look like little bumps on the skin, either white or skin colored. A good treatment for them is benzoyl peroxide, commonly known for its acne fighting powers
For blackheads, I recommend using salicylic acid, as it slowly deteriorates layers and layers off your black heads. Pore strips may be a solution as well, but usually only work on newer blackheads.

The next kind of acne is papule acne. Papules are simply raised red bumps on the skin, that do not secrete puss or any other fluid. This I will tie in with pustules, which are basically the same but infected, they secrete fluid when popped, and are the most common 'pimples'. These can be eliminated with an acne fighting cleanser, benzoyl peroxide would be the safest bet because it has been researched far more than any other ingredient. Another great product is Tea tree oil. It has antimicrobial properties that kill the germs and also dry the pimples out. Try spot treating with a tea tree formula like Lush's Grease Lightning after your skin care routine.

Now, I'm moving on to more severe acnes. The first type are nodules, they are hard red lumps which cause pain and are usually large. A nodules occurs when the wall of a hair follicle is torn, allowing oil and cell debris to get into the lower layer of the skin known as the dermis. When the dermis is exposed to oil and dead cells, the resultant infection can cause a nodule. Treating nodules. The second is called cystic acne, which may is similar, but different because it is combined with cysts. A cyst is a defense mechanism of the body and is essentially a “walling off” of foreign matter. For example, nodular acne may occur when the wall of the hair follicle is torn, allowing oil and dead skin cells to enter the dermis. The body may respond to this by surrounding the oil and skin debris with fat and connective tissue, forming a cyst. A cyst is actually a ball fat and connective tissue that has trapped a foreign invader in the centre.
Once they have formed, cysts are permanent. Cysts can be reduced in size via draining. Draining is a procedure that should only be done by a dermatologist and involves cutting off a small amount of skin and more or less squeezing the material that composes the cyst out of the opening. The problem with draining is that the cyst will often reform within a year’s time.
The only way to permanently remove a cyst is via extraction. This is actually a surgical procedure that involves cutting open the skin where the cyst resides under, grabbing the cyst with a pair of forceps, pulling out the cyst in one big piece, and then stitching up the wound.
There is a way to prevent this though, which is HYGIENE. Cleaning your skin twice a day, changing your pillow cases and keeping your hands out of your face will help you on the road to happier skin!


Hope I helped, feel free to ask any questions and remember, this is the skin you'll have for the rest of your life, keep it healthy!

Aug 16, 2013

Brittany F.

Any time :) it is currently 4 in the morning and I got a bit bored hahaha

Aug 16, 2013

Anna lourdes J.

great help! thanks!

Aug 16, 2013

Brittany F.

No problem! I wish I had something like this when my acne was out of control in the eighth grade hahaha.

Aug 17, 2013

Brittany F.

Thought I'd bump this

Aug 17, 2013

Sally H.

Thanks so much! This was really helpful!

Aug 17, 2013

Brittany F.

Haha no problem! I tried my best!

Aug 17, 2013

Sally H.

Thanks again! :D

Aug 17, 2013

Brittany F.

:) not a problem?

Aug 17, 2013

Brittany F.

!** oops haha

Aug 17, 2013

Cassidy C.

I found it! thank you :)

Aug 17, 2013

Brittany F.

Hope it helped!

Aug 17, 2013

Claudia C.

Following this for future reference. :p

Aug 18, 2013

Brittany F.

Haha glad you liked it

Aug 20, 2013

Brittany F.

Bump