Treating adult acne the natural way – Yoshiko Roth-Hidalgo

When you are past your teens and still or again battling break-outs, you are in good company. One in five women between the ages of 25 and 40 suffers from adult acne. Adult acne is not different from teenage acne in that the same key factors are involved: Hormonal activity which has an effect on our oil glands, blocked pores, acne bacteria and inflammation. What makes adult acne tricky is that the skin of a person in his/ her 30s or 40s is different from teenage skin. Some people suffering from adult acne may not have oily skin, their skin might be more sensitive, and they are likely concerned about fighting skin aging.

One way to fight adult acne is with over-the-counter medicated products, but there are also a number of natural remedies that can effectively prevent and treat break-outs. Whether your skin is too sensitive to chemical acne-fighting agents or you are simply interested in alternative options, here are some tips and product recommendations for how to fight adult acne the natural way.

Nature’s solutions
A number of natural and botanical-based ingredients help with the causes and symptons of acne, including:

Naturally antibacterial and antiseptic: Willow bark, tea tree oil, ginger, green, white and black tea extracts.

Reduces redness and inflammation: green, white and black tea extracts, aloe

Exfoliates and free blocked pores: Manuka Honey, alpha hydroxyl acids from milk (lactic acid), fruit (fruit acid), apple (malic acid) and sugar (glycolic acid)

Reduces excess oil production: Avocutine, derived from avocados as well as pumpkin seed oil curbs sebum production in the pores.

Cleansers: Keep it gentle
Contrary to a stubborn myth, acne is NOT caused by dirty skin, so stay away from harsh cleansers that strip skin. In fact, dehydration can prompt your skin to produce even more oil and at the same time exacerbate the appearance of roughness, lines and wrinkles. Here are some good options:

Avene Cleanance Soapless Cleanser, 6.76 oz, $17: Contains Pumpkin Seed Oil to reduce excess sebum.

ARCONA Raspberry Acne Bar, 4 oz, $38: Contains lactic acid and fruit enzymes to exfoliate and free pores.

Toner/ Treatment: Look for multi-taskers
Be good to your skin by targeting breakouts as well as aging and other skin issues. If you use a toner, stay away from alcohol-based formulations that unnecessarily strip and dehydrate skin. Here are some good options:

Juara Tamarind Tea Hydrating Toner, 4.75 oz, $27: Contains green, white and black tea extract to combat acne bacteria and well as provide antioxidant benefits and reduce redness.

Boscia Willow Bark Breakout Treatment, 0.5 oz, $25: Contains natural antibacterial willow bark as well as Vitamin C and E for antioxidant protection.

Hydrate and fight aging
It’s tempting to not moisturize when you see pimples, but it’s important to keep skin hydrated, no matter what your skin type, even if you have break-outs. If you are concerned oiliness, choose an oil-free moisturizer with hyaluronic acid, which draws vital hydration to the skin without adding oil, while plumping lines and making skin supple.

Juara Sweet Black Tea & Ginger Mattefying Moisturizer, 2 oz, $48: Anti-aging & oil-control benefits in one. Contains fermented sweet black tea to reduce signs of aging, ginger to purify, hyaluronic acid to hydrate and avocutin to reduce excess sebum.

Astara Blue Flame Oil-Free Moisturizer, 2 oz, $42: Hydrates with hyaluronic acid and totara tree essence to purify, while soothing with aloe.

Put break-outs on the spot

Juice Beauty Blemish Be Gone, 0.27 oz, $15: Multiple natural alpha hydroxyl acids free blocked pores while Coenzyme Q10 helps fade discoloration from past breakouts.

Jurlique Blemish Cream, 0.5 oz, $28: Contains tea tree oil for antibacterial benefits. Plus the slightly tinted formulation helps cover up existing blemishes and redness.

bareMinerals RareMinerals Blemish Therapy, 0.07 oz, $28: A unique powder formulation applied with a makeup brush, that treats break-outs with tea tree oil, helps absorb excess oil and covers redness and blemishes.

Any natural acne products that you swear by? Let us know!

Tags: acne, breakouts, health, juara, oily skin, pimples, skincare, yoshiko

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 at 4:19 pm and is filed under Beauty & Skincare, Health & Fitness, Products. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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Sunlight Can Be Your Skins Best Friend

Everywhere you go you hear that sunlight is dangerous and to slather yourself with sunscreen. We are told the sun will age us prematurely, wrinkle our skin, and increase our chances of getting cancer. But if you have been keeping up with the news all the experts are talking about the importance of vitamin D, and your best source of vitamin D is 15 minutes a day in the sun. Ultraviolet light stimulates a chemical process in your skin that produces vitamin D and wearing sunscreen blocks your body's production of vitamin D. Of course, over exposure to the sun can give you sunburn, which is not good for the skin. The sun is a powerful source of energy and that needs to be respected. As in most things moderation is the key. Your body makes all the vitamin D you need that protects you from cancer and other illnesses by spending a little bit of time in the sun each day. Don't forget to wear hats, sunglasses and loose clothing if you are going to be exposed for longer lengths of time. And read a good book on the importance of vitamin D!

Tips on how to fight adult acne – Yoshiko Roth-Hidalgo

When you are in your mid-thirties and you are like me, still battling or again battling pimples and break-outs, you are in good company.  One in five women between the ages of 25 and 40 suffers from adult acne.  Adult acne is not different from teenage acne in that the same key factors are involved:  Hormonal activity which has an effect on our oil glands, blocked pores, acne bacteria and inflammation.  While teenage acne is the result of hormonal changes as a person enters puberty, adult acne is the result of sometimes unexpected hormonal fluctuation, for example due to stress, reaction to birth control, pregnancy, etc. 

What makes adult acne tricky is that the skin of a person in his/ her 30s or 40s is different from teenage skin.  Some adults may not even have really oily skin, their skin might be more sensitive, and they may also be very concerned about fighting aging in their skin.

So while we certainly know how to fight blemishes with over-the-counter acne products we get at the drugstore (medicated cleansers, purifying masks, salicylic acid creams, benzoyl peroxide spot treatments, etc.) the challenge with adult acne is how to most effectively treat the blemishes while respecting more mature skin, and just as important, help it look and feel young. 

Here are some tips how to approach adult acne with a skincare program.

First of all:  If you have persistent pimples or inflamed cysts, you should see a dermatologist as soon as possible to avoid scarring and further damage to the skin.  Severe acne is a medical condition that needs to be treated with prescription ingredients like retinoic acid (e.g. Retin-A, Tazorac).  For blemish-prone skin and occasional break-outs, a good skincare program and over-the-counter products usually bring significant improvement:

Cleansers:  Keep it simple and gentle

Contrary to a stubborn myth, acne is NOT caused by dirty skin, so stay away from harsh cleansers.  Also, if your skin is dry and sensitive, skip the medicated cleanser and stick with a simple, gentle, sulfate-free cleanser that will cleanse thoroughly but won’t strip.  No matter how convincingly medicated acne cleansers promise not to dry out your skin, I find that they do and that the subsequent dehydration exacerbates the appearance of roughness, lines and wrinkles.

Exfoliate in moderation

Freeing skin of dead skin cells that can clog pores is crucial in preventing blemishes from forming.  Gentleness and moderation are key.  Exfoliate no more than 2-3 times a week.  If you have sensitive skin, no more than once a week.  Choose scrubs with perfectly round exfoliating beads or alternatively, if your skin is not overly sensitive, alpha-hydroxy or beta-hydroxy peels.  However, if your issue is not occasional blemishes but inflamed acne pimples and lesions, stay away from scrubs altogether.  Scrubs can further exacerbate the inflammation of the skin and spread the bacteria.

Hydrate without oil

It’s tempting to not moisturize when you see pimples, but it’s important to keep skin hydrated, no matter what your skin type, even if you have break-outs.  If you are concerned about clogging pores, choose an oil-free moisturizer that hydrates with hyaluronic acid.  This wonder-ingredient draws vital hydration to the skin without overwhelming with oil, plumping lines and making  skin supple.

Spot treat – in more ways than one

Salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide are proven pimple-fighters, so use them for targeted spot treatments on clean skin before you put on moisturizer or sunscreen.  At the same time, do spot-treat age-prone areas or dry areas unaffected by pimples, with products that are more emollient or more concentrated.  Examples are the eye area, the area around the lips, forehead, etc.  This way, you can effectively combine your acne treatment and anti-aging treatment.

Protect from the sun

A tan may make pimples look less prominent, but there is actually no clinical evidence that sun exposure helps acne.  Unprotected sun exposure does raise the risk of skin cancer and premature aging the sun damages.  Plus, many acne treatments make skin more sensitive to sun light.  Therefore, apply a sunscreen of at least SPF15 daily that is oil-free and light in texture.

Green tea extract – a super multi-tasker?

While green tea extract has been clinically proven to have great anti-aging, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, recent research suggests that it also has anti-bacterial properties comparable to benzoyl peroxide without the common side effects.  While more research needs to be done to prove this effect, this is still promising news for people with sensitive skin and adult acne. 

High-tech gadgets

For high-tech lovers, a few electronic devices have popped up on the market that promise to quickly clear up pimples, such as Zeno’s Pro Acne Clearing Device ($185), a battery-powered medical device to treat inflamed acne pimples.  It delivers a targeted dose of heat to the acne pimple, which kills the bacteria and is said to significantly clear the pimple within 24 hours.  Sounds like the perfect solution! 

At the end of the day, there is no one magic bullet for adult acne, but rather, a multi-pronged approach involving gentle and multi-tasking products, targeted medicated treatments and a balanced life-style.

What is your secret to fighting break-outs?  Let us know!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 14th, 2010 at 6:41 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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Hi,

Welcome to my skin care blog! Just getting set up but you will find plenty of great information here to help you address all of your skin care needs. Whether it is exceptional product recommendations, home remedies for special conditions, aging skin, complimentary services or other needs I will cover it here. You can read about the latest skin care treatments and products, natural and organic, helpful supplements and solutions for acne, skin allergies, psoriasis and other common problems. Stay connected!