How to Clear Acne Effectively

If you need to find out how to clear Acne conditions the chances are you aren't alone. There are over 60 million people in the US alone who suffer from Acne, and let's face it, no one would ever want to keep their Acne.

Each sufferer can typically spend thousands of dollars in their search for the ultimate Acne treatment. If you do the math, you can see why Acne products are a lucrative and hugely successful market. So before you start throwing your money at cosmetic companies, there are a few small things you could try first that don't cost you anything extra.

Firstly, try not to touch your face too much, Acne can be quite irritating and it's all too easy to give in to the urge to touch. We do everything with our hands so it stands to reason there will be a high bacterial content on them, especially if they are unwashed. Touching your face transports bacteria from your hands. As bacteria are the main cause of Acne it is important to keep your bacteria levels down, so resist that urge!

Do not 'Pick and Pop' existing Acne spots. Doing so significantly increases your chances of developing scars, some of which may never heal. Treating Acne scars can be trickier then healing Acne.

Another important step in how to clear Acne is changing your pillow case. Bacteria and dirt from your face can accumulate on your pillow and transfer back to your face at night. Make sure you wash before bed, and change your pillow case regularly.

Tie back your hair or use a headband to keep your fringe or other hair strands away from your face, especially if you use products in your hair. Styling products can irritate the skin and transfer grease to your face. Try not to use these at all, keep your hair clean and use gentle shampoos.

For those who wear make-up, remember to remove it before you go to sleep. Use a deep cleansing gentle make-up remover, such as a hypoallergenic fragrance free cleanser, ensuring you remove all the make-up thoroughly.

If you shave, remember to do so 'with the grain'. This decreases the chance of hairs growing inwards after shaving which blocks skin pores and causes irritation.

Drink enough water, not doing so will dehydrate you, which lowers your immunity and stops the body from being able to properly cleanse itself of toxins that can help cause Acne and are also harmful to your body.

Don't forget to get eight hours of sleep. Not getting enough sleep overworks your body causing stress and fatigue. This lowers your immunity, preventing your body from tackling the bacteria that cause Acne.

And finally, the easiest and simplest method for how to clear acne is to wash your face 2-3 times a day. Any more or less can be counter productive to tackling Acne so make sure you build this into your daily routine.

4 Types of Severe Acne

Severe acne can affect the personal life of individual. He or she may find it extremely embarrassing to go out and socialize. It can even shatter the confidence of individuals, limit job opportunities and result in overall deterioration of health. If left untreated, scars gets formed and remain there up till the lifetime.

Severe body acne has to be necessarily treated by a specialist or else condition may worsen and get out of control.

Predominantly there are four types of severe acne. These are:

1. Acne conglobata
2. Acne fulminans
3. Gram negative folliculitis
4. Nodulocystic acne



Acne conglobata

This is one of the severest forms of acne vulgaris. It hits males more than the females. Typically the age bracket of 18 years to 30 years is the period which will have more chance for this form of acne to occur. The symptoms are deep abscesses, inflammation, severe damage skin and acute scarring. Blackheads are quite widespread and found on all body parts like face, chest, neck, buttocks etc. condition is further characterized by formation of nodules around comedones. This kind acne conglobata can even affect dormant acne.

Acne fulminans

Symptoms are highly ulcerating and severe form of inflammation. During such a condition patients are known to suffer from fever and severe body aches. This condition generally develops in a person who may probably be having acne conglobata for quite some time and has let that remain untreated.

Nodulocystic Acne

This kind of acne is characterized by formation of cysts. These cysts are quite uncommon and rarely strike a patient. The cysts normally measure up to several centimeters. These cysts may develop singly or in multiples. This cysts found in this type acne are not the true cysts rather they are some sort of dilation of skin structure. Cyst may contain pus after the area gets infected. The effort to puncture such cysts should be done in close supervision of dermatologists. These cysts if appearing close together may lead to another severe form of acne known as acne conglobata.

Gram-negative folliculitis

This is a special type of acne which develops after prolonged antibiotic acne treatment. This basically has a condition in which follicles get affected by bacteria. These bacteria do not get noticed under strain which is known as "Gram" so these are called as gram negative bacteria.

All severe acne conditions are required to be treated by specialists. During treatment support of families and friends is welcome and is always needed. Some times the severe acne remains there for very long periods without showing any positive response to any of the treatments employed. In such situations, it becomes difficult to have patience and keep your cool. Response to severe treatments start showing up some time even after months of starting the treatment. The important thing is to follow the regimen as per the prescriptions given by physicians. Acne if treated with patience gets cured and if proper precautions are taken then one can always have acne free teen years.

Antibiotics Causes Drug Resistance in the Family of Acne Sufferers

A recently concluded research came up with the result that acne germ can spread among the members of the family. This family spreading acne germ is resistant to antibiotics. The study which was conducted by Swedish researchers, came up with this astonishing research.

The germ that they are referring to propionibecterium acne or P. acnes which tends to erupt into blotches and pustules of acne. Initially P. acne was treated through antibiotics but in time the germs became resistant to antibiotics.

Not just the patient but the family:

Initially the researchers thought that only the people carrying the drug treatment might be the carriers of this germ but research on the close family showed that it was not the case. The researches took skin samples of two close family people along with the patient undergoing antibiotic therapy.

The research observed that almost 50% of the people(family members) carried drug-resistant acne bacteria on their skin. Further analysis showed that these family members had the same strain of P. acnes as their patient family members. The positive side of the report is that the family members were able to shake of the germ but only after the patient(acne) stopped using antibiotics.

The other thing that came out through this report is that apparently you cannot avoid this drug resisting skin disorder no matter what, even if you avoid contact with the bearer you still might end up having acne.

The Alternative:

Antibiotics might be considered the final resort when it comes to getting rid of severe acne but it is certainly not the case. There are a number of natural and organic acne treatments available in the market that are equally effective and they don't have side effects. By going towards a more natural acne treatment you not only save yourself from the antibiotic resisting germ but you also are avoiding genetic consequences for the family.

Acne - The Formation and 6 Causes of Acne

You've probably saw numerous infomercials on acne - what causes it and how to treat it. Often, dermatological companies would introduce new quick acne treatment. If you are plagued with acne and you have not bothered to visit your healthcare provider for this condition, you probably have tried almost every product in the market. At the end of the day, you'll be saying, "Nothing works! I've tried everything!" Well, you probably have not even tried to determine what really causes your acne. This is crucial to determining the proper treatment.

The Start of Acne

Usually, acne occurs during puberty. This is triggered by hormonal changes that occur during this stage. The testosterone is converted into dihydrotesterone which set off excessive oil secretion. This excess oil then blocks the skin pores. The skin is then unable to shed the dead cells causing these dead skin cells to stay in the pore and eventually cause the acne. People with oily skin tend to suffer from acne. However, it is not just trapped excess oils that cause acne. Dirt and bacteria may also cause the blockage and the acne.

How Does Acne Occur?

Your acne may start and be categorized as inflamed or not inflamed. Not inflamed blemishes are known as whiteheads and blackheads. A whitehead is a pore clogged with bacteria and dirt. When this clogged pore opens up, this exposes the oil to oxidation which causes the blackish color and this is known as blackhead. When the clogged pores do not turn into blackheads, the body will then try to dispel of the dirt and bacteria. When inflammation develops, you have acne condition.

What are the Causes of Acne?

Acne is fairly common amongst teenagers. However, there are a lot of adults that share the same condition. The causes of acne, regardless of who is suffering from it, are almost all the same. These are:

1) Rapid dead skin cells shedding. When a person hits the age of puberty, his skin would start to shed a bit more rapidly. Unfortunately, the dead skin cells may buildup and block the pores.

2) Bacteria. The dead skin cells and oils make it perfect for many bacteria to populate people's skins. These bacteria are known as Propionibacterium acnes. The excessive growth of these bacteria causes acne and large lesions.

3) Heredity. Unfortunately, heredity can indeed play a factor on acne development. If any of your parents suffered from severe acne breakouts, you will probably share the same fate.

4) Hormonal changes. Rioting hormones can cause imbalances and excessive oil production. This is why acne is common among teenagers, menstruating women and pregnant women.

5) Diet. Although there are no specific findings that would really relate diet to acne, people have different reactions to various foods. Too much caffeine, carbonated beverages, fatty foods, sweets, processed foods and pasta may cause acne. It is actually up to you to take notice if you experience acne breakouts with some foods.

6) Severe stress. Daily normal stressors like spilled coffee do not actually cause acne, but people who are severely stressed emotionally may suffer from acne breakouts.