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Acne Guide

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Is The Connection Between Chocolate And Pimples Fact or Myth?

For years there have been many myths floating around about pimples (also known as acne, spots and zits) but just what it fact and what is fiction?

Here we look at some of the more commonly talked about myths and facts.

1. Certain types of food, especially chocolate, will make your acne worse.

There is no truth in the statement that such things as fatty foods, fast foods and chocolate exacerbate acne. However, it is true that some people are sensitive to certain foods and may have a reaction which can effectively worsen their acne. What is certainly true is that your diet can affect your general health, including your skin condition, and that you should eat a balanced and healthy diet which means a low fat diet which is rich in fruit and fresh vegetables.

2. Cleaning your skin frequently and vigorously will help to clear up pimples.

Pimples are caused by oil in your skin and not on the surface of the skin and simply cleaning the oil and dirt off your face will not in itself clear up your pimples. Indeed, if you wash too frequently and too vigorously you can make the problem worse. You should wash your face gently twice a day using an acne soap.

3. Stress causes pimples to break out.

There is no evidence that stress itself causes spots, although your actions when under stress might help to spread an already existing problem. For example, many people when they are under stress lean their face on their hands or rub their face and this can irritate a current acne problem.

4. If left to its own devices acne will clear up on its own.

Acne will certainly clear up if you wait long enough but this could mean a very long wait as many people suffer from acne well beyond their teens and into their twenties, thirties, forties and beyond. Waiting is not the answer and you should certainly treat your acne and get it cleared up as quickly as you can.

5. Covering pimples with make-up will make them worse.

Rather like food, certain brands of make-up can cause problems for specific individuals and so this is a question of trying make-up until you find brands that work best for you. You will also find that there are some brands of make-up which are specifically designed for people with acne.

6. You can get rid of zits by 'popping' them.

This is absolutely not true and you should never squeeze your spots. Popping a zit can often lead to infection which will not only help to spread the problem, but can also hinder healing and lead to scarring. If you really cannot resist the temptation then, rather than squeezing your spots, try pulling the base of the spot apart which can help to open up the pore and assist healing.

7. If acne medication doesn't work for you then you will simply have to live with acne.

There are literally hundreds of different acne medications available today in large part because people all react differently to specific medications and what works for one person will not necessarily work for the next person. If your medication isn't working then change to another medication with a different active ingredient.

8. Getting out into the sun and getting a tan will help to clear acne.

Getting a tan may well help to make acne less visible in some people but it will do nothing to help clear up the condition. Moreover, frequent tanning can cause your skin to age very quickly and can lead to skin cancer.

Acne Cream Differin Differin is the brand name for a retinoid-like drug known as adapalene which controls, but does not cure, acne. Pimples typically take 6 to 8 weeks to form under the skin and, during the first weeks of treatment, Differin may cause these pimples to come to the surface and thus appear to make your condition worse. Read more

The Use Of Cold Laser Treatment For Acne Scars For mild cases of acne scarring it is often possible to treat the problem either with cream or by using a chemical peel and, where this doesn't work, then the next step is to try a slightly more aggressive treatment such as dermabrasion. Read more

Blue Light Laser Acne Treatment In some cases acne requires more advanced treatment methods either because of the severity of the acne or because of a desire to avoid the side effects from many acne medications. Modern advanced acne treatments offer an alternative which many people today find particularly attractive and among the most popular are light treatments. Read more

The Different Types Of Severe Acne Medication The type of severe acne medication which your dermatologist will recommend depends very much upon the particular type of acne from which you are suffering. When it comes to severe acne the condition is divided into 4 types: Read more

Cystic Acne Requires Special Care The trouble with acne in general is that, if it is not treated correctly, it can result in scarring which may or may not be easy to deal with and this is especially true when it comes to cystic acne. Read more

Using A Natural Comedonal Acne Treatment Treating any form of acne can be a long and slow process and the key here lies in the word 'treating' rather than 'curing' because, although you can help to reduce the effects of acne in both the short and long term, curing acne is essentially a matter of giving nature a helping hand and waiting for the condition to run its course. Read more

How To Conceal Acne Acne affects people to varying degrees but in many cases it results in an unsightly appearance which often last for a considerable period of time and which many sufferers will go to extraordinary lengths to conceal. So, just how do you go about concealing acne? Read more

What Are Papules And Pustules One of the biggest problems with acne is that there are so many terms used to describe it and so it is important to understand the language of this particular condition. Here are a few terms to help make things a little bit clearer: Read more

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