Maintaining healthy skin and tips to identify skin problems

Acne is a skin disease caused due to changes in the sebaceous gland…or simply saying, acne refers to a variety of symptoms such as blackheads, whiteheads and pimples. Although adolescents seem to be the prime victims of acne, there seem to be many adults too who suffer from acne. It is important to identify skin problems such as acne and treat them sooner rather than later.

Acne is usually a result of the clogging of the skin pores which lead to inflamed or non-inflamed lesions such as pimples, blackheads or whiteheads. The reasons behind all this clogging may be hereditary. Yes that’s right, if your mom had acne, you are going to have it and so are your kids! On the other hand there are plenty of other reasons why acne could breakout: overexposure to ultra-violet radiation; changes in the climate or seasons; stress and lack of sleep. Moreover, makeup or even birth control pills could cause acne to break out too. So how do you cure it?

Your Make-up needs a change!

In adult moms like yourself, make-up is the biggest factor contributing to acne outbreaks. Oil based products could be the culprit behind all this acne. Opt for an oil-free based make up if you want to get rid of that acne.

Go over the labels first

Watch out for ingredients such as “lanolin,” “isopropyl myristate,” “sodium lauryl sulphate,” “laureth-4” and “D & C red dyes.” If you see any of these ingredients in your cosmetics, you should bring up a red signal in your mind. Don’t buy these! Just as is the case with oil-based makeup, these ingredients are bubbling with oil which is way too much for the skin to handle.

Wash off at the end of the day

Before you go to bed every night, make sure you get rid of all make-up. Your face should be washed with a mild soap at least twice daily and make sure to rinse the soap off your face COMPLETELY. Rinse your face at least six to seven times with fresh water.

Cut down on make-up usage

Whether it’s natural, oil-free or not, try to minimize the amount of make up you use and its frequency. The lesser make-up you use, the lesser acne you will see.

Hands off!

That’s right, keep your fingers off any pimples or whiteheads that you may have. Yes, yes, they itch and yes you’d love to get your fingers on them…but the last thing they need is some squeezing! By squeezing a pimple you could worsen the inflammation causing an infection eventually. If you let them be as they are, they will automatically disappear in less than a month, so be patient please.

Squeeze the right type

Although pimples should not be squeezed, you have an excuse to squeeze them if the pimple has a small yellow pus head in its centre. Squeeze it gently or softly, letting it pop open. Once the pus oozes out, wash it thoroughly and gently. This will let the pimple heal rapidly.

Blackheads?? ATTACK!!

If you see a blackhead, that’s right, go on and squeeze it. A blackhead is an extremely blocked pore which can be cured only if it’s squeezed.

ESCAPE! The Sun’s coming out!!

If you are using acne medication, you HAVE to stay out of the sun as much as possible. In case you are not using any medicine, you can let your acne see the sun for about 10-20 minutes.

Whatever treatment you do to your acne, just make sure you are doing just one at a time! Good luck staying acne-free!

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