Acne is a common inflammatory skin disease characterized by pimples on the face, chest, and back. It occurs when the pores of the skin become clogged with oil, dead skin cells, and/or bacteria. Acne is most common during adolescence, affecting more than 85% of teenagers, and frequently continues into adulthood. For most people, acne diminishes over time and tends to disappear—or at the very least decrease—after one reaches his or her early twenties. There is, however, no way to predict how long it will take to disappear entirely, and some individuals will continue to suffer well into their thirties, forties and beyond.

The face and upper neck are the most commonly affected, but the chest, back and shoulders may have acne as well. The upper arms can also have acne, but lesions found there are often keratosis pilaris, not acne.

Here are some common myths about acne along with the truth about each myth:

1.Pimples, blackheads and whiteheads should be extracted.

Extracting pimples is definitely not recommended as the pressure applied to the skin may increase inflammation to other areas of the skin. You can extract blackheads using a blackhead extractor but you have to be sure the extractor is placed at a 90 degree angle to the skin surface.

2.Wearing make-up aggravates acne.

If you use make-up, it is always best to stick with a non-comedogenic and established brand. It is very important to thoroughly remove make-up daily, as it can easily clog pores and don’t wear it for prolonged periods. It is also recommended to use mineral-based make-up which is less comedogenic. Don’t get caught up in that vicious cycle where the more acne one gets, the more one tries to cover it with make-up and the more make-up worsens the blocking of the pores.

3.Washing your face more often gets rid of acne.

It depends on what you use. If you have a lot of whiteheads and blackheads, choose something which contains alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs). If you have inflamed acne with bumpy skin, use a cleanser which can kill bacteria. Washing twice a day is more than enough. Over-washing in fact can worsen acne.

4.Stress causes acne.

Stress can worsen acne symptoms through increased levels of hormones which form in the adrenal glands which in turn over-stimulate the oil glands.

5.Tanning helps clear up acne.

Tanning merely masks acne by evening out the skin color temporarily. The skin may become dry and irritated following a tan which can lead to an acne outbreak. If you go under the sun often, use a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15, and which is also non-comedogenic, meaning it does not tend to clog pores.

Imagine how could clear skin convert your attitude? Instead of wasting lots of bucks, first you need to read about acne and its treatment acne and acne types

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 28th, 2008 at 7:43 pm and is filed under Health and Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.