In todays day and age, physical appearance plays an important role in our society. No one wants to suffer from acne problems, but it is unfortunately something that everyone goes through. Although it is more common in teenagers and people going through puberty, it can be an active problem for adults as well. In order to have acne control over your face, you have to take action now.

Cause

Acne occurs when oil ducts in the skin get plugged and then break burst, causing swelling and redness. There are a number of things that can contribute to poor skin and acne, but the three main factors that cause it are hormones, heredity and plugged oil ducts.

There is no hiding the fact that hormones play a factor in acne. All teenagers have dealt with skin care problems at least some point in their life. When you begin puberty there are certain hormones called androgens that increase for both male and females. It is these hormones that trigger oil ducts on the face, neck, back and chest to begin producing oil. As the oil builds up, acne begins to appear.

The second possible factor is heredity. Unfortunately, if your parents suffered from acne problems, the chance of you having skin problems increases. The best way to prevent this is to begin using some kind of skin product prior to puberty to eliminate oil ducts before they appear. We will discuss acne control products later in this article.

The last major factor that causes acne is plugged oil ducts. If you are prone to acne, the cells that line the oil ducts are going to begin to produce more oil and get larger, thus plugging the ducts. As this happens, the oil gets trapped and blackheads or whiteheads are produced. Lastly, the plugged ducts allow germs in the skin to multiply and produce chemicals that cause redness and swelling.

Acne control tips

Although there is no sure way to prevent acne because we can not control our hormones and heredity, there are some acne control methods you can do to limit the amount of acne you get. Washing your skin several times a day is essential to help reduce the oil that is produced and help remove the excess surface oils and dead skin cells that can clog your pores. This does not mean you need to take four showers a day, but washing your hands and face with water and soap a few times a day will be good.

Another acne control tip is to purchase lotions or makeup that are noncomedogenic or nonacnegenic. In simplest terms, purchasing lotions or makeup that have this means they will not clog your pores. Along with using products around your face, try to keep styling gel and hairspray away from your face as much as possible. Many hair products that are used have oils in them that can worsen acne.

The last acne control tip is to avoid wearing things that will rub on your face such as hats, headbands or chinstraps. Wearing these items on your head will irritate the skin and produce an excess amount of oil.

Acne treatment

Because it is almost impossible to truly prevent acne, odds are you will produce acne at some point in your life. Therefore, it is vital that you are aware of acne treatment so you can clear your skin as soon as possible. Whether it is through pills or facial creams, what works for one person is not going to necessarily work for you.

To begin with, you can try to wash your face and use an over-the-counter prescription to cleanse your skin. However, if the acne becomes serious you will want to seek a dermatologist. A dermatologist will subscribe a skin care product or pill of some kind to help you get rid of the problem. There may be some trial and error that is required to clear your skin, but it is vital that you give it time to work before giving up on the medication.

Overusing a product will typically aggravate your skin and switching products too frequently will irritate the skin as well. Because of this, try to find one and give it time to be effective. If the face wash or scrub is not working after a couple of weeks, then you will want to seek a more aggressive acne treatment.

Once you have determined that a prescription method is the route you want to take, it is important that you discuss with your doctor or dermatologist about your situation. You want to talk about the possible side effects for various medications and what your goals are.

There are a plethora of face washes, creams and pills that can be prescribed making it vital that you work with your doctor to come up with the best solution for your problem. By discussing with your doctor what skin care products you have been using and how severe your acne has become, your doctor will be able to better prescribe a medication for you.

Acne is an embarrassing facet to our skin that everyone experiences at some point in their life. Regardless of whether you are a male or female, young or old, the potential is there to face skin problems. By taking action now and working at cleansing your skin, you can begin to take control of your acne,and improve the condition of your melasma, age spots and freckles too.