Acne is a skin condition that occurs when your hair follicles become plugged with oil and dead skin cells. It causes whiteheads, blackheads or pimples.
Acne is a common issue and often at times, happen among teenagers, and some adults. Because of the various factors such as hormonal changes, stress, diet, and lifestyle habits, acne outbreaks are bound to happen and it is a nuisance to any individual.
Apart from leaving acne scars, acne drastically affects how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. It further evolves to the next stage where we get affected on how we perceive how other people perceive us.
Many at times, we can be too occupied with these thoughts and while it makes us depressed, we might not be adequately educated about the causes and treatment of acne which may further delay or affect a successful acne treatment.
This article will explain how do we get acne and how to treat and prevent it.
Factors that causes acne
- Hormonal changes.Hormones are responsible for the development of our sebaceous glands and it’s only when they mature, during puberty, that we get acne. During puberty our bodies produce an excess of male hormones (androgens) which stimulate the production of sebum in the sebaceous glands and the overproduction of sebum (known as seborrhea) is one of the symptoms that can lead to acne.
Rising androgen levels cause the oil glands under the skin to grow. The enlarged gland produces more sebum. Excessive sebum can break down cellular walls in the pores, causing bacteria to grow.
Hormone changes during midlife, particularly in women, can lead to breakouts too.
- Certain medications.Examples include drugs containing corticosteroids, testosterone or lithium will cause acne breakout.
- Diet: Diet which includes a high amount of carbohydrate-rich foods, such as bread, bagels and chips, and consuming high amount of dairy products may worsen acne.
- There are no evidence that shows stress causes acne, but if you have acne already, having stress may make it worse.
- Lifestyle habits. Poor cleanliness habits such as not washing your face properly or with proper cleanser will lead to acne outbreak. Not changing your pillow case regularly will also cause dirt to be clogged in your pores, resulting in an outbreak.
Professional tips for acne treatment
Here are professional tips to treat acne and prevent it from getting worse.
- Practice good skin cleansing habits.
- It is advisable to wash your face twice a day – morning and at night with the right facial cleanser. Try to limit your facial washing to twice a day, usually after you’ve been active and sweating. During an acne outbreak, it’s best to avoid exfoliating face washes and other harsh skincare products.
Excessive washing can cause dryness to the skin, which triggers the sebaceous gland to produce more sebum and oil to hydrate your skin but this will clog your pores and make acne outbreaks more severe.
Avoid harsh, chemical-laden face washes. Many over-the-counter facial washes are packed with chemicals that can irritate your skin so it is best to avoid those products and opt for organic skin products.
- Avoid scratching, scraping or picking pimples.
This can open pimples to the air and allow bacteria to enter into the pore, increasing your risk of dealing with an inflamed and infected acne lesion.
- Avoid using make-up during an outbreak
Using foundation to cover the acne may work and boost your confidence for a few hours but this actually do more damage. The chemicals in the make-up can further clog your pores and cause the acne to be more inflamed.
If you have to use make-up, opt for water based make-up and properly and gently cleanse it with water based make up remover.
- Avoid spending too much time outdoors
As our weather is hot and humid, it is best to limit the time spent outdoors ad excessive sweating can worsen your outbreaks and make inflamed, infected acne worse.
If you exercised or just finished a workout session, it is best to quickly shower immediately to reduce the amount of time your bare skin is exposed to the sweat.
- Natural remedies to control acne outbreak
Drink a cup or two of green tea every day. Green tea has mild anti-inflammatory properties that will help to soothe acne inflammation.
Eat more antioxidant-rich foods. A lack of antioxidants can make inflammation worse, potentially worsening your hormonal acne outbreaks. Plant-based foods rich in natural antioxidants, while not as effective as medicine, can potentially decrease skin irritation.
Avoid indulging in dairy products, fried food or carbohydrate-rich foods, such as bread to prevent the outbreak from getting out of hand.
6. Seek professional help from aesthetic doctors / dermatologists.
It’s always best to get professional help and advices from reputable doctors as they can assess the problem and provide solutions that will help to control acne and eradicate it from the root.
At M-Aesthetic Clinic, we provide acne solutions such as acne laser treatments, advanced medical infusions, and medications. We also do have the full range of Acne Scar Removal Treatments.
Acne Laser Treatment
Using a 2-step approach (Gold Laser & Spectra XT Toning Laser), the combination of these two laser treatments help to treat Acne and inflamed skin lesions.
Gold Laser: Destroys acne bacteria and also eradicates acne. It reduces redness and inflamed skin by targeting the abnormal blood vessels and inflammation.
Spectra XT Toning Laser:Controls sebum production and soothes inflamed skin.
There is no downtime for both of these laser treatments.
Advanced Medical Infusion Treatment
Medically proven, it is specially formulated to target acne by eradicating bacteria in pores and infusing with an anti-inflammatory serum which helps with faster skin recovery.
Step 1: Dual Action Exfoliation with unique mechanical Spiral tip
Step 2 : Infusion of anti-inflammatory serum
Step 3 : Photo light treatment to target acne specifically
Step 4 : Soothing mask to calm inflamed skin
No downtime for this procedure.
Conclusion
Prevention is better than cure. We can’t avoid acne totally, but we can equip ourselves with knowledge to treat it and curb it from getting out of hand. Acne treatments are available, and it is effective in many cases.
If you are suffering from an acne outbreak, or would like remove the acne scars, get in touch with us.
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