Expose The Myths That Surround Acne

There is a great deal of information distributed about acne and what causes it and this information tends to be a mix of both fact and fiction. So, let us take a look at a few of those things that are being circulated and see if we can separate the fact from the fiction.

Food

First of all there is no direct link between eating such things as greasy hamburgers and chocolate or drinking excessive soft drinks and getting pimples. What is true is that diet plays an important role in all the body's systems and so it does have a minor role to play in whether developing acne is more or less likely.

For instance, greasy foods do not directly convert into rising oil production from the sebaceous glands which contributes to acne, although foods which do cause a rise in oil production would have an effect. However, iodized salt is the only food substance that has been demonstrated to have any real effect and it only exacerbates existing acne but does not cause it.

Hygiene

The odds of developing a spot increase when a pore becomes plugged and bacteria are trapped inside. This means that hygiene habits which tend to close the pores can play a role. But this effect is only minimal and the bacteria and dead cell skins which get trapped and are unable to make their way out of the pore to the surface are only influenced to a small degree by an absence of regular face washing.

However, once acne arrives then good skin care is particularly important and mild cleansing twice each day with soap and water will help to treat acne and encourage healthy skin in general. Good hygiene is a good idea for a number of reasons but it helps most in treating acne because it provides a good surface allowing medications to work most effectively.

Acne spots are greatly influenced by excess sebum (skin oil) production which is triggered primarily by hormones and harsh cleansers applied roughly do not only clear away any excess oil but also weakens the skin's ability to cope with it.

Stress

Because stress has a tendency to weaken the body's immune system and also influence its hormone levels it could be thought that stress should play a role in the onset of acne. However, there is no clear evidence that stress produces acne, although there is some evidence to show that it may play a small role after acne has developed.

One problem in assessing the role of stress is that people who suffer from chronic stress normally also suffer from additional health problems that can complicate things. Do not forget also that we are talking here about clinical stress and not simply the worries that we all have as part of the trials and tribulations of everyday life.

Medications

Many individuals are tempted to raise the dosage of an over-the-counter medication in the belief that if a little medicine can do a little bit of good then a lot of medicine will do a lot of good. Unhappily, this is not so and it is both a waste of medication and might actually harm the skin. Always follow the instructions on any medicine and if an over-the-counter medication is not showing signs of working within two or three weeks then it is a good idea to seek the guidance of a dermatologist.

It is also worth noting that there is no such thing as the best acne medicine. Each of us is different and a medication which proves to be the best acne medication for one individual will not necessarily do the trick for somebody else.