Find confidence in being clear

Natalie Timperio

Senior InsideOut Editor

“I had plenty of pimples as a kid,” said Rodney Dangerfield, the late American comedian and actor. “One day I fell asleep in the library. When I woke up, a blind man was reading my face.”

Of course, a zit from time to time is nothing unusual; it’s when pimples are sprouting seemingly nonstop that ‘just a zit’ becomes problematic. In a superficial world, surface beauty is highly valued, and so anything that may impede upon it can be psychologically damaging. While acne treatments are nothing short of scarce, adopting some basic know-how can help you to care for your acne appropriately.

The first step in treating acne is to understand exactly what it is. Like anything else, the degree of acne will vary from person to person. What is common, however, is how acne is produced. Your pores overproduce cells, thus causing a blockage of pores. Sebum, or oil, which is produced naturally in the body, is unable to drain due from these blockages. Bacteria can then begin to grow, eventually causing the formation of a pimple.

There are two types of acne: non-inflammatory acne and inflammatory acne. Non-inflammatory acne takes form in either a whitehead or a blackhead.

When the follicle wall ruptures, which doesn’t always happen but can, due to, say, touching of the skin, inflammatory acne ensues. White blood cells then inflame the pore, forming a zit. Inflammatory acne can explode and inflame the surrounding skin, causing more pimples to develop.

Milia is yet another variant of acne that take shape in tiny white bumps that occur when skin cells become trapped in small pockets on skin’s surface.

Developing a personalized care system is key to treating your acne. There is no “cookie cutter” solution, as again acne will vary from person to person. Acne.org provides personalized advice via an online questionnaire that can help you to develop a regimen best suited for you.

While regimens will vary, Acne.org provides some basic tips that most should find useful.

Stick to it! Patience is key, and acne, unfortunately, is not curable over night. More than that, starting too fast and quitting too early can prove most problematic; initial redness, dryness or even blotchiness is normal. Unless you experience severe inflammation, stick to a new regimen for a few weeks, at least.

Try benzoyl peroxide. It can be purchased at your local drug store in either gel or cream form. You can also purchase different levels of concentration. Though benzoyl peroxide typically causes initial dryness, your skin will eventually develop a tolerance to it, in which case you can increase the amount you use. Begin with a small amount, and then after a few weeks time, increase the dosage. But be gentle when applying benzoyl peroxide so as to not irritate your already sensitive skin. Allowing your fingers to simply glide over skin is pressure enough.

Contrary to popular belief, moisturizing is also important, as it will help reduce irritation.

Try a light moisturizer if you’re worried about oily skin. Use about a quarter-sized amount, and again apply the moisturizer gently to your skin.

Acne.org also dispels some common acne myths. Frequently washing your face will not help to clear up acne. Since acne is the result of skin cells clogging pores, washing your face more often will more than likely irritate it only more. So wash your face only twice a day using your fingers only.

Additionally, stress does not directly cause acne. Though stress can contribute to the factors that cause acne, such as varying hormone levels, stress itself plays a minimal role in contributing to acne.

At the end of the day, walking around with a paper bag on your head is not feasible.

So making the right choices about how to treat your acne is the first step towards a more confident you!