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African American Skin Care
The fact is that any type of skin condition can happen regardless of the pigment of skin you have. When it comes to African American skin care and others with darker complexions however, there are a few skin care problems that are much more...
Spironolactone in the treatment of acne
In his article on acne published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine James (1) mentions that androgen antagonist spironolacton is often useful in women with hyperandrogenism. However, it would be important to point out, that the...
The First Step To Curing Acne
The first step to curing acne is knowing what type of acne you have. This information gives you precious insight to what may have actually triggered the acne outset. Once you know your acne trigger, you are one step closer to removing the acne...
The Market for Testosterone Creams and Gels
Testosterone cream is one of many topical testosterone products to help increase testosterone levels. The safe, yet extremely potent, testosterone gel is absorbed through the skin directly into the blood stream using "Time Released Liposome...
What Every Woman and Girl needs to Know about PCOS and Why
PCOS Awareness Advocate Ashley Tabeling, after over six years of service to the PCOS Community is aggressively campaigning for more awareness, exposure and education for PCOS( Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) For Ashley who was diagnosed with PCOS in...
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Cystic Acne Treatment
Normal zits are already unpleasant enough, but cystic acne is a
much more painful and potentially scarring experience for your
skin (and your self esteem!). There is no "easy" remedy for
getting rid of acne cysts, but there are certainly some
treatment options that can help speed the process, as well as
some things that you should be sure NOT to do. This advice is
meant for acne sufferers with a mild to average number of cysts.
If you have severe cystic acne that covers your face and body,
you should really seek the advice of a dermatologist
immediately, as an affliction such as this can leave your skin
scarred for life.
Understanding cystic acne:
Unlike the small whitehead pustules that most people with acne
experience on the surface of their skin, cystic acne appears as
large irritated bumps, often with the pustule hidden deep
beneath the skin's surface. These cysts are caused when hormonal
shifts result in your skin glands overproducing oil (sebum) at
an unnatural rate. The gland becomes swollen and eventually
bursts, but not before the sebum has swelled and hardened into a
clump too large to escape by means of your pores. The irritation
from your gland bursting results in inflammation, and buried
pustule can remain in your skin for a very long time.
What to do:
The first thing to keep in mind is what you should not do. Never
try to force a deep cyst to the surface of your skin
prematurely. Trying to force cysts to burst is one of the major
causes of acne scars, and will often leave your face looking
much worse than it did before.
There are some things that you can still do to help. Strong acne
creams with 2.5% benzoyl peroxide will help speed the healing
process by killing the bacteria that forms in the cyst.
Anti-inflammatory treatments such as Neosporin can also help by
taking some of the red out of the inflamed region. After this,
it simply takes patience and the discipline not to pick at
your
skin. Your cysts will eventually be broken down by the body, and
this usually takes less time than healing from the inflammation
caused by forcing them out.
Prevention:
Cystic acne happens below the surface of your skin and has very
little to do with personal hygene. Creams and cleansers will not
help much at all in preventing it. You need to target your oil
glands in order to counter those hormonal shifts. Start with a
daily multivitamin to make sure you're getting the minimum of
essential nutrients that your body needs to metabolize oil, and
then consider other supplements.
Zinc is an important mineral in regulating the activity of your
oil glands, as well as being a powerful antioxidant. Taking an
extra 30-50 mg per day of Zinc has helped many acne sufferers.
Vitamin B5 is also a key ingredient in fighting excess oil.
There are many online resources about vitamin B5 acne
treatment. B5 is necessary in order to produce Coenzyme-A, which
in turn is needed for the metabolism of skin oil. Supplementing
with 5-10 grams of vitamin B5 (less if time-released) has helped
many acne sufferers get their skin under control by enhancing
oil metabolism. Since cystic acne is caused by excessive oil
production, this may be exactly what you need.
If nothing else works for you, see a dermatologist, as you may
need a prescription treatment such as Accutane (a vitamin A
derivative that directly lowers your production of skin oil).
However, this should only be a last resort, as the side-effects
from prescription acne treatments can sometimes be more serious
than the acne itself.
About the author:
Don Amodeo is the webmaster of Acne-Vitamins.com, where you can
find vitamin B5 acne
products and a free guide to vitamins for acne. This article
may be republished provided that the author's information and
all active links are left intact.
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