How to Treat Acne

Wash your face twice a day. Keeping your face clean is important in preventing acne. Washing your face helps to remove dirt, dirt and excess oil that has accumulated on the surface of the skin. Ideally, you should wash your face three times a day, in the morning, afternoon and evening, with warm water and a mild cleanser. Use a clean dry towel to pat your face dry.

• Do not scrub your face with a rough towel, sponge rubber or dry loofah. Because doing so will only irritate the skin and make the acne more inflamed. Towels can also be hiding places for bacteria that you don’t want your face to come in contact with.
• While you may want to wash your face more than twice a day due to the discomfort of acne, you should know that doing so will not really help you improve your skin. Washing your face too much can make your skin dry and irritated.

Use a non-comedogenic (non-pore-clogging) moisturizer. Applying a good moisturizer is important after washing your face as this will help keep your skin hydrated and prevent dryness and irritation. However, if you have trouble with acne you should choose a moisturizer that suits your skin type. Heavy and oily moisturizers can clog your pores and cause breakouts. Look for moisturizers that say “non-comedogenic” — which means they won’t cause breakouts.

• In addition to choosing a moisturizer that won’t clog pores, you should also be careful in choosing the right product for your skin. For example, if you have oily skin you should choose a light gel moisturizer, and if you have dry, flaky skin you should use a dense cream.
• Make sure you wash your hands right before applying moisturizer. Otherwise bacteria or germs on your hands will get on your face when you apply moisturizer.

Avoid touching your face or squeezing pimples. During the day your hands are exposed to more dirt and bacteria than other parts of the body, so you should absolutely not touch your face with your hands. In addition to spreading bacteria and causing infection, touching acne spots and affected areas makes them more prone to irritation and swelling, which in turn can make acne worse and worse. prolong healing time.

• Popping pimples, although it will make you feel better, it is one of the worst things you can do to your skin. Squeezing acne will prolong the healing process and can also cause infection and scarring. Because it is very difficult to treat scars left by acne, you should absolutely not pop acne.
• It is very likely that you touch your face with your hand without realizing what you are doing. Be careful not to rest your hand on your cheek or chin when sitting near a desk or dining table, or rest your face on your hand when lying in bed at night.

Use an exfoliator and mask once a week. Exfoliators and masks are useful products and very beneficial for the skin, but they should not be used in excess. Exfoliating products that help remove dead skin cells effectively cleanse the skin, but can also make the skin dry and irritated if used regularly, especially for acne-prone skin.

• Masks help clear impurities, soothe skin, and even make your regular skin care spa-like. But like above, masks should only be used once a week, as they may contain harsh bleaching ingredients that are not suitable for everyday use.

Avoid applying too much product on your face. Too much creams, lotions, and gels can clog your pores and lead to breakouts, so make sure you don’t over-apply your facial products and stick to the recommended amount. On the packaging. Likewise, use as little makeup as possible and remove makeup thoroughly at the end of each day.

• Hair products with strong scents and chemicals can also clog pores if hair comes into contact with facial skin, so use them sparingly. Use a shampoo and conditioner that won’t irritate your skin when you shower.
• You should also limit your skin’s oil and bacteria buildup by changing your pillowcase at least once a week and cleaning your makeup tools regularly.

Protect skin from the sun. While in the past it was thought that sun exposure to acne-prone skin would help dry up acne, today’s experts disagree. The UV rays of the sun can actually make acne redder and more swollen than before.

• Therefore, you should focus on protecting your skin from the sun by wearing a hat and applying sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher.
• Keep in mind that some sunscreens are quite oily and can clog pores, so choose one that says “non-comedogenic” on the package.

Eat sensibly. While it’s been proven that chocolate and other junk foods aren’t the real “cause” of acne, staying away from oils and greasy foods is still better for the skin. Acne is caused by excess oil in your pores getting clogged, so reducing the amount of oil you put into your body in the first place is a step in the right direction. At the same time, if your body is healthy on the inside, the outside will reflect the same.

• Stay away from foods like potato chips, chocolate, pizza, and fried foods. These are foods that are high in fat, sugar and starch, which means they are not good for your skin and health. You don’t necessarily have to eliminate them completely, just try to limit your consumption of them.
• Eat lots of vegetables and fruits. The water in vegetables and fruits helps to keep the skin moist and the vitamins and minerals increase the body’s ability to fight acne. In particular, it is recommended to eat fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin A (such as broccoli, spinach, and carrots) to help balance the amount of acne-causing protein in the body, and with high levels of vitamins E and C. oranges, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, avocados) have antioxidant and skin-soothing properties. ^[9]

Drink a lot of water. Drinking water has many benefits for your skin as well as your entire body. Water helps the body retain moisture and makes the skin plump. It also helps to balance and prevent the increase of harmful toxins in the body while reducing the cause of skin problems. In addition, water also helps to ensure the metabolism of the skin to help the skin regenerate itself. You should drink from 5 to 8 glasses of water a day to stay healthy.

• But don’t drink too much water and don’t force yourself to drink water all the time. Drinking too much water will thin your blood, which can be harmful to your health and lead to serious consequences. Make sure to only drink about 8 cups of water a day and you’ll be fine. ^[10]
• You should also avoid consuming too much alcohol. Alcohol affects the balance of hormones, and unbalanced hormones like testosterone and oestrogen are one of the main causes of acne. In addition, drinking alcohol is also harmful to the liver, one of the main organs for healthy skin, because it is the place to help balance hormones and blood sugar levels as well as filter out toxins. ^[11]

Use over-the-counter creams. If you feel stuck with stubborn acne spots, then in addition to keeping your face clean and eating right, you should also use other methods. Fortunately, there are many over-the-counter (OTC) creams that are great at treating acne and preventing more breakouts. These creams are usually applied directly to the acne and in some cases can help improve the condition of the skin in as little as 6 to 8 weeks. The most common active ingredients found in these creams are:

• Benzoyl peroxide . Benzoyl peroxide kills bacteria on the surface of the skin and helps slow the production and accumulation of oil in the pores. It also acts as an exfoliant to help the skin regenerate itself. Benzoyl peroxide can be drying and irritating, so you should start with the lowest available concentration.
• Salicylic Acid . Salicylic acid is another ingredient that helps kill acne caused by bacteria. It also helps with blackheads and whiteheads that can develop into pimples when infected. In addition, salicylic acid also helps remove dead skin that prevents clogged pores and helps new skin cells form.
• Sulfur . Sulfur is antibacterial and helps treat whiteheads and blackheads, preventing them from becoming infected and forming pimples.
• Retin-A . Retin-A contains the acidic form of vitamin A, known as all-trans retinoic acid, which acts as a chemical that exfoliates, exfoliates, and clears clogged pores.
• Azelaic acid . Azelaic acid makes acne smaller by preventing oil buildup, reducing inflammation and bacterial growth. It is especially effective for people with dark skin. ^[12]

Ask your dermatologist to prescribe a stronger topical cream. For some people OTC creams are not strong enough to fight stubborn acne spots. In this case, ask your doctor for a prescription for a stronger but similarly potent medication.

• Most prescription creams that contain the active ingredient are derived from vitamin A. For example, products like tretinoin, adapalene, and tazarotene. These creams help speed up cell renewal and prevent hair follicles from becoming clogged. ^[13]
• There are many prescription antibacterial creams that work to kill bacteria on the surface of the skin.

Think about using antibiotics. In the case of moderate to severe acne, your doctor will prescribe a combination of topical creams and oral antibiotics. This helps reduce inflammation as well as bacterial growth. Treatment with antibiotics usually lasts 4 to 6 months, although you should notice an improvement in your skin from about the first 6 weeks.

• Unfortunately, antibiotics don’t work for quite a few people these days so this is not an optimal solution.
• Some antibiotics (such as tetracyclines) can reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills, so women should use other methods of contraception while taking antibiotics. ^[12]

In the case of severe acne, think about medications containing isotretinoin. If all else fails and severe acne persists, your dermatologist will recommend isotretinoin. Isotretinoin is closely related to vitamin A and works to reduce oil production and shrink oil-producing glands. A course of isotretinoin treatment usually lasts about 20 weeks, during which time patients must be closely monitored due to the high potential for side effects.

• When taking isotretinoin, acne can get worse before it gets better. This flare-up will only last for a few weeks but can sometimes be for the duration of treatment.
• Some of the side effects associated with isotretinoin include dry skin and eyes, dry and cracked lips, sensitivity to the sun, and others not commonly seen such as headaches, hair loss, and mood swings. and feel sad
• This method can cause unpredictable consequences for the fetus, so this medicine should not be prescribed to women who are pregnant or want to become pregnant. Therefore, women will usually be asked to have a pregnancy test before being prescribed this medicine. ^[14]

If you are female, think about taking birth control pills. Since acne problems are often related to hormonal imbalances, taking birth control pills will help regulate hormone production and reduce acne breakouts in women – especially those with high hormone levels. related to the menstrual cycle. Birth control pills that contain both norgestimate and ethinyl estradip are usually the most effective.

• Birth control pills often cause rare side effects such as blood clots, high blood pressure and an increased chance of heart disease, so make sure to consult your doctor thoroughly about this method before using it. ^[13]