There is a lot of bad information out there when it comes to acne and how to deal with it. Most people deal with some form of acne as teen agers. A quick Google of “the best acne products,” comes up with benzoyl peroxide based products, which are great at drying out and irritating the skin. This type of process seems to be the prominent ways to deal with acne breakouts. But, is this really the only way to deal with acne breakouts? Let’s take a closer look.
Where does acne come from?
Acne is a normal part of life. For many of us, when we are teenagers, it is an everyday part of life. Then as we age and our hormones stabilize, our acne tends to go away, but can remain past our 40’s for some people.
It all starts with sebum or the oil our skin creates to help keep in moisture. After all, our skin is over 63%+ water and hydration is key to healthy skin. Inside each one of our hair follicles is an oil-producing duct called a sebaceous gland, which excretes oil to lube up our hair and keep our skin hydrated. Problem is things like stress, hormones and dry skin can cause these glands to produce too much oil. At the same time, the outermost part of our skin flakes off as we produce more skin. These dead skin cells can fall into hair shafts and mix in with the sebum coming out of our hair shafts. When this happens, bacteria gets trapped and causes an infection that we call acne.
How to deal with it
Everyday your skin sheds millions of cells, so how do you keep up? The best way to keep acne at bay is to have a daily regimen, where consistency is key. Here are five easy steps to get on a solid, anti-acne regimen:
Step 1. Cleanser
Use an AHA or BHA based cleanser. Alpha-hydroxy and Beta-hydroxy acids are key to dealing with acne. They both are mild exfoliates, but are formulated to only remove a certain, balanced amount of oil. After all, we don’t want to strip the body of all the oils.
Step 2. Anti-inflammatories
Niacinimide (B3), resveratrol, olive oil and green tea extract serums are all common examples of anti-inflammatories for skin. The idea here is by slowing down inflammation, you will create less oil. Less oil=less of a chance to clog pores.
Step 3. Retinol.
This derivative of vitamin A is a proven substance that modulates skin turnover. By signaling to your skin that it’s time to turnover will help keep clogged pores at bay. Just make sure to only use at night and wear sunscreen while using.
Step 4. Diet.
According to Dermatologist Dr. Amy Paul, “milk and dairy products, wine, and processed foods can all exacerbate acne. Instead, eat green leafy fruits and vegetables.” So, diet is important.
Step. 5 Sunscreen.
The sun is not our friend. When sun rays hit our skin, damage is caused. Brown spots, premature aging and yes, acne can form. Regarding acne, UV rays help grow bacteria trapped in hair follicles. To stop this, put on broad-spectrum based sunscreen every day (especially on cloudy days).
These are all good ways to deal with acne. Changing your diet and skin care regimen are good places to start. As always, we recommend speaking with a dermatologist if you have additional questions. The American Academy of Dermatology is always a good place to locate a board-certified dermatologist.
In the meantime an easy way to get started on a regimen is to take our skin care quiz. With Dermatologist approved products we can custom-tailor a personalized regimen and drop-ship it to your door step. Try it. You won’t be disappointed.
To stopping acne,
Team Reflect
Please be sure to follow us on Facebook or Instagram and share this with someone who could learn from it.
