Archive for the ‘How To Get Rid Of Pimples Fast’ Category
Is it Ok to Sometimes Not Wash Your Face in the Morning?
I’ve had those long, lazy days on the weekend sometimes where I’ve already washed all the makeup and dirt and grime from the day off of my face the previous night, and I’m sitting at my computer, getting errands, run or doing whatever in the morning, that I just plain forget to wash my face the next day. What’s the big deal anyways, it’s already washed the night before, why not give my skin a total break from soap, water, and whatnot the next day?
It depends on how oily your skin is, but you may very well be able to get away with these occasional entire days without washing your face, unless of course you need to put on makeup, then it’s entirely advisable that you wash your face in the morning to prepare your skin and prime it with protective moisturizers and SPF for the day to come.
Many times though, especially if it’s a day where I know I’m not going to be exposed to UV in the winter, and I really don’t want to dry my skin out all the time by washing it twice a day, and it’s a weekend day where I don’t have to put on face paint for my job, I enjoy just leaving my face be and going washless for the day. I just use a blotter mid day to blot off the excess oil, and I’m good to go.
Then, the funny thing is, when I do finally wash my face in the evening (I still do wash it the once at least, don’t want too much toxic stuff and oil to build up, and I want my face to be clean from debris when I sleep), my face feels baby smooth. It’s almost like your skin needs a break from washing, and needs to bathe it’s own protective oils all day once in a while.
It’ sort of like a vacation for the skin, is the way I look at it. And so far, this practice has not made me break out at all. I think that having acne, unless you have severely oily skin, we tend to think that we have to constantly wash and dry out our skin, and in fact that damages it more and just makes us break out more in the end. It’s good to give your skin a break from washing and makeup every once in a while – it allows it to breathe and be free of anything, just for a little while.
Obama to Tax Tanning?
Something that not too many people may be upset about, seeing how indoor tanning at salons have become pretty out of fashion because of the dangers of excess sun exposure as warned by so many (although I do believe we need some sun, we need that vitamin D!), is the fact that the Obama administration has decided to tax indoor tanning to help recover the billions lost in other concessions for the economy’s fix it package (aka the bailout).
So, to pay for so many shortcomings of banks, tanning salons will now have to pay a tanning tax if they offer indoor tanning to the government. I guess you gotta recover your money some how, huh? What I do find a little interesting is that they chose to tax an unnecessary, fun thing that lots of teens do and there has been such a drive to stop teens from tanning, I’m thinking that they did this on purpose to sort of kill two birds with one stone.
Although I hardly doubt that many young girls will stop going tanning just because of a tax. My guess is that the tax will be somewhat negligible when the cost is inevitably passed on to the consumer, and they’ll barely notice the difference in the cost of their tanning sessions.
Should be interesting to see how this shakes out. I don’t think it will force tanning salons to go under or anything like that, as they will definitely find a way to pass the cost on to their customers, but they may have a little price adjusting to do for a while when they try to figure out their new strategies for covering costs.
Medical Acne Treatment Alternatives to Accutane
Accutane (isotretinoin) is an OTC (over the counter) product used for treatment of severe acne problems. Isotretinoin is given as an oral medication, only prescribed by a dermatologist. Isotretinoin was first developed as chemotherapy medication for pancreatic and brain cancer and other. His chemical composition is retinoid; he is derivative of a synthetic form of Vitamin A and is found in small quantities normally in the body.
But in 1982 Hoffman-La Roche announced isotretinoin as Accutane, a revolutionary systemic drug for treatment of severe acne problem. Accutane targets sebaceous glands and reduces oil production. But as all drugs he has side effects, like dry skin, dryness of the nose which leads to nose bleeds and eyes dryness also.
But the more serious side effect is his teratogenic (Birth Defects) effect. Sexually active woman and still in reproductive age are given the advise to take at last two forms of contraceptives during treatment. It also effects on blood composition and may lead to depression, suicide and mental instability.
The best benefit of Accutane is that after one or two treatments courses, acne should go into long term remission, however there are some that have not experienced this and have had pursue alternative acne treatments.
For the prescribing of the Accutane it is the doctor or dermatologist that must carefully and correctly gauge the proper dose and time of administration and the period of treatments duration. Also the dermatologist must take care of the benefit–risk ratio for every single patient with acne. Since 01.03.2006 this acne medicament is prescription drug in United States and dermatologist are required to register their patients before prescribing.
But these precisions didn’t work at all stages and the consequence of the side effect of this medical treatment was 30% of children with congenital malformations.
On 29.06.2009 Hoffman-La Roche discontinued Accutane manufacturing and selling in United States.
Now some generic alternatives are available on the market Roaccutane – not for American market (same as Accutane before July 2009), Amnesteem, Claravis, Clarus, Decutan, Isotane, Izotek, Oratane, ISOTRET or Sotret, while topical isotretinoin is most commonly marketed under the trade names Isotrex or Isotrexin. These generic products have the same side effects as Accutane.
Unfortunately, you can’t just go out and take vitamin A, as it can become toxic if taken in too high of dosages, however, there are some excellent alternative products to treat acne which combined things like supplements and cleansers and other specialized topical ingredients which treat acne safely and very effectively.
How to Help Shrink Your Pores
The pores are places where the glands open on the surface of the skin. With the surface of the skin they are associated with channels These glands are situated, in particular, on the face but also on the whole body. Faulty skin is a result of the glands distributed on the whole human body.
During the summer heat, many of us have this problem – excessive sweating. Nobody wants to sweat, to feel like his clothes are plastered on the body, to see those white and wet circles under the armpits of the shirts … not to mention the unpleasant smell.
To neutralize the unpleasant odors, the most important is personal hygiene. Showering every day, even several times in a day, if you have the possibility, it is very good because this prevents excessive multiplying of the bacteria on the body, and thus reduces the unpleasant odor. If you have a shower several times a day, it is not necessary every time to use shower gels and other aggressive cosmetics. The use of these means is enough once a day so, the other showering can be only with hot water.
You have to pick the right products if you want to shrink your pores on a daily basis. These aforementioned advices are very useful if you really want it. The other recommended advice is the usage of antiperspirants. Choosing whether to use the antiperspirants or not depends on you. If you use it, always put it only on completely dry skin. When you leave the shower, dry your skin and than apply the antiperspirant to act extremely efficiently.
A bigger problem is presented with the pores on your face .In some people the pores can be particularly visible and look like scars. The enlarged pores increase the risk of problematic skin because the pores collect dirt which causes inflammation of the face. To prevent these we need to clear our face several times a day. All this takes time and eventually the person’s face is not fully cleaned.
If you sweat on the whole body, not only on the critical parts, what you should do is to quit from using crèmes, lotions, gels for skin etc.
At these high temperatures the only thing that can help people to reduce the sweating and to shrink the pores is the body powder which can have amazing effects.
This same powder can also be used for the feet.
Common Over the Counter Acne Fighting Ingredients
Acne (acne vulgaris) is a common skin condition usually present at young people but sometimes can be found even at elderly people. Acne usually causes outbreaks of skin lesions called pimples, affected areas are face, neck, chest, upper back and shoulders and the skin looks very unhealthy and dirty. Recent investigations show that this is one of the most common diseases over the world.
Over the counter drugs, often called OTC drugs are products that became very popular alternative to prescription medications which were used for treatment of acne. These products are readily available and person doesn’t need a prescription for them.
Common used and most effective OTC acne fighting ingredients are few but the group of these ingredients is enlarging fast. Standard active ingredients for acne fighting used in OTC acne medications are salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, resorcinol, glycolic acid. On the other hand a huge demand for OTC acne medications with natural active ingredients is occurring. These natural ingredients common used are tea tree oil, witch hazel extract, chamomile extract, aloe vera, green tea extract, lemongrass and others.
The most used OTC acne medications are topical preparations like masks, foams, gels, scrubs, liniments and creams. Most of them contain benzoyl peroxide and/or salicylic acid or combination of this two. Benzoyl peroxide is the most often used active ingredient in OTC products, and it is available in concentration of 2,5% increasing to 5% and 10%.
Research suggested that best effects can be achieved starting with 2,5% and increasing through 5 – 10%. But concentrations of 5 and 10% of benzoyl peroxide are not significantly more effective than 2,5%.
On the other hand salicylic acid is well tolerated. Beta hydroxy acid works as an acerbic by elimination of the dead skin cells. Salicylic acid is used in makeup removers, but is also used in gel and lotion form. Sulfur is another well known and old ingredient used in OTC acne medications. A lot of soap cleansers contain sulfur as active ingredient.
Resorcinol in OTC remedies helps in the process of rapid skin development and lessens the blocked pores. Generally it is used in combination with sulfur. On other side natural ingredients in OTC topical skin products are used for their antiseptic properties and as a group of remedies well tolerated from the skin. Tea tree oil has proven antiseptic properties and his use in topical skin care OTC products in 10% concentration has the same effect as 5% of benzoyl peroxide.
Aloe vera in OTC acne medications is used regarding antibacterial and antifungal activities, it has been shown to inhibit growth of bacteria and its use is well established also for his effect of soothing, moisturizing and healing properties. It is available in many forms gels, scrubs, creams. Witch hazel is used in OTC topical products as a strong antioxidant and astringent, as a useful ingredient alone or in combination in fighting acne.
For other natural OTC acne fighting ingredients they are used in combination with the benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid and other to enhance their acne healing properties.
Acne can definitely be treated with a combination of both natural and chemical ingredients, but of course it’s best to go with the most natural acne treatments and supplements possible, after all, you don’t want to add more toxins to your body, you want to remove them for clear skin.