Family Health Zone

Acne – Myths and Common Misconceptions

Acne afflicts many people all over the world. There are also many rumors floating around about the  causes, treatments, and anything else related to acne.

Here are some myths and truths that can help clear up some of the rumors about acne:

• The more you clean your skin, the better your acne will get. Acne is caused by oil in your skin, not by the dirt on your face. While it’s important to cleanse your skin twice a day, cleaning more than that can overly dry your skin. Many people believe cleansing all the time will actually worsen the condition.
• Eating fatty foods will make your acne worse. Specific food groups, such as fast food and chocolate, should not trigger breakouts; however, some people have breakouts due to reactions from certain foods. If you notice that you break out after eating a certain food, avoid it in the future. Your overall diet also contributes to skin health.
• Stress causes breakouts. Research has shown that breakouts are not triggered by stressful situations. If you experience acne problems before a big or stressful event, watch what you do with your hands. Leaning on your hands on your face can cause a breakout, something you may do in times of stress.
• Acne will clear up on its own. Most people are under the false impression that acne only afflicts teenagers; however everyone from babies to women in their 40’s can experience acne. Instead of waiting for it to go away, you should get it treated.
• Covering pimples with make-up will make them worse. As long as you use the right make-up, it should not cause breakouts. Buy make-up specifically designed for people with acne. If it still triggers breakouts, try a different brand. Just like food, different ingredients in make up can cause a reaction and result in a breakout.
• Pimples go away when you pop them. Never ever pop a zit. Contrary to popular belief, popping zits can make them worse rather than better. Popping a zit can cause infection, increase the likelihood of scarring, and slow healing. If you must try to speed up healing, spread the base of the zit apart instead of squeezing it. This opens up the pore allowing it to heal.
• If one medicine doesn’t work, you have to live with acne. There’s a reason that there’s not one acne medication on the market. It’s because not one product works for everyone. If one doesn’t work, keep trying. Also, it sometimes takes a while for medications to work. Don’t worry if a treatment doesn’t work after a week.
• A tan helps clear up acne. While a tan may make acne less visible, it will do nothing to clear up a breakout. Regular tanning can make your skin look old much faster and promotes skin cancers. The permanent damage you cause is not worth slightly decreasing the appearance of pimples. 

Once you know the facts about acne, you can learn to prevent breakouts and find the right medicine to help you get beautifully clear skin.

Why Natural Cosmetics are Kinder to your Skin

Next time you’re putting on your make up, turn one of those bottles around and take a look at the ingredients label. You’ll probably find a whole lot of words you not only can’t identify; you also probably can’t pronounce them. Most people think that ingredients have to be safe and helpful to be included in personal care and beauty products, but there is little to no regulation in this area. So how do you look great without endangering yourself and your skin? Try natural cosmetics for a safer way to look your best.

It is estimated that up to 60 percent of the products you put on your skin are absorbed and eventually reach the bloodstream. This becomes a scary statistic when you consider that most traditional beauty products contain chemicals that are not only toxic to humans, many are also carcinogens. With regular use, your body absorbs these artificial additives which can make you sick. When your body is sick, the appearance of your skin suffers; you look less healthy and radiant. By using natural products, you are reducing the risk of this occurring. Just remember that not all natural ingredients are safe, so there is still a risk, it is simply smaller.

Besides being bad for you, the unnatural chemicals in cosmetics and beauty products may also be bad for your skin. If you use the proper cosmetics, cosmetic use should not trigger a breakout of acne or any other skin problem. If this does occur, it is likely that you are reacting to an ingredient in the product. By using natural products, you reduce your risk or having this kind of reaction. Traditional products fill your skin cells with these chemicals, which prevents them from operating at their best and therefore prevents them from looking their best.

If you want a completely different kind of natural make-up, you should try mineral make-up. In addition to the other benefits, mineral make-up helps nourish and soothe your skin, hides fine lines, protects it from the sun, and allows your skin to breathe. These products are a great alternative to traditional cosmetics.

Just because a cosmetic product says it’s natural or organic, doesn’t mean it has all natural ingredients. Since there aren’t regulations on natural beauty products, many “natural” products will contain one or two natural ingredients and all the other dangerous chemicals that traditional products have. There are several organizations that certify organic body products, but a good way to be sure all the ingredients are natural is to look at the label. If you can’t pronounce something, it’s probably not natural.

In addition to being better for your skin, natural products are better for your health, for the environment, and don’t generally use animal testing. All natural products are just a better all around choice.

Tips for Natural Skin Care

There are thousands of products and treatments available to help improve the quality of your skin, but only a small percentage of these are natural. Most beauty products contain harsh, damaging chemicals. Treatments, like chemical peels and botox, can be scary. On top of it all, we really have no idea what most of these treatments and chemicals will do to our skin 20 years down the road. If you want to have great looking skin without dangerous chemicals or procedures, there is a way.

Here are some great tips to keep your skin looking fabulous the natural way:

• Drink more water. All cells need water to function properly. If your skin cells aren’t properly  hydrated, waste products build up in your cells and keep them from working right and looking their best. Also, if you don’t drink enough water, your cells will retain as much as they can and you’ll end up looking puffy and bloated.
• Change your diet. You’ve probably heard the phrase “you are what you eat” a lot. If you think about it, this old saying is 100 percent true. Your body is made up of what you put into it. If you want it to work properly and look its best, you need to feed yourself the nutrients it needs and avoid foods that may damage it. For beautiful skin, you should try to get more fiber and “good fats” in your diet and avoid foods with a lot of sugar.
• Improve your circulation. To function properly, our cells need to get plenty of oxygen. If you spend your days sitting at a desk or remaining mostly immobile, your circulation probably isn’t as good as it could be. Increase your circulation by getting more exercise, stretching, or getting regular massages (they don’t need to be professional). You can also use a brush to exfoliate your skin which improves circulation while removing old, dead cells. Not only will this give your skin a better overall look, it can also reduce the appearance of unsightly cellulite.
• Avoid the sun. A little sun is good for you. It provides vitamin D and can help give you a sunny disposition, but too much sun can do terrible damage. Try to use hats, clothes, or sun block to protect yourself from damaging UV rays.
• Use certified natural skin products. Traditional beauty products contain all sorts of unnatural chemicals. Most are there as preservatives, or to give the product a certain scent, color or texture. These chemicals not only have no value to your skin, some may cause cancer and other dangerous problems. That’s why it’s beneficial to use natural products if you want to look your best and stay healthy. Just be sure to check labels, many products will claim they’re natural or organic and only contain one natural or organic ingredient. Be wary of ingredients you can’t pronounce and look for certification seals to be sure you’re getting what you pay for. Not only will these help normal skin, they’re also less likely to irritate sensitive skin.

With a little time, patience, and work, you can have fabulous looking skin in no time.

How To Keep Your Skin Looking Healthy

What would you say is the most important thing you need to stay healthy? A healthy diet? Thirty minutes of exercise a day? Plenty of sleep? If you answered any of these things, you’re wrong. While these are all essential to saying healthy, the most important thing your body needs is plenty of water. The same thing goes for your skin. Your skin is what everyone around you sees, so you want to keep it looking healthy. In order to keep your skin looking and feeling great, you need to drink plenty of water.

Even when you’re not sweating, you’re losing water through your skin. If you don’t replace the moisture you lose, your skin can’t be replenished and will get very dry. When skin cells are dry, they crack, peel and change colors. Dry skin can also be itchy and painful, as well as unsightly. Lotions and creams are just like putting a band-aid on a cut. It may help the problem in the short term, but the real healing comes from within. To properly hydrate your skin, you need to drink plenty of water.

In the body, water is what flushes all the waste products away. Without water, there’s nothing to get rid of all the harmful toxins that build up. This keeps yours cells from working properly and prevents them from being as healthy as they can be. Your skin cells are no different. And if your skin cells aren’t healthy, it shows.

Do you have problems with puffy bloated skin? You may be tempted to cut back on water so it doesn’t fill your skin cells, but the problem is actually lack of water, not too much. If you’re not getting enough water, your cells are aware of the lack. This triggers a response to hold on to as much water as they can in case they don’t get more water later; the result is puffy, unhealthy looking skin. If your cells are regularly hydrated, they’ll have no reason to hold on to excessive water, giving you smooth, even skin.

So, if water is so good for your skin, shouldn’t you take a lot of baths and showers? Actually, taking baths, showers, and swimming in pools can remove moisture from your skin. Excessive contact with water, particularly if it’s hot or contains chemicals like chlorine, breaks down the lipid barriers on your skin and actually makes your skin look and feel drier. If you can’t avoid being in water, just remember to drink more water than you normally would. If necessary, water vapor does not have these affects and can be used to hydrate your skin.

If better looking skin isn’t enough of a benefit for you, remember that other cells in your body need water as well. Drinking enough water can help you look better, feel better, and even lose weight. So stay healthy and beautiful by getting your eight glasses a day (or more if you’re really active.)