There are many challenges when you are in middle school and high school: friendships, schoolwork, a changing body and that dreaded acne. Pimples that keep coming back are considered acne.
If you have acne you know how it feels to look in the mirror and see a field of blackheads or red bumps staring back at you. If you don’t have acne, you want to protect your skin from breakouts and keep it clear.
So how do you treat your pimples and how do you avoid them? There are some basic skin care rules that you can start doing right away to keep acne under control. Understanding how and why we get pimples is the first step in getting control of the skin.
Acne is not your fault. Pimples are genetic. Just like your inherited your skin and hair color, you also inherited pimples.
Every day we shed skin cells from the surface of our skin. People with acne shed up to five times more cells than other people. The extra cells get trapped in the pores and cause congestion.
In your teen years, your hormone production increases. As your hormones kick in, the pores in your
skin produce more oil. Oil is sticky and along with the extra skin cells in the pore, the two mix together causing a plug.
We all have bacteria on our skin and the bacteria feeds off of the dead skin/oil mixture. As the bacteria feed and grow our bodies try to fight it, leading to redness, inflammation and pus which is a whitehead.
Here are a few tips to keep this process from happening over and over.
1. Wash your face in the morning and at night to help remove the extra skin cells and decrease bacteria. Make sure you wash your hands before you wash your face so that you do not put more bacteria on the skin.
2. If you have large red pimples use ice on them to take down the swelling. Ice can be your best
friend when you have inflamed acne. DO NOT PICK YOUR PIMPLES. It is very tempting when you have a whitehead about to burst, but picking leads to dark areas on the skin that can take years to fade away. Ice will take the swelling down and help you fight the temptation to pick.
3. Use a cleanser with salicylic acid. This ingredient can reach down into the pore and help remove the plugs.
4. Benzoyl peroxide at night will help kill the bacteria on the skin, but be careful when you use this
product. It can bleach your towels and pillow. It can also really dry your skin so start by using it every other night.
5. Turn your pillow over every night and change your pillow case every other night. This way your face is on a clean surface every night that is free of dirt and oils.
6. Clean your cell phone every day to remove bacteria and oil.
You do not have to suffer with acne. If breakouts are causing you to feel bad about yourself talk to your physician or visit an esthetician to make sure you have the proper products and treatments to get clear and stay clear.
Donna Felice is a registered nurse, licensed aesthetician, and a certified acne specialist. She is the owner and operator of (un)SPA in Palmyra which offers a Clinical Acne Treatment Program.
