Acne receives a lot of attention, socially, and also in medical circles, although it is not a very serious condition. But as it affects adolescents the most, at a time when 'image' is critically important - and self-esteem most delicate - the psychological factor alone makes it very important that you learn how to prevent acne.
But understanding how to prevent acne should begin by knowing how the condition starts in the first place. Acne is probably the most common skin condition in the world, affecting nearly everyone at puberty, and a sizable percentage of women at menopause and beyond. This is so because acne is caused by conditions that occur naturally in our skins, such as hormonal changes and also the build-up of natural skin oil and dead skin cells in the layers of the skin. When this build-up takes place a certain bacterium, P.Acnes, that is native to the skin 'goes viral' to exploit the situation, causing papules (or pinheads), pustules (pimples), and sometimes cysts and nodules.
Because some of the conditions that predispose your skin to acne can hardly be avoided, conditions like hormone production at puberty, strategies for prevention rely more on taking steps to ensure that the effect that these changes have on the structure and tone of your skin can be managed so they do not lead to acne, or that when they do you have information to manage the acne, as by using an acne reliever for example.
The good news is that acne, for most people, is only a temporary affliction that may even disappear without medical intervention. But even in persistent cases acne cure is usually possible with topical ointments based on benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, as well as oral formulations of isotretinoin (Accutane or Roaccutane are good examples). But let's talk prevention: stress, diet, and exercise.
Stress: Scientific evidence indicates that stress can cause acne or intensify the condition if it already exists! Here you need to watch out for a situation where worrying about your acne can in fact worsen it, leading to a vicious cycle: stress worsens the acne, a situation that causes you more stress and so on.
Exercise:Exercise helps your skin to exfoliate naturally by expelling the excess skin oil when you sweat. This leads to the shedding off of the dead skin and also causes you to drink more water. Water serves as nature's vacuum cleaner.
Diet: Foods that have a high concentration of carbohydrates tend to worsen acne. On the other hand fruits are rich in anti-oxidants that help the skin to exfoliate naturally, and to restore hormone balance. You may need to go easy on the chocolates and fatty foodstuffs.
Keeping your skin clean and moist is also good practice. A dry skin tends to cause more production of the skin oil as a way of preventing water loss. Use a mild soap that does not leave your skin dry and scaly.
Acne is rarely a very serious condition, although it can adversely affect your self-esteem. Learning how to prevent acne puts you in the driving seat. You may not avoid the condition entirely but now you know how to manage it.
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