Health and Beauty Advice

Comedones is a condition affecting your skin’s oil glands (sebaceous glands). These glands produce an oily substance called sebum. When there is an abnormality it causes a blockage and a comedone is formed.

Acne spots usually occur on the face, neck, back, chest, and shoulders. Although acne is usually not a serious health threat, it can be a source of significant emotional distress. Severe acne can even lead to permanent scarring.

Skin surface: after the sebum and sweat layers, this is outermost layer of skin cells called the Stratum corneum. This layer is made up of dead skin cells that form protection of the inner layers of the skin each with unique factors contributing to your skin’s function and appearance.

Sebum: The skin’s natural potion to manages your skin’s “feel”. Normal production of oil provides an element of hydration, comfort and glow to your skin.

Acne spots usually occur on the face, neck, back, chest, and shoulders. Although acne is usually not a serious health threat, it can be a source of significant emotional distress. Severe acne can even lead to permanent scarring.

Solution: A Healthy Routine

The good news is that for many people, there is a simple solution to controlling and managing acne.

Some recommend over the counter solutions and in some cases unnecessary prescriptions.

Salicylic acid and Benzoyl peroxide used on a regular basis are proven ingredients to avoid spots appearing in the first place. Although there are a plethora of easily accessible products available in chemists and supermarkets, they will do very little for more inflamed, persistent acne and often is useless for even mild acne. In many cases, these products can actually disrupt your skin’s normal oil production and cause other discomforts.

In most cases acne is a sign of imbalance in your skin. In order to bring balance back, you need address how you look after your skin and what you feed your skin.

Effective Skin Nutrition

? HOW you look after your skin.

In a recent survey of over 180 respondents, a staggering 9% do not cleanse their skin at all and 14% do not use any form of moisturiser.

In the same survey, respondents were asked if they felt they were successful with their skincare regime. An astounding 23% answered “No”. What’s more the 77% that gave a positive response also had qualifying notes to the affect that their skin “doesn’t get worse”, “it’s not too bad” or “there are not too many spots”. It’s questionable whether these people are actually successful or just complacent.

Have a good look at your skincare routine. Think about your answers to the following questions.

• Do you cleanse your skin before going to bed?
• Do you pick or squeeze your spots regularly?
• Do you frequently give your skin a good scrub with an exfoliator, cleansing wipe or a facial brush?
• Do you wear make-up to cover up your spots?
• Do you avoid shaving because of comedones?

Do you cleanse your skin before going to bed?
If there is any one thing you should do in your skincare regime, that is cleanse your skin before you go to bed.

Do you pick or squeeze your spots regularly?
Some sources will tell you picking your spots is okay. While you may get a sense of satisfaction, consider this;

• You are potentially cross-infecting spots and creating more spots
• You can cause broken capillaries (little red veins)
• You can cause scarring
• You are not solving the issue, only satisfying an urge

Do you frequently give your skin a good scrub with an exfoliator, cleansing wipe or a facial brush?
If you suffer from spots, the last thing you want to be doing is giving it a good scrub! When you scrub you stimulate your skin. When your skin is stimulated, what does it do? It produces more oil (sebum). Acne is already a case of trapped, bacteria-filled oil.

It is recommended however, that you do a gentle exfoliation no more than once a week. As you know, the pores are blocked with sebum, dead skin and bacteria so you want to assist your skin in shedding this build-up but in a skin-friendly fashion.

Exfoliating agents should be gentle – smaller than a grain of sand. Many have particles that are too rough for your face that can even scratch and damage your skin.

Do you wear make-up to cover up your spots?
While many of us don’t wish for people to see our spots, there are a number of considerations that you need to be aware of when using make-up to conceal them.

Is your choice of make-up non-comedogenic? This means that is has been designed not to block pores. What’s more, has it been designed with the overall health of your skin in mind?

Any colour you add to your skin for whatever reason should always be complimentary to the function of your skin. Is your choice of colour simply make-up or is it skincare providing beneficial ingredients and colour for your skin? Your spots are already a case of angry, blocked pores. Are you helping or hindering it?

Do you avoid shaving because of comedones?
This is a perfectly reasonable response for men with sore acne. Shaving is an abuse on your skin even without acne. Your beard will attract and hold more debris than without facial hair. For those of you in this situation, it is imperative you give your skin a healthy cleanse and make sure you thoroughly pat dry your face after cleansing.
ACNE