For the past 3-4 years I have been fighting the good fight, trying to control acne. I finally believe that I've come up with a solution. A lot of people here think the more your clean and the harsher you scrub that your acne will get better, you probably tend to use everything under the sun when it comes to skincare, like; toners, cleansers, exfoliators, soaps etc. and you probably use acne treatment like BP and acids etc. Well I'm here to tell you all of these things destroy the skin! I'm here to tell you to ease up on the cleansing with products, cleansing is important but the use of damaging skin products with chemicals is doing more harm than good to your skin. Our skin requires moisture, and the more we abuse our skin with HOT WATER, soaps, chemical acne treatments the more that we find acne! Think of acne as an irritation bump rather than a cause of bacteria, they are usually red rather than flesh toned like a clogged whitehead.
When we continually attack our skin, we slow down the cymboitic cell generation that occours on a daily basis. When we effect the surface (stratum corneum) the more we prevent the productivity of protection and wound healing on the surface. When are skin is compromized and is irritated, the more it will begin to show on the surface with poor complexion, shiny surface and red and irritated acne.
If our skin is at this point the more you need to focus on replacing the moisture back into the skin.
How do i get moisture?
Internally:
What you can do is find supplements that contain ingredients like;
Emu Oil (fatty acids)
Resveratrol
Collagen
Hyaluronic Acid
Aloe Vera
Externally:
By far the best moisturizers has to be Pure Emu Oil and Stabilized Aloe Vera Jelly. These two are all that you need to give what your skin needs in order to help heal and protect itself.
Clean:
Constant use of water on the face more than twice a day will severely compromize and irritate your skin! Many acne sufferers tend to overwash their skin because they think they arent clean but in actuality they are causing their skin to overreact and start to break out and over-produce oil. The more this occours the more likely pores will begin to enlarge and clog and look terrible. I only reccomend that people clean their face once a day with plain warm water, the hotter the water is the more you will dry out and cause problems!
I found an all natural cleanser called "Nature's Plus Natural Beauty Cleaning Bar", it only has 2 ingredients, Allantion: which is beneficial to the skin, and Vitamin E which is an anti-oxidant. I also chose it because it's under the 6.5 PH range which is the same range as our skin. The majority of acne sufferers use cleansers and topicals that are 9-12 PH range which is seriously causing your skin to create problems! For instance; regular soap is around 9 PH, a soap user will begin to feel very tight skin, overly oily and red complexion.. and of course, ACNE.
When you cleanse once or twice a day, use warm water and add alittle Nature's Plus to your face and wipe clean, always use a clean 100 percent cotton towel when patting dry. Do not cleanse every single day! Give your skin a break once in awhile especially when you haven't done anything to dirty it. This is essential when trying to heal your skin.
I will repeat this over again, NEVER use any acne topicals, products, rubbing alcohol-based toners, or anything else other than what you use to clean your skin, an all-natural 5.5-6.5 PH balanced cleanser.
Moisturize:
Moisturize 1-2 times a week, THIS IS SO IMPORTANT! If you are already dry I suggest you moisturize every single day until your skin stops being red and irritated, and back to normal. The way to do this is to combine Skin MD Natural alone with a great emu-oil based moisturizer; I use Replenishing Unscented Lotion from Montana Emu Ranch. This combo works quite well to get skin to heal. Apply at night about 30 mins before bed, make sure your skin soaks it all up before going to bed, you will notice a difference in your skin the next morning. To all those with normal skin, don't apply moisturizer more than 1-2 times a week, let your skin breathe, this is essential to not clog those pores.
Stabilized Aloe Vera Gel is the 2nd best healer i found when it comes to acne, especially with those deep nodular acne. Usually Nodular Acne lasts for 3-4 weeks with me, but when i use a combination of Lbri's Aloe Vera Jelly and maybe some pure emu oil or manuka oil, the nodular acne goes away within 3-4 days. Also give Sangre De Drago a dry for this type of deep acne, it's also a great speed healer.
Scar and Acne Healing:
If you have Acne or hyperpigmintation from acne scars that you want to get rid of i always use this method for the fastest healing:
Use a combination of Manuka Oil and Pure Emu Oil over the affected area using a q-tip, let the oils sink into the skin for about 30-45 minutes while whiping the remainder dripping off the skin. Then use Stabilized Aloe Vera Gel (preferrably from L'Bri) to trap the oils on the area, when aloe vera gel drys it acts like a bandaid on the skin letting the oils do it's work. The next morning you will be surprised with the results! You should always apply a glob of aloe vera gel an hour before bed on your nodular acne spots, it takes time to dry but when i use it overnight the deep acne I see a bigtime difference in the morning.
If you want to see fast results, I recommend you do this in the morning and at night, for a week or 2. Take a picture of the acne spot and in a week or 2 take another picture and see if you see any difference!
Skin Destroyers:
Stay Away From These At All Costs:
Benzoyl Peroxide (may be good for blackheads but NEVER use it on the entire face)
AHA/BHA (may be good for blackheads but NEVER use it on the entire face)
Petrolatum Oil (made from petrol oil, never use EVER!)
Lanolin (made from itchy sheep wool, no thanks!)
Parabens (not horrible but try to stay away from if possible)
Isopropyl Alcohol (rubbing alcohol is seriously overydrying and damaging the skin! Your pores will enlarge!)
and so much more, just remember that 99 percent of all the products you see in the stores ave over the 5.5-6.5 PH range and contain hundreds of chemicals that should never be used on the skin; fragrances, color, titanium dioxide, sodium lauryl sulfate, etc.
Skin Healers:
STABILIZED Aloe Vera Gel
Pure Emu Oil
Manuka Oil
Sorbitol
Allantoin
Hyaluronic Acid
Sangre De Drago
Conclusion:
Our skin only responds positively to the natural world, we are an organic being, when we put chemicals on our skin it not only damages you externally, but it damages you internally. If you put a chemical on your skin, your skin absorbs the chemical which then harms your body like your liver! So just forget everything you know about skincare, about the toners, cleansers, BP, Acids, Tallow Soaps, Chemicals etc.! Get rid of it all and never use it again, keep it simple, keep it natural and you will see results in no time.
Peace
Im very intrigued by your thoughts...I have been trying to control my clogged pores for 2 straight years and I am no closer after spending tons of money on supplements and products. I have researched this to death and feel my over producing pores in my chin are struggling to to get more moisture because I get these hard dry sebum clogs that seem to be respresentative of this. I have tried many oils and they have always made the condition worse. I get tiny pin sized white heads that may look small and right on the surface by are deep and have a core to them. They are clustered together in the corners of my mouth down and even if I can extract them, they resurface in a day or two. Some look like i've gottent the core but havent and do not want to heal then. So i'm left with "do I extract and take the chance of getting it (because this is the only way to get them to go away) or to I apply yet another topical in hopes it will go away on its own.
I just picked up Hyalurnic Acid supplements in hopes of moisturizing from within so the sebum is less sticky and likely to plug. I eat a clean diet of vegetables, no gluten, dairy or processed foods. I have used Aloe straight from the plant but found it too drying and not moisturizing at all. It did help with redness. Ive also tried emu oil from purple emu.com years ago and never found that to help either...I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this...
I'm totally with on using no chemicals. I have been washing my face with just water for about 5 months. Just recently I have started using "Yes To Cucumbers". I've only used it about 3 times (not everyday). Not sure if I will continue using it but the company says it's suppose to be 95% natural.
Here are the ingredients to Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Daily Gentle Cleanser (here is a picture of the product). Let me know what you think, please.
Water, Lauryl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract*, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Seed Extract*, Alcohol, Camellia Sinesis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Maris Limus (Dead Sea Mud), Helianthus Annuus (Sunfower) Seed Oil, Citric Acid, Phenethyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Copper Chlorophyll, Fragrance.
Im very intrigued by your thoughts...I have been trying to control my clogged pores for 2 straight years and I am no closer after spending tons of money on supplements and products. I have researched this to death and feel my over producing pores in my chin are struggling to to get more moisture because I get these hard dry sebum clogs that seem to be respresentative of this. I have tried many oils and they have always made the condition worse. I get tiny pin sized white heads that may look small and right on the surface by are deep and have a core to them. They are clustered together in the corners of my mouth down and even if I can extract them, they resurface in a day or two. Some look like i've gottent the core but havent and do not want to heal then. So i'm left with "do I extract and take the chance of getting it (because this is the only way to get them to go away) or to I apply yet another topical in hopes it will go away on its own.
I just picked up Hyalurnic Acid supplements in hopes of moisturizing from within so the sebum is less sticky and likely to plug. I eat a clean diet of vegetables, no gluten, dairy or processed foods. I have used Aloe straight from the plant but found it too drying and not moisturizing at all. It did help with redness. Ive also tried emu oil from purple emu.com years ago and never found that to help either...I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this...
In order to heal your skin we need to ditch all the chemicals, cleaners and get back as basic and natural as possible. Getting more veggies and some fruits in the diet is a major plus, some people fast with just veggie and fruit juice to detox their bodies of the things that are causing all your skin ailments, this unclogs the liver and you will begin to see a brighter color in your appearance.
As far as aloe vera you need to make sure that it's stabilized aloe vera gel, if you use straight aloe some will notice dryness, aloe vera gel needs to be STABILIZED to get rid of the Aloin in the plant leaf which is the reason for the dryness, we only want the jelly part of the plant. We need to get down to basics, there are so many companies like pureemu trying to get rich that they tend to skimp on their products and fill it up with BS. Look for pure 100% emu oil, and make sure it is pure!
QUOTE (reality @ Sep 8 2011, 10:27 PM)
I'm totally with on using no chemicals. I have been washing my face with just water for about 5 months. Just recently I have started using "Yes To Cucumbers". I've only used it about 3 times (not everyday). Not sure if I will continue using it but the company says it's suppose to be 95% natural.
Here are the ingredients to Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Daily Gentle Cleanser (here is a picture of the product). Let me know what you think, please.
QUOTE
Water, Lauryl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract*, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Seed Extract*, Alcohol, Camellia Sinesis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Maris Limus (Dead Sea Mud), Helianthus Annuus (Sunfower) Seed Oil, Citric Acid, Phenethyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Copper Chlorophyll, Fragrance.
Also can you provide link(s) to those products you use? I'm currently looking for a natural moisturizer and I can't seem to find one at my local drug store. I have been using Aveeno Daily Moisturizer but it ain't the best because its full of chemicals.
Thanks so much for all this useful information (and your time)!
Aloe Vera Jelly is from lbri.com
Vitacost Emu Oil 100% Pure @ [Removed]
These 2 are mainly for spot treatment AFTER you properly moisturize with your daily moisturizer.
My daily moisturizer is:
I like to use the moisturizer about 15-20 mins after cleansing just a dab of it is all you really need. Then before bed i spot treat with the oils, just use a q-tip and dab the acne/red marks, let it seep in for about 15-30 mins, then use the aloe vera jelly to trap the moisture in while you sleep. This method works great as the aloe vera when its dry acts as a barrier not only keeping debris out but keeping the emu oil in. Every time i look at my acne scars they are dissapearing, as well as the nodular acne heals faster.
As far as cleansing i just want to point out, if you insist on using a cleanser or soap to clean your face then make sure its 5.5-6.5 PH, the reason why people's skin is horrible because they arent aware that most products are over 9.5 PH which is incredibly harsh on the skin. Our skin has to be at a constant 6.5 PH range or else you will notice inflammation and redness of the skin.
i have the same whitehead problem as wicky!
i couldnt dream of not using a cleansing wash on my face though, its how i remove make up! cleansing lotions are too abrasive and cause too much friction on my skin
although i will add i have started to look my age or even older than my age since i got adult acne, probably due to chemicals in my products and me not using a strong enough moisturiser
x
Cool if that worked for you, I found not washing with products made it worse.. I currently use a Salicylic acid based wash and gel, then moisturize. Anyways, I do agree, BP is a lot harsher on the skin, but at the same time, it works a whole lot faster then SA. I have moved away from BP other then on my back and chest, because it tends to dry my face out and make it look more dull. I started a new cleanser and gel by neutrogena, we will see how that goes.. Good luck to all. It sucks so bad to have to deal with this while some people could go forever without washing their face even with water and still not break out.
Ya I about 65% agree with what he said. Of coarse you want to be gentle on the face. I agree with that. But on ages 15-18, you do NEED BP and some other acidic treatments on your face. Sorry, but aloe vera isn't going to get rid of my acne. With hormones, and teenage oily bacterial infested face, yeah, we need BP to kill some of that bacteria to Keep it under control. Now am I saying lather it on 3 times a day? Of coarse not. I only wash my face twice a day, (sometimes 3) and dab some BP on my acne before bed. My acne is staying well under control, and it does much better than when I leave it completely alone, and get like 4 more whiteheads the next day.
Ya I about 65% agree with what he said. Of coarse you want to be gentle on the face. I agree with that. But on ages 15-18, you do NEED BP and some other acidic treatments on your face. Sorry, but aloe vera isn't going to get rid of my acne. With hormones, and teenage oily bacterial infested face, yeah, we need BP to kill some of that bacteria to Keep it under control. Now am I saying lather it on 3 times a day? Of coarse not. I only wash my face twice a day, (sometimes 3) and dab some BP on my acne before bed. My acne is staying well under control, and it does much better than when I leave it completely alone, and get like 4 more whiteheads the next day.
BP can be beneficial, but not all teenagers need it. I tried a BP/antibiotic cream when I was 16 (I'm 17 now), and it was horrible. Didn't help a single drop and maybe even made things worse (I tried it for 2-3 months). BP opens up your pores and allows oxygen (which is supposed to kill bacteria) AND other junk into your skin. It just didn't work for me.
However, I use gentle facial cleansers, toners, and moisturizer now - and my face is staying under control. Of course there's other bits and pieces to my regimen (like drinking original v8 by the case, using clove bud oil, and seeing an esthetician), but trust me when I say harsh chemicals aren't always the answer. But yeah, I'll agree with you that they often are helpful, which is why BP is the most prescribed acne medication.
Oh, let's also not forget the wonderful bleaching effect it has on your face. *shudder* I was in a wedding after I had been on a BP cream for three months, and let's just say my body was a beautiful bronze (I tan easily...), and my face looked like casper the ghost. Add in the streaky bronzer the makeup artist put on me to try to balance things out and yeah - it was a nightmare. The crazy things we do in this never-ending battle against acne...
Im very intrigued by your thoughts...I have been trying to control my clogged pores for 2 straight years and I am no closer after spending tons of money on supplements and products. I have researched this to death and feel my over producing pores in my chin are struggling to to get more moisture because I get these hard dry sebum clogs that seem to be respresentative of this. I have tried many oils and they have always made the condition worse. I get tiny pin sized white heads that may look small and right on the surface by are deep and have a core to them. They are clustered together in the corners of my mouth down and even if I can extract them, they resurface in a day or two. Some look like i've gottent the core but havent and do not want to heal then. So i'm left with "do I extract and take the chance of getting it (because this is the only way to get them to go away) or to I apply yet another topical in hopes it will go away on its own.
I just picked up Hyalurnic Acid supplements in hopes of moisturizing from within so the sebum is less sticky and likely to plug. I eat a clean diet of vegetables, no gluten, dairy or processed foods. I have used Aloe straight from the plant but found it too drying and not moisturizing at all. It did help with redness. Ive also tried emu oil from purple emu.com years ago and never found that to help either...I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this...
Hi I too get nasty hard plug things and I think that's why I get so much acne and because my face is sooooo oily. If u find anything that helps u PLEASE let me know.
Im very intrigued by your thoughts...I have been trying to control my clogged pores for 2 straight years and I am no closer after spending tons of money on supplements and products. I have researched this to death and feel my over producing pores in my chin are struggling to to get more moisture because I get these hard dry sebum clogs that seem to be respresentative of this. I have tried many oils and they have always made the condition worse. I get tiny pin sized white heads that may look small and right on the surface by are deep and have a core to them. They are clustered together in the corners of my mouth down and even if I can extract them, they resurface in a day or two. Some look like i've gottent the core but havent and do not want to heal then. So i'm left with "do I extract and take the chance of getting it (because this is the only way to get them to go away) or to I apply yet another topical in hopes it will go away on its own.
That was for Wicky sorry.
supplements in hopes of moisturizing from within so the sebum is less sticky and likely to plug. I eat a clean diet of vegetables, no gluten, dairy or processed foods. I have used Aloe straight from the plant but found it too drying and not moisturizing at all. It did help with redness. Ive also tried emu oil from purple emu.com years ago and never found that to help either...I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this...
Hi I too get nasty hard plug things and I think that's why I get so much acne and because my face is sooooo oily. If u find anything that helps u PLEASE let me know.
Heyy, about ur post well i need some help.
In the morning I splash my face with hot water to open my pores so that when i put on my moisturiser it fully goes into the skin--is this wrong?
Second the moisturiser i use is made from neem leaves, sweet orange, etc is this fine? if not my skin feels proper dry so what should i do?
third when i go school during 1st break (10:00am) my face goes SUPER oily and i cant help but use some wipes to clean the oily off- can anyone recommend me a cheap yet good for acne wipes?
And finally i have more acne on my left cheek than right --i think its cause i sleep on that side my right cheek just has red marks--need some help in clearin those
THANKS!
My face is oily, too. I've read that eucalyptus oil may shrink the glands and reduce sebum production. I have not personally tried it yet. I read it online :
http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/12739/1/IJNPR%202%283%29%20345-349.pdf
Has anyone else used or heard of using eucalyptus for oily skin??