Hi guys, i know many sources, including this site say that sun is bad for acne and that it causes too much irritation. However, tanning and sunlight is the only thing that has ever made my acne better and last summer when i was out in the sun alot and using tanning beds i was pretty much COMPLETELY clear. can anyone explain this?? However, my acne always starts to get worse after summer and by winter its quite bad again. Therefore i started taking accutane 3 weeks ago to try to rid myself of acne forever. Does anyone have any suggestions as to why i respond to the sun in the way?????????
Thanks,
yeah it could be to do with vitamin D, i don't know, can i take some sort of supplement of vitamin D? What can i do to increase vitamin D?
well eat certain foods high in that-milk?.. or buy capsules... u should look into the benefits and side effects of pills before cosuming them tho...
I also found that sunlight was good for my acne. Not so much for my face, but my chest & back acne. It would clear up completely during a good summer.
It wasn't just the tan covering up the spots, it would actually stop any new breakouts. The acne would gradually return during the winter though.
Sun in my experience is a double edged sword. Back in high school, I went through a three month period where I spent 2 or more hours in the sun each day for soccer. It was the only three months I was clear since I've had acne, which has been since I was 15, I will now be 20 in August. Anyways, I always noticed that I was 100% clear during this time. A couple things that I notice is that 1) My skin shed more because I was getting sunburnt almost every other weekend. 2) I'm not completely sure but I think that UV rays kill bacteria. You might want to check that out.
But this was before I started using BP on a daily basis. A few months after losing my clear skin I decided I was going to try to tan to get rid of my acne because it worked before why wouldn't it now?
Well that was the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life, not only did the suns rays cause me to get hyperpigmentation, I am now the owner of scarring nodular acne. All the sun that I was soaking up literally thickened my skin making the Pimple clogs deeper. Instead of getting acne that is more towards the surface and superficial, I now get deep painful nodular acne, which hasn't responded to 5 months of the DKR regimen nor antibiotics. I can't afford accutane so I am left to deal with my skin the way it is until my body decides its ready. It is constantly red, and every pimple I get leaves a mark that usually take a year and a half to go away, but they do go away. Currently I have around 30 inflamed pimples, about 15 on each side of my chin and neck.
So just be warned, maybe I'm just a freak show but that is my story, take it or leave it.
As an esthetician I will tell you that the sun does not help acne but makes it worse. Tanning also falls in with that as well. Yes tanning will decrease the color of the breakout but will also suck out all the moisture and oil in your skin which you do need. Not only are you stripping your skin of much needed moisture, you are also allowing pre-mature aging to occur from the free radicals produced by your tanning bed and the sun. Acne is mostly genetic and is characterized by "retention hyperkeratosis" which means your dead skin cells shed more quickly than the pore can expel them. Add excess dry skin from the sun and tanning beds, you're just making it worse, especially in the winter time, when your skin is dryer. AND, especially if you are not using the correct skin care products to treat your skin type and grade of acne and not exfoliating, all you're doing is masking it and allowing for more clogged pores. My suggestion, find out what type of acne you do have and treat it with anti-boitics (mandelic acid and benzoyl peroxide work awesome), vitamin a and make sure you're applying sun block.
Same for me, only time I have been clear is when I was getting tanned, and another time when I was on vacation and got a lot of sunlight every day (in Greece). But even in such situation, I needed good sleep. But both together had made me 100% clear.
I have pictures from then, it's unbelievable how much I miss having such clear skin, looks like a different person:(
its vitamin D that has likely helped u.
for an optimum level of vitmain D - all u need is 10-15 minutes of sun exposure that too not necessarily on ur face.
tanning or sun exposure for too long not only increases the chances of skin cancer(blame the ozone hole),it also cause rise in the melanin level.
which initially and partially hides the blemishes u have..(i am aware because when i got all dark - not because of the sun but for accutane dryness) but they actually also make the marks/pih dark which takes longer to fade.
u must also remember that using acne medication whether orally or topically makes u sunlight sensitive.
u dont wanna get burnt,do u?
i dont suggest a supplement unless ur body is completely incapable of using the sunlight to form vit D within,which i think is not ur case - for u say sunlight(supposedly) cleared u.
so get some sun on ur body(may be) for 10-15 minutes daily,keep ur windows/doors open and let the lights in.
luck.
can any one told me how can i do for my skin because my skin is so oily .
u can do a few things(at least give it a try) to lessen oiliness.
but for that kindly start a new thread..
this, i believe , is a seperate topic.
also,kindly see if ur signature is appropriate in accordance to the board rules( http://acne.org/messageboard/topic/9103-board-rules-please-read-before-posting/#entry64925 )
What about
? Is this related to "sun" , "vitamin D" .
Interesting link. I watched it all (it's only 13 minutes).
I had a discussion in another thread about the benefits of the sun & how not getting any sun exposure at all is detrimental to your health, mainly through lack of vitamin D. This video shows how it is beneficial in other ways.
Many people cover up & slap on factor 500 24/7 not realising that they may be greatly increasing their risks of other serious ailments, because they are obsessed about not getting the big "C".
Limited sun exposure (15-30mins) can help acne, and it also helps fight depression if you are prone to SAD (seasonal affective disorder). Instead of tanning beds, blue light therapy might be safer if you don't get a lot of sunlight where you live.
I tried taking vitamin D supplements with no results, yet a few minutes in the sun has a positive effect on my skin.