Your Do's and Don'ts For Acne Care
Acne is still the most common complaint among teen-aged and young adult patients in our practice. Acne patients are troubled by their obvious appearance changes and the subsequent reduction in self esteem. Making matters worse, acne leaves changes in skin color and even scars which vary in size and type. The next few blogs will concentrate on how to treat acne, how to treat post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and how to treat acne scarring.
I am torn by speaking about what not to do and what to do. The obvious first don't is don't pick at your face. Picking leads to wounds which heal with scars and pigment. The second don't is still don't pick. And if it needs clarification don't even touch your face.
The next don't is don't worry about what you eat. I used to have patients bring me chocolate so I could put it in the waiting room for patints (and me) to eat. That way they would be convinced chocolate does not cause acne. And if I was wrong maybe I would get more patients so it was a win-win situation. Actually, no food has ever been shown to cause acne and this data goes back more than 50 yeras.
Since oil production clearly is related to acne, remember that sweating makes oil flow more and it needs to be addressed during exercise. When exercising, wear a wet (not dripping) terry-cloth headband so the sweat from your head and hair and from your forehead will be absorbed and not run down your face. If you have trouble breaking out on chest and back apply calamine( not caladryl ) lotion to your skin. It will absorb sweat and not become "gummy" and irritate the skin. Wash (shower) 20 minutes after exercise because it takes that long for your body heat to reduce and your sweating to stop. Shower temperature should be moderate and not hot. We don't want to prolong the sweat cycle.
What you do and don't do can have a visible effect on your complexion.
I am torn by speaking about what not to do and what to do. The obvious first don't is don't pick at your face. Picking leads to wounds which heal with scars and pigment. The second don't is still don't pick. And if it needs clarification don't even touch your face.
The next don't is don't worry about what you eat. I used to have patients bring me chocolate so I could put it in the waiting room for patints (and me) to eat. That way they would be convinced chocolate does not cause acne. And if I was wrong maybe I would get more patients so it was a win-win situation. Actually, no food has ever been shown to cause acne and this data goes back more than 50 yeras.
Since oil production clearly is related to acne, remember that sweating makes oil flow more and it needs to be addressed during exercise. When exercising, wear a wet (not dripping) terry-cloth headband so the sweat from your head and hair and from your forehead will be absorbed and not run down your face. If you have trouble breaking out on chest and back apply calamine( not caladryl ) lotion to your skin. It will absorb sweat and not become "gummy" and irritate the skin. Wash (shower) 20 minutes after exercise because it takes that long for your body heat to reduce and your sweating to stop. Shower temperature should be moderate and not hot. We don't want to prolong the sweat cycle.
What you do and don't do can have a visible effect on your complexion.
posted by Edward Lack MD at 8:28 AM
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