Skin Woes

As someone who has dealt with acne from the time I hit puberty until less than a year ago, I know a little bit about this subject. Here you are 25 and your face is STILL breaking out! Acne usually begins with blackheads. Contrary to popular opinion, blackheads are not dirt. They are the result of oil and dead cells that get trapped in a pore that blocks the duct and mixes with bacteria. The secretion turns black through exposure to the air. Women with overactive oil glands and large pores are most prone to blackheads and pimples. Red pimples, also known as papules, develop when blackheads become inflamed and they spread when touched with dirty fingers. If the pimple becomes inflamed, a whitehead can develop. This is the type of blemish that can burst and may eventually scar.

Causes of Adult Acne
Stress
Bad Cosmetic Choices
Hormones
Birth Control Pills; Other Medication
Hereditary 

Treatments for Acne
1. Visit a Certified Dermatologist. Acne can be a medical condition exposing something that may be wrong internally so visiting a doctor is very important.
2. Wash at least twice a day with an oil-free beta-hydroxy or gel cleanser. If your breakout is more severe, beta-hydroxy cleanser will add extra cleansing.
3. Exfoliate four or five nights a week with a beta-hydroxy lotion or cream or a gentle scrub.
4. Use an oil-free moisturizer

Do Not
Pick or extract blackheads or whiteheads yourself. By doing so, you can spread the contents deep into the oil glands that surround the tissue and cause a cystic infection. If you have to, wash your hands and face and use two q-tips or tissues and gently squeeze the contents out our your skin. (Do not use your bare fingers) Follow-up with an antiseptic dab or tea tree oil – and don’t touch or you will introduce bacteria and create an infection – in other words a pimple.

What cured me? Accutane. Yep I went to extreme measures. While my acne was considered mild (at times) one month my skin would be flawless and the next month all hell would break loose (talk about an emotional rollercoaster) I was sick of it. I had been dealing with acne since I was ten-years-old and I was through with it, I literally begged and cried to my dermatologist so he finally put me on the drug. It was a hard five months but it was sooo worth it and now I can go makeup-less without feeling insecure.