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How did Acne Wipeout work for you? We’d like to know.
How did Acne Wipeout work for you? We’d like to know.
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MAINTAINING HEALTHY SKIN
SKIN DEEP BLOG
MYTH: IF YOU DIDN’T GET ACNE AS A TEEN, YOU WON’T AS AN ADULT
TRUTH:
-Sorry about this, but there’s no guarantees. Adults who never had acne as a teen can start having breakouts.
-Some people never have acne again after their teen years. Some never get it at all.
-Acne can be continuous or it can come and go.
-It’s not your fault. Hormones (androgen specifically) are to blame. Rampant in teens, but also occurring in adults. Androgen triggers the production of sebum (oil) in the skin, leading to breakouts.
-Women tend to have more adult acne than men – hormones again
-Acne can occur all the way into your fifties, even sixties. Sigh.
MYTH: POPPING PIMPLES WON’T DAMAGE YOUR SKIN
TRUTH:
-Nuh-uh
-Explodes inward as well as outward (yuck). Bacteria can lodge deeper.
-Could get stuck with a scar or acne mark instead of a pimple. Hyperpigmentation of acne marks (darker mark on the skin) can last up to a year. A permanent pit or raised scar tissue could also result from squeezing. You don’t want that.
-Let it be. Find that deep-down patience to wait until it resolves and goes away. You can briefly (about a minute) apply ice or a cold pack, wrapped in cloth, to pimples to help with soreness and inflammation. Give your skin a 5-minute break in between each one-minute application.
-Left alone, a pimple will heal itself in 3 to 7 days. Popping could make it last for weeks.
MYTH: THE SUN WIPES OUT ACNE
TRUTH:
- UV rays from the sun may help clear up acne temporarily, but also damages the skin and can cause skin cancer.
-Pimples may feel dried up, and the redness temporarily less noticeable with a tan (or when sunburned red all over) but people are more prone to pick at dried skin, which can leave a scar.
-Acne marks (dark spots left behind after acne heals) are a natural healing response to acne and can be more severe for people of medium to dark skin tones. These fade on their own over time (3—6 months or longer) but too much sun can make them less likely to fade at all.
-Both Benzoyl Peroxide and Retinol make skin more sensitive to sun.
-Always wear a sunscreen outdoors, year-round. Minimum SPF 30 and non-comedogenic.
MYTH: BREAKOUTS START WHILE YOU SLEEP
TRUTH:
-That zit you wake up with has been planning its appearance for weeks.
-Acne forms slowly, deep in pores, for many days – in its final stages you can sometimes feel it coming with a tender spot.
-Prevention is the best medicine, keeping pores protected and open with acne-killing benzoyl peroxide, and a nightly topical retinoid.
-Give your skin time to adjust to treatment, and you’ll be rewarded with clearer skin.
MYTH: ACNE CAN BE CURED
TRUTH:
-There is no cure yet.
-Best we can all do is control it.
-Genetics, hormones, and environment play a part in the acne cards we’re dealt. The good news is that whether mild, moderate or severe, all acne can be controlled (the more severe, the more you may need a dermatologist to help).
MYTH: PORES CAN BE TIGHTENED TO BECOME SMALLER
TRUTH:
-Pores don’t have tiny muscles- they can’t open or close themselves, even with cold water. Cold water doesn't shrink pores. Any tightening effect you feel is from constricted blood flow.
-Excessive oil and dead skin cells trapped inside pores can stretch them open, making them look larger than they normally are. In this case, keeping pores clean and open does allow them to return to a smaller size, which is what the Acne Wipeout system is designed to do.
-Squeezing the gunk out of clogged pores can risk permanently stretching out your pores.
MYTH: NOT WASHING CAUSES BREAKOUTS
TRUTH:
-Acne isn’t caused by poor hygiene. Still, washing will help reduce acne causing bacteria, remove excess surface oil, and help exfoliate dead skin cells.
-Don’t over-wash and/or scrub too hard. Wash AM and PM with a cleanser designed for acne-prone skin.
-Don’t use rubbing alcohol, which can over-dry and irritate skin.
-Your skin does not need to be 100-percent squeaky clean, which strips it of all its natural oils. When washed too often, skin responds by producing more oil—to compensate for losing the oil that was just stripped away.
-Try blotting with oil-absorbing sheets or use a cleanser with shine control like Acne Wipeout Clear Pore Oil Free Cleanser.
MYTH: FRIED FOODS CAUSE ACNE
TRUTH:
-Greasy, fried foods actually don’t cause acne. Not a license to eat unhealthy foods though. They generally cause a lot of other health problems.
-The culprits are foods with a high glycemic index – a rating system of how slowly or quickly specific foods increase blood glucose (sugar) levels. They can cause excess insulin, which stimulates your body to produce androgen hormones and skin sebum.
Examples to avoid:
MYTH: RETINOL IS BEST FOR AGE 50 AND UP
REALITY:
-Retinol is often called the ‘gold standard of skincare’. Retinol belongs to the family of retinoids, derived from Vitamin A or synthetically made.
-Using a retinol can increase collagen production and skin cell turnover, help treat acne, unclog pores, minimize fine lines and wrinkles, and even out skin tone.
-Starting retinol in your mid-to-late 20s can help prevent future damage, lines, and wrinkles.
-Using retinol as a teen is beneficial to keepings pores unclogged, which can result in acne breakouts.
MYTH: SUNSCREEN IS NOT NEEDED YEAR-ROUND
REALITY:
-The ultraviolet (UV) rays that cause sunburn are weaker during winter, but they are there all year.
-The UV rays that cause fine lines, wrinkles, and skin hyperpigmentation are present year-round.
-UV rays go right through clouds
-Wear a sunscreen every day if you plan on being outdoors, no matter what time of year
