Who Does Not Have To Deal With Acne?

What is acne?

The pores of our skin connect the skin surface with sebaceous (oil) glands at the bottom of the pores. These glands create sebum, a natural oil, the purpose of which is to keep our skin hydrated. Hydration is necessary for basic protection, and also helps to prevent damage caused by micro cracks and bacteria growth.

Every skin cell has a relatively short life cycle, which slows as we age. A baby’s skin cell life cycle can be as short as 14 days, while a 60 year old’s as long as 40+ days. An average adult’s skin cell life cycle is 28 days. The skin cells die at the strateum corneum, the outermost layer of our skin, and under normal conditions they fall off.

Under certain conditions, such as too much oil production of the sebaceous glands or by certain effects that result in the condition when the dead skin cells can’t fall off, acne appears. When our pores become clogged with dead skin cells or inflamed by bacteria so that our natural oil can't flow, the result is acne. The most common places to get acne are on the face, neck, back, chest and shoulders and it varies with age.

The 5 grades of acne:

• Grade I: Whiteheads, which are under the surface of the skin; or blackheads, which are on the skin's surface.
• Grade II: Myriads of closed comedones (whiteheads).
• Grade III: The myriads of closed comedones are accompanied by larger papules, which are pink bumps that hurt, and pustules that are red at the bottom with pus at the top.
• Grade IV: Numerous pustules, papules, with large cysts.
• Grade V: Acne Necrotina, when a comedone is inside every cyst.

What causes acne?

While genetics is the most common reason for acne, it can be caused by a number of different things. Hormone changes in the teen years, during pregnancy and even on a monthly cycle are thought to cause oil glands to overproduce and become blocked. Birth control pills can also cause acne initially because of the changes in hormones. Some medicines or makeup residue left on skin can cause acne.

How to avoid acne?

There are some steps that everyone who is prone to acne can take to minimize the occurrence of this embarrassing problem:

1. Cleanse your skin with a deep cleanser in the morning, evening, and after a workout that has caused you to sweat. Washing your face with a good cleanser can remove bacteria and help unclog pores. Scrubbing too hard or washing too often can only make the problem worse, as skin overcompensates by producing even more oil.
2. Keep your hands off your face.Your hands have oils, pollutants, and can even collect bacteria, so picking at your acne can cause scarring.
3. Use a gentle hand when shaving, and make sure your facial hair is softened first. Shaving too often or too harshly can cause more pimples to form.
4. Use non-comedogenic (mineral) and oil free makeup. Unfortunately, many comedogenic ingredients are commonly found, not only in makeup, but in cleansers, lotions and even acne products. These ingredients clog pores and should be avoided.
5. Make sure hair products don't rub against skin. These products can be greasy or contain irritants that can cause or worsen acne.

ilike organic skin care offers the following products to reduce the occurrence of acne:

Mineral Exfoliating Wash -- This deep cleansing concentrate is especially recommended for use on oily, sensitive or acne prone skin. It purifies skin by gently removing excess build-up and dirt. The skin feels super soft and clean.

Rosehip Toner -- By removing oil as it cleanses the skin, this toner is ideal for oily skin and oily scalps.

Rosehip Exfoliator -- This exfoliating and clarifying mask from ilike organic skin care gently removes impurities and dead skin cells to avoid pore clogging. Its Lactic Acid content loosens dead cells while rosehip and light herbal oils hydrate and soothe the skin.

Sulphuric Whipped Moisturizer – This moisturizer contains lime water and peppermint oil. Sulphur is very beneficial for oily and acne prone skin as it reduces inflammation and bacteria growth. Shea Butter gently hydrates and leaves a matte finish. Keeping your skin hydrated is very important, as overdrying it would send a message to your sebaceous glands to produce more oil.

Treatments for acne

There are various treatments for acne, which can have different goals and objectives. Some treatments heal existing pimples, while others may stop new pimples from forming. Other treatments prevent or reverse acne scarring, which might otherwise be permanent.

No matter what treatment you use, it is important to limit your sun exposure. Acne treatments often cause sun sensitivity, which will age skin faster and can even cause skin cancer. Sun exposure can also easily cause post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which means that your acne spots will remain darker even after healing, which causes blotchy complexion that is very hard to even out.

The wide range of products from ilike organic skin care targets concerns like acne and considers specific attributes such as overall skin type when recommending a treatment.

If you already have acne spots incorporate these products to your daily/weekly regimen while continue to use the above products to further protect your skin:

AHA Fruit Peel layered with Hungarian Paprika Gel Treatment -- This peel and treatment mask combo with fruit acids from Apple, Grape and Medlar provides amazing results for every skin type, especially inflamed or inflammation prone skin. Paprika stimulates blood- and lymphatic circulation, increases cell metabolism, and dramatically reduces inflammation. The peel treatment removes every single dead cell from the skin but doesn’t damage living cells for an immediate beautifying effect that requires no downtime.

Ichthammol & Herbs Mask -- Besides the blissful effects of organic herbs, the healing, inti-inflammatory and calming benefits of Ichthammol help oily, acneic or sensitive skin. This mask absorbs oils from the skin and leaves skin feeling dry and fresh.

Seven Herb Mask -- Use this mask after cleansing and extractions (always done by a professional!) to smooth and soothe your skin, and to tighten the pores. By applying this mask after extractions you can also avoid the pimples to get re-infected by bacteria.

Sulphuric Balancing Serum -- This concentrated gel serum for oily and problematic skin combines the inflammation reducing benefits of Sulphur, and the antiseptic, calming benefits of Peppermint as key ingredients. Lemon also helps purifying the skin, and keeping it fresh.