Facts and myths about acne

Published by acne_no_more on Tagged Acne Information

Personal Hygiene

Does lack of personal hygiene cause acne?

Generally lack of personal hygiene does not cause acne. As I said in the tips part, not cleaning properly your face and hair may cause acne. Hence, cleaning of your hair and face is very necessary.

Personal hygiene is very important for overall maintenance of good health and vitality. Maintaining good personal hygiene habits will give a pleasant look and pleasant personality to a person.

Washing hands frequently and keeping them clean without oil and dirt are very important since we often touch our face with our hands. Here also use plain warm water preferably. If you like to use soap, then use mild soap.

Acne is not a contagious disease. It doesn’t spread from person to person even if they live in the same house. So, the normal people should not make an issue about personal hygienic practices of acne sufferers.

Washing face frequently controls acne?

Washing face is good to remove excess oil on the facial skin. However, washing face frequently with soap or face wash creams will dry the skin very much. Therefore, it is not advisable.

Washing with soap or face wash cream two times a day preferably in the morning and evening is recommended. If you stay in a hot climate you are likely to have more oil on your face. In that condition, wash your face every 4-6 hours with only plain water apart from the recommended washing with soap or face wash cream both in the morning and evening. In simple terms, if you feel your face is oily then wash it off. You determine the frequency. That’s all.

If you stay in a cold place, then you are likely to have less oil on the face. So, accordingly reduce the frequency of washing. The objective is to reduce the oily appearance of the facial skin but not to dry it too much. Maintain the suppleness as much as possible.

Rich and poor

Acne affects only the rich and not the poor?

It is not completely true. Acne affects people of all social status irrespective of their wealth. However, many acne cases are found with the people who can afford to have three meals a day.

Acne is less common in the people who can afford only one or two meals a day. This indirectly implies that people can switch over to two meals a day to cure acne. However, the implication of two meals a day on the health of a person otherwise leading a normal life needs to be evaluated scientifically. Therefore, strongly I don’t recommend it.

Gender

Acne affects boys more than girls?

It is not true. Acne affects both boys and girls equally. However, the severity and after effects of acne (like scarring and pitting) are more pronounced in boys than girls.

This is primarily due to the difference in the effects of testosterone and estrogen hormones on the skin. Since estrogen in girls favors the soft skin and testosterone favors the rough skin in boys, the after effects of acne are minimized in girls when compared to boys.

In girls, the hormonal variation is usually more thus making them susceptible to acne attacks during their periods and sometimes during their pregnancy. Some girls get their worst acne attacks if they are on contraceptive pills.

Such type of wide hormonal variation is not observed in boys. In boys, the worst acne attacks happen when they are highly stressed and during the early adolescent period.

Food

Certain foods like chocolates worsen acne?

It is not medically proved. However, in practice, we observe that certain foods aggravate acne in some seasons. This is primarily due to their inflammatory nature on the skin.

Certain foods tend to increase the histamine secretion on the skin. Acne affected skin on the face is more vulnerable to the action of histamine. It automatically triggers the inflammatory response of the sebaceous glands. Any chemical that is incompatible to the chemical environment of the acne-affected skin immediately triggers the inflammatory processes which eventually lead to the acne nodules.

So observe and analyze your foods for their acne-causing effect and avoid them as much as possible. If that acne-causing foodstuff is of important nutritional value, then try to include a substitute for that food. If no substitute is available, consume that food only during your holidays (or the time you don’t go out of your house) that too in little quantities so as to prevent any possible acne attacks.

In my experience, I have observed that sea foods aggravate acne much.

June 15th, 2008