Acne Awareness Month
Did you know that June is Acne Awareness Month?
Up to 85 per cent of Australians will develop acne during their life, with approximately 5 per cent experiencing severe acne. Nearly half of men and women continue to experience acne into their thirties.
Severe acne can be painful, distressing and embarrassing – affecting relationships and a your self-esteem.
The medical term for acne is acne vulgaris. It's a disease of the skin that occurs when something goes wrong with the production of sebum in the skin and the flow of this sebum to the skin surface.
How Acne happens?
Pimples appear when the oil glands (pores) in your skin get blocked.
Dead skin cells and sebum (oil) accumulate in your pores and form a plug.
Your hormones often contribute to this build up by encouraging your pores to produce more sebum. This is why you tend to get acne outbreaks during puberty, or – if you’re female – right before your period is due.
Once the pore is blocked, the build-up causes irritation and your immune system responds by sending bacteria to the area.
These bacteria multiply, creating inflammation causing the redness, swelling and tenderness of pimples.
Your face, neck, chest, shoulders and upper back are most likely to be affected by acne because they have the highest number of oil glands.
What makes Acne worse?
Picking or squeezing the spots. This tends to spread the sebum and pus deeper into the skin, causing more inflammation, delaying healing and increasing the likelihood of scarring.
Scrubbing or using abrasive lotions on the skin.
How to treat Acne?
Simple Acne skincare is the best. Everyone’s skin is different, but a simple skin care routine is always best when managing acne.
Focus on three main steps: cleanse, treat, protect.
To stop redness, help skin heal and reduce oil production, it’s essential to wash your face once or twice a day with an appropriate cleanser. Avoid cleansers that have high levels of paraffin, mineral or fragrant ‘natural’ oils because they can block pores which can lead to acne. Also avoid washing your face several times a day or vigorously scrubbing as this can worsen your acne by irritating your face
If you can, find a cleanser that uses Salicylic acid. It works by breaking down sebum to help unblock pores and helps dissolve, remove and prevent the formation of the keratin plug, which can help speed up the clearing of open and closed blackheads as well as improve long-term control. You can find Salicylic acid in our Spot Serum
Skin care treatments include over-the-counter creams, gels or lotions, and those prescribed by your GP or dermatologist. Apply these once your skin has completely dried after cleansing because if you apply treatments to moist skin they’re more likely to cause irritation. Use the treatment to the entire skin region where you normally develop pimples. This may include your face, chest and back.
The final step - protection.
The follow Stuf. Skin are designed to help those with Acne-Prone Skin.
Acne-Prone Skin Starter Kit
Spot Serum
Gel Cleanser
More sources of information on Acne:
https://www.abc.net.au/health/library/stories/2003/06/26/1827982.htm
https://www.dermcoll.edu.au/atoz/acne-vulgaris/
Header Image
Photo by Anna Nekrashevich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-a-teenager-with-pimples-on-her-face-6476065/
