Acne prevention is important to both teenagers and adults. Although acne is more common in teenagers who are just entering hormonal changes, adults can also suffer from this skin condition.
There are no hard and fast rules about acne prevention. Some predictable causes include hormonal changes, stress, allergies, drug use, deficient personal hygiene, poor nutrition, and cosmetics. Overzealous scrubbing can also aggravate a condition that is already present. (1)
The skin is the body’s largest organ system. It is fed by the food you feed your body. Never has the axiom “you are what you eat” more true than with the skin. If you feed your body junk it will produce junk, it’s just that simple. Acne prevention starts from the inside out.
A major acne culprit has been associated with eating an unhealthy diet. Some researchers believe that diet has no association with the condition of your skin while others believe that it is highly important. If you understand that your body makes cells based on the nutrition your provide it then you can draw your own conclusions.
An unhealthy diet for your skin is high in oils. Foods such as hamburgers, French fries, ice cream, excessive chocolate and processed foods fall into that category. While these oils are not directly responsible for clogging your pores, they do not supply your body with the necessary vitamins, minerals and trace elements it needs to build strong healthy cells.
Instead substitute a diet high in green leafy vegetables, fruits and trace minerals to encourage acne prevention. Most people are deficient in magnesium and iodine which are found in sea vegetables, mozzarella cheese, cow’s milk, strawberries and spinach. Try to avoid adding supplements but instead use the actual foods to add the minerals and vitamins to your diet.
A diet high in Vitamin A and beta carotene is also beneficial to your skin. You’ll find both those essential vitamins in carrots, broccoli and other green leafy vegetables.
Those trying to prevent acne should also avoid soda at all costs! Fluids are important to your overall health and glow of your skin and they help to flush out the toxins from your body. Water is the best fluid that you can drink. Most other fluids are full of excess sugar and other chemicals that aren’t good for you and only increase the chances that skin will break out in whiteheads or pustules.
Acne prevention also includes good personal hygiene. Keeping the oils from your hair off of your face will help to decrease pimple outbreaks. Keep your hands off your acne! It may be tempting to touch, pick or peel but doing this just aggravates the condition and increases the risk for infection and scarring.
Don’t cover your acne with make up or cosmetics. Try to abstain from using makeup at all. Make up aggravates the pimples and makes you look like you have pimples covered by make up. When you do wear make up use non-comodome makeup that doesn’t clog your pores.
Sun is actually good for acne prevention but there are several things to remember. Most medication from the doctor and over the counter will make the skin more susceptible to sunburns which will worsen the condition. Tanning may make the pimples less visible but it also speeds the aging process of the skin and increases your risk of skin cancer. There is a happy medium between burning or tanning and getting about 30 minutes of sunshine a day to ensure the body manufactures enough vitamin D and improves the health of the skin.
Get plenty of rest! You may think that you can survive on 3 hours of sleep a night and you may for a short time. But, it won’t be long before your skin starts showing your lack of sleep and unhealthy lifestyle.
Take care of your skin and it will take of you! Use acne prevention and treatment to keep your skin clear and healthy for a glowing complexion that will last a lifetime!
(1) National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: What is Acne? http://www.niams.nih.gov/health_info/acne/acne_ff.asp
Resources:
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: Questions and Answers about Acne http://www.niams.nih.gov/health_info/acne/
Natural news: Research Shows Inflammation Causes Acne http://www.naturalnews.com/031605_inflammation_acne.html
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