Acne Treatment
What Causes Acne?
Acne occurs when your hair follicles become clogged with oil and dead skin. It’s often associated with the hormonal shifts that come with adolescence and puberty, but can appear during other stages of life. Your sensitivity to acne could also be genetic.
In addition to being uncomfortable, acne can have an unfortunate social stigma. Some people with acne have reported that their quality of life has been affected. Some report feeling low self-esteem and social anxiety, interfering with their ability to live each day to the fullest.
You are not your acne. There are many acne treatment options available to help cover up and moisturize dry skin that may be caused by acne.
Identifying Types of Acne and Treatment
The most common form of acne can develop into bumps called whiteheads and blackheads. However, more severe cases of acne can appear in other forms.
Use the slider below to learn more about the types of acne, their severity and treatment.
Mild and Most Common
Symptoms
Whiteheads, white bulbous bumps, and/or blackheads, darkened oil in an open pore, appear on the surface of your skin.
Treatment:
Mild acne can be treated and managed with proper skincare techniques. Use gentle soaps and moisturizers. Rezamid Acne Lotion by Summers Labs can help heal, prevent, and conceal mild acne.
Moderate to Severe
Symptoms
Papules, which are small, irritated, reddish bumps on the surface of your skin, and pustules, which look like whiteheads with red irritation around them, are moderate to severe forms of acne. Both of which become more troublesome if you pick or squeeze them. So hands off!
Treatment:
Moderate cases of acne can be treated in the same manner as milder forms, but with more diligence. Medicated makeup like Liquimat Medium can also be used in order to help heal while also concealing the flare-ups.
More Severe
Symptoms
More severe forms of acne, like nodules, which are firm and inflamed bumps, or cystic acne, which are large and pus-filled bumps, are painful and a tougher to eradicate with over-the-counter medications.
Treatment:
For more severe types of acne that do not respond to over-the-counter medications, you should seek the help of a dermatologist for professional treatment. Ask your dermatologist for details.
Acne Symptoms
Most often, acne symptoms will vary depending on the severity of the condition. These symptoms include:
- Whiteheads (closed plugged pores)
- Blackheads (open plugged pores)
- Small red, tender bumps (papules)
- Large, solid, painful lumps under the skin (referred to as nodules)
- Painful, pus-filled lumps under the skin (referred to as cystic lesions)
- Pimples (pustules), which are papules with pus at their tips
These symptoms usually appear on your face, neck, back, and/or shoulders. Depending on how irritated it gets, how persistent it is, and whether it responds (or doesn’t respond) to over-the-counter medications can help determine your acne’s severity. Use the slider above to learn how to identify and treat the types of acne.
Preventing Acne
While your acne treatments are very important, it is just as important to keep your skin healthy and clean. Here are a few suggestions towards making that happen:
Whether you have acne or not, it’s important to wash your face twice a day in order to remove excess dirt, dry skin, and oils that can clog your pores – and promote breakouts.
During a breakout, avoid wearing foundation, powder, or blush.
Some studies link stress with the severity of your acne. Getting in the habit of mindfulness and self-reflection can help reduce the presence of acne. If it’s the stress of acne that’s increasing its severity, let us help you with that.
Moisturize your skin frequently. Use products that are “non-comedogenic” (meaning they should not cause acne).
Avoid touching your face. Your hands can have bacteria that can be easily spread to your face, which can cause a breakout. In all cases, avoid picking at current acne on your face. This can irritate the already inflamed facial skin.
