Proactiv Solution Acne Treatment: Three Steps To Z

Author: Louise Forrest
Source: articledashboard.com

Sometimes you might look at your skin products ingredients. Sometimes you might not. When you do, however, you may be at a loss as to just what the ingredients are for.

No product ever explains the ingredients and why they are in the lotion, cream, or anything else you may be putting either on your face or other part of your body.

Many people prefer to skip on manufactured products and go straight to organic materials. While this can be a good idea, especially if you know what organic materials work well with your skin type, others may not always have that option.

In that case, it is best to figure out what companies are putting into their products before you take it from the tube or bottle and spread it over your skin.

Here you can find out what some of the ingredients are used for. Once you realize that they do have a purpose other than to make your cream a certain color, you may feel a little better about using certain items.

5% Benzoyl peroxide: Acts as an acne medication.

2% Salicylic acid: Also an acne medication.

Acrylates copolymer: An effective oil absorbing polymer. It can absorb up to 10 times its weight in oil.

Allantoin: Used to condition and smooth your skin.

Beeswax: Naturally occurring wax from the honeycomb of bees. It acts as an emulsifier and imparts a soft, conditioned feeling to your skin.

Bentonite: A natural clay that gently exfoliates dull surface skin cells and draws out impurities.

Cetyl ricinoleate: Holds and binds moisture to your skins surface.

Cyclomethicone: An emollient that conditions your skin without leaving it oily.

Farnesol: Helps tone and smooth tired and stressed skin.

Glycereth 26: A humectant used to bind moisture to the skin.

Hybrid safflower oil: A natural oil which provides emolliency and seals in moisture.

Hydrogenated soy glyceride: A naturally derived emollient blend that acts as a moisturizer and conditioner for your skin.

Hydrolyzed wheat protein: A protein that acts to smooth the skin by attracting moisture. It also conditions your skin and helps relieve dryness.

Lemon and cucumber extract: Used to help even out your skin tone.

Mineral oil: Another emollient that helps reduce moisture loss in your skin.

Nylon 12: Acts as an oil absorber.

Panthenol: A conditioner that imparts smoothness to your skin.

Petrolatum: This is yet another emollient that functions as a protective shield on your skins surface to help reduce moisture loss.

Polyethylene: This comes in the form of beads for gentle skin exfoliation.

Propylene glycol: Another humectant used to help reduce moisture loss and condition your skin.

Silica: Absorbs excess oil on your skin.

Sodium hyaluronate: A non oily moisturizer appropriate for all skin types.

Titanium dioxide: A physical sun screening agent which helps to prevent skin damage and sunburn.

Tocopheryl acetate: A vitamin E derivative that acts as a free radical scavenger.

Willow bark: A botanical extract with astringent properties.

Yarrow and meadowsweet extracts: Two more botanical extracts that are used to help freshen skin.

Sometimes certain ingredients will not work for your skin. For example, some people with oily skin would avoid emollients because they would only enhance the oiliness of the skin, whereas the opposite effect would be desired.

You should be aware of your skin type and what sort of products work best on it to provide maximum results of softness, smoothness, and impart an overall healthy look.

For best results, you can contact your dermatologist in order to find out which ingredients would work best with your skin and which ones to avoid. Asking your dermatologist may even lead to a few helpful tips on which kinds of products to buy.

Author: Louise Forrestbr
Source: articledashboard.combr
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Dry skin is a problem for many people. However, there are annoyances and then there are problems that become debilitating for people. Some people can apply lotion hour after hour to no avail, while other people can ignore their dry skin with little repercussions.

How do you know when dry skin has become more than a problem? How do you know when you need to seek medical attention for what could be more than an itching issue?

There are risk factors that can work against you whether you know it or not. If you are a woman, you have a higher chance of having an issue with dry skin then a man. Men tend to harbor more moisture to their skin than women. Your age will make a difference as well when it comes to the moisture in your skin. The older you get, the drier your skin will become.

Along with many other things that slow down with age, your oil production will start to slow as well. If you are a person who loves the sun, you may eventually pay a price with dry skin. The sun will soak up any moisture that your body produces naturally, so the key to sun worship is protection and hydration.

Lastly, alcohol and drugs are main ingredients to dry skin. Make sure that you do not let your addictions show on the outside of your body while they are affecting the inside of your body.

There are the rare occasions when self help will not work for dry skin. If you are noticing that you are itching so much in the middle of the night that you are losing sleep, you need to seek professional help. Also, if you have large areas of the skin that are peeling or that are scaly a doctor may be needed. You should also contact a physician if you are not noticing a significant improvement in your skin, or if you are noticing inflammation or what appears to be an infection.

If bacteria have crept into an open sore of your skin, you will need an antibiotic to make sure that it improves, and you will not be able to clear it up on your own. There are serious conditions that can result from dry skin that has not been treated such as Folliculitis and Cellulitus. Folliculitus is a condition of your hair follicles, and Cellulitus is a serious infection of the underlying tissues that can enter the lymphatic system and blood vessels.

If you need to seek medical care you may have to be screened for certain skin disorders. Some of these orders include, but are not limited to: Keratosis Pilaris, which causes small, acne like bumps that are raised and appear on the upper arms, legs, and buttocks; Ichthyosis Vulgaris, which is characterized by thick, fish like scales that cause sores on the palms and soles; and psoriasis, which can be painful and disfiguring, and it is marked by pus filled infected sores that can spread and remain active for years. The screening process is routine and it can be helpful in judging a diagnosis and long-term treatment.

Dry skin is a universal problem, and it is usually easily rectified. Many people live with dry skin for years without seeking any sort of treatment. However, there are always those few who really do not know when to seek treatment, and they will let their condition go on for years. The important thing with dry skin is to keep an eye on the dry areas.

Do not ignore what could potentially be a serious skin condition that could lead to extensive treatment. Make sure to follow your moisture routine and look for anything that is unusual or painful in any way./pbr
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Author: Louise Forrestbr
Source: articledashboard.combr
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You have oily skin, right? You already know that it is no fun. Just like dry skin, oily skin is on the other end of the facial extreme and can be just as troublesome to get rid of. With your hormones going through some kind of hiccupping phase or simply because you are not treating your skin right, too much oil on your face will leave it looking shiny, prone to acne outbreaks, and your pores will look larger than you would like them to.

It is time to stop fussing about your oily skin and do something about it. There is any number of products on the shelves of your local drugstore or awaiting shipment from numerous online cosmetics companies that are meant to help with oily skin.

You can get special cleansers that will help swipe the extra oil away, exfoliators to give your pores a boost, and creams or cosmetics that will soak up oil throughout the day, unless you feel like opting for oil blotters, which you can dab on your face and toss into the trash, leaving your skin with less oil than a few seconds before.
In the case that you decide to go with the oily skin prevention/control method by using foundations or extra creams or lotions that are created to soak up oil, you may be wondering just how this is possible. How can your foundation control your oil? How can one cream or lotion soak it up? Where does it go?

When you buy creams or other products that are meant to soak up the excess oil on your skin, the reason they are able to do so is because of specialized ingredients. Some of these ingredients may be man made, engineered in order to be able to absorb the oil on your face. The ingredients do so on a very small scale, but as a whole they leave your face with (as they advertise) a matte look. No shine, no problem.

Other companies use organic or natural ingredients such as specific types of clays or muds. You already know that certain types of masks that utilize clays or muds do the same thing for your oily skin; soak up the oil. In putting them into creams, foundations, or other products, they essentially are doing the same thing, but are formulated in order to be able to control your excess oil for a much longer time.

With a mask, you might be oil free for several hours after removing the mask, but your skin will eventually appear oily again. With these oil control products, once you put them on, they are to remain on your face and give you oil control for a greater amount of time. Some products boast 8 hour oil control.

The times that they advertise, however, will depend upon your skin and the care you give it. If you do nothing for your skin in terms of cleansing, exfoliating, etc., and simply believe you will be fine in relying on the creams, foundations, or other oil control products, then you will not receive the same results as you will have an enormous amount of oil buildup on your skin.

This buildup will likely lead to an acne outbreak. For someone who takes good care of their oily skin, an oil control product might be the final item they need in order to keep fresh the entire day, looking oil free and also being free from large acne outbreaks.

You can also use products in conjunction as some companies may make them in such a way that they are most effective for oily skin when used at the same time. For example, after your skin care routine, you might put on an oil control cream and then follow up with a foundation meant to help control oily skin.

Do your research on products and ask your dermatologist for suggestions if you are still unsure. Products can indeed help soak up the oil on your skin, but be sure to use them right in order to get the best results./pbr
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Author: Louise Forrest
Source: articledashboard.com

You have probably thought to yourself over and over again that you wish acne was not a part of life. It can be a frustrating and difficult part of
adolescence, and can spread into adulthood as well.

Acne is never fun, and sometimes it is even the cause of much embarrassment and teasing. You might feel like you are at the end of your rope, and you might be ready and willing to try anything to get rid of it!

Unfortunately, acne is just a part of life. It seems silly, but it is true. Have you ever noticed that some people have great complexions, and some people are burdened with lots of acne, for years? It just so happens that most of acne is in our genetics.

There is simply nothing we can do about whether or not we are going to be prone to having acne. If your parents had clear complexions, you probably will not have too much of a problem. If your parents had lots of acne as teenagers, it might be in your genetics as well.

Whether you have a genetic disposition towards acne or towards a clear complexion, there are many things that you can do to either lessen your chances of having lots of acne or of having more acne. Acne might be mostly controlled by genetics, but there are various things that will make your conditions better or worse, no matter what your personal genetic disposition might be.

First of all, you should be sure to wash your face twice a day. You should use a soap that is made for face washing. Using a regular bar of soap is going to dry your skin, and you will have a better chance of getting acne. You can pick from lots of different kinds of soaps designed for washing faces.

There are facial soaps that you can use for dry skin, or for oily skin, or for normal skin. There are also face soaps that will gently exfoliate your skin. One thing to keep in mind is that there are facial soaps that are made to reduce acne. Some of them are preventative acne reducers, but you can also buy soaps that are made with medicines to help you fight the acne that you already have.

These medicated soaps are something that you should take care in when using, because they might also irritate your skin. You should use them on a small portion of your face first, and if there is no irritation, you can use them normally.

An important factor in reducing acne comes after you have washed your face. The use of a good, gentle, alcohol free toner is a good way to make sure that your pores are clear of dirt and grime, and that your entire face is clean. Use these cooling toners on your face after you have washed it by putting a small amount on a cotton ball and wiping it across your face.

This will help to prevent acne. When you are finished with the toner, you will also want to use a gentle face lotion. Be careful not to use regular body lotion on your face, because regular body lotions might have chemicals or other things added like perfumes or coloring that might cause more acne. A face lotion should be light and gentle, and like the toner, you should use it sparingly at first. A good lotion will keep your face hydrated and smooth and will lesson your chances for acne.

Another important thing that you should always remember about preventing acne is to never sleep with makeup or other things on your face. When you sleep, your sweat and body oils might mix with whatever is on your face and cause acne. You might also press your face against a pillow or blanket and your pores will not be able to breathe. The make up is going to cause you to develop acne. Always remember to wash your face before you go to sleep.

When you are looking to prevent acne, the most important step is to keep your face clean and healthy. That way, even if you have a genetic disposition towards acne, you will be able to do the best job you can in controlling it and hopefully you will be able to pass through this period in your life with ease!