to you teenagers?
ACNE! Also known as pimples, zits, goober. However, many of us have erroneous notions of what acne is, what it is caused by, and how to make it go away. Below are the top
Myths of Acne - Dispelled!
adapted and retrieved 30 June 2011 from http://www.acne.org/myths.html
1: Washing your face more often will help clear up acne.
No! Facial blemishes are not caused by dirt. Contrary to what you may have seen in commercials, pores do not get blocked from the top down due to "impurities". Rather, the walls of a pore stick together deep within the skin, starting acne formation. Far from preventing acne, frequent washing may actually irritate pores and cause them to become clogged. A washcloth can add even more irritation. The best bet is to wash very gently with bare hands, and only wash twice a day. Steer clear of exfoliants or scrubs, which can irritate your pimples. Also avoid products that contain alcohol because they can dry out and irritate your skin.
2: Stress causes acne.
Wrong again! Stress may have an effect on hormones and theoretically can promote acne. However, an effective acne system is more powerful than a bout of stress any day. Some psychiatric medications may have acne as a side effect, but stress itself is no big deal. Your time is better spent determining the right course of acne treatment rather than feeling guilt about stress.
3: The sun will help get rid of acne.
Not true. The sun may work in the short-term to hasten the clearing of existing acne while reddening your skin, thus blending your skin tone with red acne marks. However, a sun burn is actually skin damage. It's important to prevent damage to your skin while trying to get rid of acne. Sun exposure causes irritation which can make acne worse. People will often notice their skin breaking out as it heals from sun damage. The sun is a short-term band-aid which will often bite back with more acne in the weeks following exposure. Having said that, I don't want to give the impression that the sun is evil. It is not. We get our vitamin D from the sun for instance. Limiting sun exposure on acne prone areas of your body is most likely prudent, but some exposure from time to time is not only unavoidable, but is perfectly okay.
4: Diet and acne are related. Chocolate and fried foods are the common miscreants.
Thankfully, no. Although it sounds logical, it is also not true, which is a good thing if you love eating chocolate and the occassional hamburger or fried chicken. No studies have proven this and it may be only a psychological belief that this is true. Of course, it sure will not help if you have greasy hands and wipe them on your face while eating - that will not help.
Bottom line is we need more research. We do know that people in some indigenous societies do not experience acne whatsoever across the entire population. This is in stark contrast to the widespread presence of acne throughout all modern society. It leaves us to ponder the question of whether the indigenous people's diet contributes to their acne-free skin. Discovering a dietary way of preventing acne may be a future reality, however, we may live so differently from our hunter/gatherer ancestors that it has become close to impossible to replicate our ancestral diet.
5: Popping your pimples is the best way to get rid of them.
Step away from that mirror! Some people might tell you that popping your zits will make them less noticeable and help them heal faster, but they're wrong. Picking or popping your pimples pushes germs further under your skin, which could cause more redness, pain, and maybe even a nasty infection. And popping zits can lead to scarring, which could last forever.
If pimples always seem to show up at the wrong time, like before a big event such as a dance, talk to your parent about seeing your doctor or a dermatologist (say: der-muh-tah-luh-jist), a doctor who specializes in treating acne. A doctor can help get your acne under control.
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