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Many of the skincare products available today aren't doing acne sufferers any favors. While they may provide marginal benefits to your skin, these pale in comparison to the damage they actually can do. Unfortunately, some of the most commonly used products for skincare are the worst offenders. Here's a look at three things you shouldn't be using on your skin.
Rubbing alcohol or products that are alcohol-based are no good for acne-prone skin. While it does have powerful anti-bacterial properties, it's very harsh on the skin and can lead to excessive dryness. If you have oily skin, you might be thinking that rubbing alcohol's drying effects could help remove some of that excess oil, but that's not the case. When your skin's essential oil (known as sebum) is removed so quickly and by such harsh methods, your body may respond by amping up its sebum production-which will only lead to more clogged pores than you had to begin with. In addition, over drying your skin produces more dry skin flakes that will add to clogging pores.
Finally, rubbing alcohol also has the potential to irritate your skin causing inflammation, especially for those with sensitive skin. Inflammation can make preexisting acne breakouts worse or encourage new ones in the future.
Washing your face with soap and water has become a classic skincare routine. Unfortunately, this is one of the worst things you can do for your face. Most bar soaps are highly alkalized, with a pH of 9 or higher, and this can spell trouble for your skin. The skin naturally produces a thin, imperceptible film of fatty acids known as the acid mantle, which protects itself from external bacteria and debris. Unfortunately, the acid mantle only has a pH of about 5.5, and this means that bar soap actually destroys it in the cleaning process. While your body is able to restore the acid mantle after it's removed, this process takes time-normally, a few hours. During this window, your skin is left unprotected from bacteria that can enter your pores and set the stage for an acne breakout. In addition to destroying the skin's acid mantle, bar soap also strips the skin of sebum, much like rubbing alcohol does.
If you find that you must use bar soap, choose a brand that has a built in moisturizer. This won't stop it from removing your acid mantle, but it will at least prevent some dryness. A better choice would be to go with a more all-natural skin cleansing products that have a balanced pH level.
When used in moderation-no more than once a week - exfoliating scrubs are not terribly bad for your skin until they are actually injuring your skin producing micro- abrasions. Unfortunately, most people have a tendency to over exfoliate, and this can cause problems for acne-prone skin.
The point of exfoliation is to remove the dead skin cells from the top layer of the skin. While it's true that dead skin cells can clog pores and help spur on acne breakouts, using special products to exfoliate needs to be done with real caution. First- your body already does it naturally! So you would be better off spending your money on foods that promote this natural exfoliation process. These include items high in vitamin A like sweet potatoes, carrots or leafy green vegetables.
The second important fact is that most exfoliating scrubs can actually damage your skin creating tiny scratches that may invite bacteria. Exfoliation has also a drying effect on the skin scrapping off the skin oil, and as you already know, this can lead to the overproduction of sebum and clog your pores even more. In addition, exfoliating scrubs achieve the desired effect through abrasion, and this process can cause your skin to become irritated or inflamed as well. So, if you decide to exfoliate, choose milder and if possible natural peels, avoid scrubs and use exfoliation in moderation...as it often happens - more is NOT always better. Try something all-natural that will be less harsh on your skin, like a papaya mask.
While most skincare products focus on external treatments for acne, your problems might actually be much more internal than you realize. One common internal source of acne is an imbalance in your hormones-specifically too much androgen. This imbalance can cause your sebaceous glands to overproduce sebum, which clogs your pores and begins the cycle of acne. So, instead of focusing on the external condition of the skin, you should be looking for products that can safely address the problem from the inside.
AcnEase is one of those products. Its safe and natural all-botanical blend works to dampen the effects of your hormones on the sebaceous glands in a way that won't cause any negative side effects or adverse reactions. Once you try it you'll begin to wonder why you ever used harsh cleansing products in the first place!
With a promise of clear skin, Dr. A