Acne Treatment - Skin Care

Acne Cure..From the Inside Out..Using Natural Acne Skin Care Products

And Diet...

© By Dr. Deborah Baker 2008-2012

What is Acne - What You Need to Know About Acne Treatment/Skin Care:

It's heart-breaking, confidence-robbing and comes at a time in our lives when appearances and acceptance mean more than at any other time.

It's acne and hits in our teens, a very sensitive, vulnerable time fraught with self-esteem issues...then it has the nerve to show up again in many people's fourth decade, a time when one has done most of the familial tasks of child-rearing and wants to re-invent themselves for the rest of their lives.

The good news is...I can give you acne help...you don't have to suffer.

Acne plain and simple is an inflammatory reaction to a comedon or plug of oils and dead cells occuring in a hair follicle. Normally the oil or sebum is produced by the sebaceous glands at the side of the hair follicle, mobilized out through the pore and washed away when we wash our face, neck or back and no blemishes occur.

But the whole process goes wrong in certain biochemical ways within our bodies.

Here are a few acne pictures to show the normal hair follicle and then the pathological development of acne.

You can see clearly here that the sebaceous glands secrete directly into the hair follicle. When a 'plug' develops - more commonly known as a blackhead, the accumulation of sebum and cellular debris creates an inflammation and pus collects. Picking the pimples is not a good plan either as often that infected material gets shoved back down the follicle and deeper, larger cysts can develop. The bacteria primarily responsible for the infection is called propionibacterium acnes. P. acnes is the causative agent of acne vulgaris (pimples). It is a common resident of the pilosebaceous glands (oil secreting glands around the hair follicles) of the human skin.

The bacteria release lipases (enzymes which biochemically break down fat) to digest a surplus of the skin oil, sebum, that has been produced. The combination of digestive products (fatty acids) and bacterial antigens stimulates an intense local inflammation that bursts the hair follicle.

Then, a lesion forms on the surface of the skin in the form of a pustule (whitehead). Since acne is caused in part from an infection, it can be suppressed with topical and oral antibiotics such as clindamycin, erythromycin, or tetracycline. Some other forms of therapy include chemicals that enhance skin removal (i.e. benzoyl peroxide) or slow the production of sebum (Retin A and Accutane).

But that is NOT the best acne treatment, as it's doing nothing about the cause. And why oh why would you put more toxic applications on your skin where an already toxic situation has occured??? After all...over 1 Billion dollars are spent every year on acne products. If they 'cured' the problem...there would be no more sales..but that is not the case.

Dr. Mark Hyman a colleague who also practices Functional Medicine has this to say about acne..and I could not agree with him more:

If your Internet Explorer won't let you view this video here..this is the link to his thoughts about acne help and acne cures..Click Here

Acne Causes and Acne Help:

To properly assess the key problems in one's biochemistry which allows for acne to form, we need to look at the main acne causes. Why does this happen? The base factor is the over-production of sebum...which combined with dead cells and bacteria result in the lesions.

Then why do people over-produce sebum?

1) Androgens or Male Hormones:

Male or female, everyone has these hormones. It's all a matter of amount. Excessive production of androgens in the sebaceous glands increases the amount of sebum made by the glands. Science has shown that people who don't have high levels of androgens simply do not experience acne.

2) Growth Hormone and IGF

Growth hormone which is produced by the pituitary gland in your brain stimulates the liver to make insulin growth factor (IGF). There are two forms..IGF-1 (most common) and IGF-2. IGF-1 does two things..increases the amount of sebum produced and the proliferation of skin cells. Because both of these factors aggravate acne (more oil and more cells sloughed off and clogging the hair follicle), growth hormone then affects acne. During adolescence your growth hormone is VERY active and so is acne.

3) Stress Hormones:

Under stress, your adrenal glands produce more cortisol..another hormone which increases the production of sebum. It also tends to slow healing, so adds to the impact that increased cortisol has on acne. Some studies have shown that cortisol slows healing by an astounding 40%!

I think this is the main cause of mid-life acne, along with poor dietary habits.

4) Diet

I know you're going to hear things on both sides of this issue.."Diet has nothing to do with acne"...or "Eating junk is going to make your acne worse"..

Well, the second is correct. For a number of reasons:

- As mentioned before, stimulating insulin production and in particular IGF-1 increases sebum volume and proliferation of skin cells (which then slough off more into the follicular canal making it easier to become plugged.) Junk food is loaded with sugars and carbohydrates...not to mention they are a veritable 'chemical-soup' increasing body toxins and setting up the whole inflammation cycle.

- People who eat indigenous diets, such as Asians, Africans or even most Europeans..then move to North America and get caught up on our disgusting fast food habits, all of a sudden develop skin disorders that they never had before.

- In studies, people who followed a low glycemic index diet improved their acne removal rates significantly. Dr. Robyn N. Smith, from the RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, evaluated acne symptoms in 43 male patients, between 15 and 25 years, who were randomly assigned to a low glycemic load diet or a normal diet. The intervention diet consisted of 25 percent energy from protein and 45 percent from low-glycemic-index carbohydrates. After 3 months, the low-glycemic diet was associated with a significant reduction in acne compared with the normal diet. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, July 2007.

Types of Acne:

Mild

Moderate

Severe

Acne Treatment Skin Care:

Obviously, the acne treatment depends on the severity, but there are definite common things I suggest for all levels of acne help.

Starting on the inside and moving out....

Diet - The main consideration, as outlined above is to keep the carbohydrate-driven insulin response down. Here are a few books which I think will really help you follow better food choices.

This is the easiest way for me to let you know how to change what you are eating. The Clear Skin Diet does it step by step...the two books on Glycemic Index show you how to make better choices at the supermarket or if you are a teen, deciding which foods to select to help your acne.

Acne Skin Care Products:

To cleanse, treat and keep the skin from drying out...without putting a load of chemicals on your skin..making matters worse.

There are two lines of exceptional Holistica products for acne removal. The Cumcumber line is for mild to moderate acne and the Correctoderm is for the moderate to severe acne.

The Cucmumber Line is for mild to moderate acne..these are my favourite acne skin care products-Click Here

The Correctoderm Line is for moderate to very severe acne..Click Here for these Acne Skin Care Products

Acne Homeopathic Remedy:

Along with the topical Holistica Acne Skin Care lines, and the diet suggestions, I have added one more dimension, only available at my site. After 31 years of treating people it wasn't that hard for me to design a homeopathic remedy specific to acne cures..You can find that here

Recently, I've received a good deal of feedback on the Acne Remedy I developed about ten weeks ago. Thought I'd share some reponses with you:

"Can't believe my skin clearing..and over the Christmas season. At first, it broke out a bit more..but you said that would happen...now almost all the blemishes are gone! Thank you SO much!" Sandy T, Jupiter, FL.

"I've now used the Acne Remedy for about five weeks. I had mostly bumps and zits on my forehead and chin. They are GONE...it's amazing. I found that they cleared faster when I started using the Cucumber line of natural acne products, too. I'm delighted! Thanks, Dr. Deb" Rosemary M, Chicago, Il.

"At first not much seemed to change. I guess some blemishes went, but others appeared..so I wasn't sure anything was improving, overall. But after about 3 weeks, I have to say about 25% of my pimples are gone. I'm going to keep using this and the Correctoderm products because I can definitely see things getting better." Aaron S., New York, NY.

"I bought the Acne Remedy when my 12 year old daughter started to break around her nose and on her forehead. Withing a couple of days..a few more blemishes appeared then in about a week and a half, her skin cleared and stayed that way. I've stopped the remedy for now, as you told me and will give it to her again if things start up again. Thanks a lot for your help. She was scared to death of facing other kids with acne on her face." Sherry P, Austin, TX.

Special Starter Deal:

Special to get you started on a Clear Skinned Face....A Travel Kit of the Correctoderm or Cucumber Line plus an Acne Remedy..Normally $79.00 for both..now only $67.00....You Save $12.00!!

What better purchase than a chance to get rid of acne and regain self-confidence? And do it without pouring a bunch of toxic ingredients onto your skin (and so..into your body).

Choose the line that suits you or the acne sufferer best:

What You Need To Know About Many Acne Sites:

Questions? Email Dr. Deb Anytime!

For more information on Natural Skin Care Products..Click Here

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