Since acne is a very common problem that over 85% of teens face at one point or another, it is not always necessary to visit a doctor when a mild breakout occurs.  At-home treatments such as the LexLi Acne Kit means a visit to the doctor is not necessary to receive medical solutions.  The philosophy for deciding whether or not to see a doctor is simple: watch and wait.  Acne will clear up over time by using the LexLi Acne Kit or various other at-home treatments.  Acne problems will not be solved overnight & may take as long as two weeks to clear up.  But there are certain signs you should look out for when deciding whether or not a doctor consultation is necessary for your breakout:

• You have been using at-home treatment for up to eight weeks and the breakout is not improving at all or getting worse.
• Blemishes increase in size and become either hard or filled with fluid.
• Facial hair development in women.
• Your current breakout started after taking a doctor prescribed medication.
• Your skin came into contact with oils, chemicals, or other harsh substances that led to a breakout (always seek medical care immediately if the chemicals are known to be dangerous to humans).
• Scars develop after your acne starts to disappear.

Along with all the major health concerns that come with being pregnant, a very minor one that many women forget about is acne.  Studies have shown that acne is the most common skin problem for women during pregnancy as a result of hormonal changes.  Some women may never develop any acne problems during their teen years, but then experience acne breakouts after becoming pregnant. 

Some doctors have claimed that acne developing during pregnancy will only get worse if it is not treated right away and can even stay after the baby is born.  Studies have shown that certain chemicals should be avoided as a result of their known to cause birth defects in the fetuses of pregnant and/or attempting to conceive mothers.  The harmful chemicals include: benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, and any of the retinoids. 

Acne vulgaris (commonly known as Acne) is a skin disease and comes from the Greek word άκμή, describing the occurrence of skin inflammation as a skin eruption.  The scientific explanation of how acne is caused is by changes in the skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and the local gland. If an individual develops a severe form of acne, their skin will become inflamed, but acne can also manifest in noninflammatory forms. Acne lesions are commonly referred to as pimples, spots, or zits.

Over 85% of teenagers will be affected by acne at one point or another during adolescence, making this the most common stage in life to get acne. For the majority people, acne diminishes over time and tends to disappear, but it is still possible for acne to continue into adulthood.  Most people will stop having acne problems once they reach their early twenties, but that does not mean it can’t return in the future.  There is no way to predict how long it will take for it to disappear entirely, and individuals could possibly continue to suffer from acne decades later, into their thirties and forties.

Just like in the previous article about beer causing acne for some people, the same can be said for cigarettes.  Since the large majority of smokers start in their late teens or early twenties, they might never think of this as a possible correlation since they were suffering from acne years before they even started smoking, but tobacco can actually make your acne stay longer.  Along with serious side effects such as cancer, various diseases, and death, smoking also causes skin damage.  This does not just mean wrinkles forming, but it causes your skin to deteriorate and that can lead to acne developing.  The best way to avoid this happening to you is easy: don’t smoke and use a product that is designed to help your skin be in great shape.

With tattoos becoming more and more popular, many people in their late teens or early twenties are running into the issue of wanting to get a tattoo but having an acne breakout.  While the back and shoulders are very popular places to get tattoos, they are also very common places for acne to develop.  Just because you have had acne on your shoulder and/or back in the past doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a tattoo there, but most tattoo artists would strongly advise you not to get a tattoo in an area that is currently broken out.  The reason being is simple: acne is infected oil below the skin and a tattoo needle could easily pop this “pocket” of oil, which in turn causes it to fill with ink from the needle and spread inside the pore.  This means the ink could potential settle in there and become permanently colored.  This would ruin any tattoo you had planned and cost thousands of dollars worth of surgery to remove.

When it comes to getting a tattoo with acne it is best to wait until the acne clears up and then get the tattoo.  Doing it while you currently have a breakout is too risky because it can very easily ruin the tattoo and your skin.

Stage 1: The area around a hair follicle becomes blocked by dirt or another foreign substance such as grease.  Then, the sebaceous gland produces oil which is unable to make it to the surface and therefore causes the skin to rise.  This oil becomes infected with bacteria and causes the redness on the skin to worsen.

Stage 2: The blocked oil becomes even more infected and the pores expand more, causing redness to increase again and the skin to become drier.  Acne will not be fully developed yet, but the skin will share very small bumps that are a sure sign of a break out.

Stage 3: The pores clogged with bacteria infected oil become too full and either explode onto the skin or implode into other pores.  This causes full blown acne to develop and even start to spread to other areas of the skin.

Stage 4: Your body realizes there is an infection where the acne is and sends antibodies and blood.  This actually will make things worse before they get any better because all the extra blood and antibodies in the area will make your skin red.  This might never cure your acne depending on how severe it is, your genetics, and external conditions. 

Many people will claim that drinking as little as one beer will cause them to develop acne within a day or two.  While studies have shown there is not a direct link between your diet and acne, certain people may have an allergy to all the yeast in beer.  This allergy could lead to a number of things, including your skin drying out and therefore developing acne or some other sort of blemish.  The yeast isn’t going to directly cause acne, but the toxicity of it relative to your body will since you are allergic to it and therefore your body views it as a toxin. 

There isn’t any way to know if beer will cause you develop acne other than from first-hand experience.  If you notice you start to breakout within a couple of days from it, you could very well have a problem with the yeast in it.  This does not mean you can’t drink alcohol at all since all types of alcohol are different, but just make sure to avoid alcohol with yeast in it and always drink responsibly. 

Anabolic steroids, commonly referred to as just “steroids,” are a class of steroid hormones correlated with testosterone.  These steroids have become widely known as a result of athletes taking them to gain a competitive advantage or heal from injury, despite the fact that they are illegal and very dangerous.  Anabolic steroids cause serious health complications including: high blood pressure and cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, baldness, suppression of other hormones, and can even lead to testicles needing to be removed.

Besides those serious and life threatening conditions, anabolic steroids can cause acne to develop.  Since steroids are giving your body more testosterone and altering your natural hormone levels, you are stimulating the sebaceous glands.  These glands are found at the base of hair follicles and secrete oily substances onto the skin.  This means that your skin will become dirtier and acne will develop.  Not only can this cause acne on your face, but also on your chest, back, and neck. 

Not only is vitamin A important for daily functions including: vision, immunity, bone metabolism, gene transcription, and more, studies have shown it also plays a very important role in skin health.  People who are developing acne are more likely to have low levels of vitamin A than a person with clear skin.  While there is not a concrete explanation for why vitamin A can help prevent acne, studies have shown that it can help prevent the sebaceous gland from swelling and therefore producing more oil.  Too much of this oil will cause your skin to develop acne. 

Foods that are high in vitamin A include: eggs, peas, broccoli, spinach, liver, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  Vitamin A is a very important part of a well balanced diet and should be considered when deciding what to eat.

Myth: Eating pizza will cause acne.
Reality: Just like the chocolate myth that was previously discussed, there is no evidence to support this claim.  It is believed this myth formed as a result of pizza being a greasy and unhealthy food, which led to claims it would cause your skin to break out.  Getting grease from pizza (or any other food) onto your skin can cause a break out by clogging your pores, but eating it will not.

Myth: Exercise will make acne worse.
Reality: Studies have shown that this myth could possibly be true, but it has more to do with excessive sweating rather than exercise itself.  If you have an acne outbreak, sweat could clog your pores and result in the outbreak worsening, but this is not true for everyone.

Myth: Popping a zit or pimple will make it go away.
Reality: While this is a very tempting thing to do, squeezing a blemish until it bursts will only cause more germs to get under your skin and worsen the outbreak.  Popping a pimple may cause temporary relief for some people, but it can also cause a scar that will stay with you for the rest of your life.  The best thing to do is not to pop or pick at a zit or pimple regardless of how tempting it may be.