July 2008 Entries
Does Smoking Cause Acne?
Most researchers agree that smoking in itself does not cause acne. But, evidence is now accumulating that smoking may make acne that is already present much worse. This is now specifically been shown for a type of acne called non-inflammatory acne. This has been recently demonstrated by researchers at the San Gallicano Dermatological Institute in Rome, Italy.
According to researchers, 42% of smokers suffered from acne, compared to 10% of non-smokers. But cigarette smokers seemed to develop non-inflamed acne at a much higher rate than other adult acne sufferers. Within the women in the study, three quarters of those with non-inflamed acne were smokers. The number of cigarettes smoked didn't seem to have an effect on the severity of acne breakouts. But if women had experienced acne in their teen years, they were four times more likely to experience smoker's acne as an adult. Non-smokers who suffered from non-inflammatory acne, about half (48.9%) were exposed to environmental factors, such as working in a steam-filled work environments or were constantly exposed to smoke, that could have contributed to their acne. Smokers who had suffered acne in their teens were found to be four times more likely to suffer acne as an adult than non-smokers who also had experienced teenage acne.
1000 women aged 25 to 50 were enrolled in the study. The findings were published in the British Journal of Dermatology.
Another important aspect of acne and smoking is that it is a known fact that smoking reduces the healing rate. So with acne that is ulcerating or is infected with inflammatory lesions, it usually will take longer in getting healed. This long and poor healing will lead to worse scar formation and poor skin quality. Smoking also makes skin age faster. Smoking may not cause acne, but to treat acne faster, it is better to stop smoking. Smoking affects ALL the vital organs of the body leading to poorer health and lesser ability to fight infections such as acne.
I have a question about the acne renewing exfoliant. I read that a ph less then 3 shouldn't stay on your skin overnight because it will be to harsh and could do damage. I just ordered the acne kit, I have sensitive skin, wondering what approach would be best?
When a product specifically designed to peel the skin is applied to the face, it is kept on for some time and then washed off to prevent it from continuing to exfoliate the skin. Usually these products are straight acid formulations with no buffering ingredients to give the maximum peel in the minimum amount of time. So leaving them on for too long may cause undue irritation. Such products are usually not available over the counter and only used in professional facilities by trained personnel. But, even these products if left on for too long may slowly neutralize from the skin own secretions, and become non- problematic. Certainly an acid peel formulations left on too long will have its most potent effect in the first few minutes to an hour, and if tolerated will not be any more irritating a few hours later than it was in the first hour. Off course the inflammation caused by these may continue to get worse and be quite damaging.
Products made to exfoliate skin that are for home use have complex formulations designed with buffers, to prevent ongoing irritation after the first few minutes of application. Most product instructions suggest washing these off as a precaution, even though it is usually not necessary. Even products with a pH lower than 3 can be made with this function. Though, products that are water based may be harder to formulate with such a low pH and also be less irritating.
The Lexli Acne Kit Renewing Exfoliant is a product I designed a number of years ago, and is available by itself as AloeGlyC (R) a patented formula. This product was designed to be used as a potent exfoliant specifically in treating wrinkles and sun damage. It is a strong peelant that can be used everyday to visibly reduce the signs of aging and damage. I wanted to make it strong but very safe and therefore based it in Aloe Vera which is one of the most potent natural anti-inflammatory available today. By combining the ingredients in this unique formulation, I was able to make a product that can support a low pH, strongly exfoliate and yet cause very little irritation even if left on after application. This product has been in regular use since 1998 with zero incidence of problems. In fact, it is our most popular selling product for skin rejuvenation.
AloeGlyC is included as an exfoliant in the Lexli Acne Kit as exfoliation is a very important step in complete acne treatment. My recommendation to those with sensitive skin is to initially use it sparingly may be every other day. You may want to dilute it with a little moisturizer initially. Once your skin becomes healthier with continued use over time, you will be able to use it undiluted everyday. This is because as the skin is treated and becomes rejuvenated, the dermis thickens making it more supple and resilient and better able to tolerate lower pHs.
Recently, LexLi Acne Kit creator Dr. Abdullah was interviewed by NBC’s Channel 5 News about his LexLi Acne Kit product. The doctor talked about how 45,000,000 Americans suffer from some type of acne and common myths and misconceptions about acne. Dr. Abdullah discussed how scrubbing your face too much will actually worsen acne, as well trying to use steam to open up the pores. Both of these should be avoided despite what anyone else tells you since they will only irritate your skin even more. Along those lines, the doctor also talked about how rubbing alcohol onto your skin will make acne worse as well.
Dr. Abdullah said that treating acne requires a very complex and robust medicine that uses a variety of ingredients because: “there’s four different things going on: you get clogging of the pours, you get increased oil production, you get bacteria, you get inflammation, so you’ve got to address all of those.”
Click here to watch the full interview.
In an earlier post, we talked about how the yeast in beer causes acne for people who are allergic to yeast. It’s very common for young adults to quit drinking beer and try other types of alcohol instead, but that won’t necessarily stop what you’re drinking from causing acne. Yeast is used in the wine making process by fermenting crushed grapes (meaning it extracts the sugar and converts it to alcohol). This is very similar to how yeast is used in beer, so it can very easily cause the same results for your skin.
This does not mean you should stop drinking wine, but it does mean you should watch the amount you drink. It’s very common for people to share a bottle or two over a nice dinner, so if you notice your skin starting to break out the following day, then you are most likely allergic to yeast to some extent. Like with all types of alcohol, wine is something that should only be consumed in moderation for a variety of health and safety reasons, so if you’re worried that you might be allergic to yeast, don’t take any chances by drinking too much wine
As previously mentioned in this blog, the idea that getting a tan will magically make acne go away is just a myth. Doing this will just cause your acne to get even worse and possibly cause long-term skin damage (or even skin cancer) if it’s done too much. Since the sun can easily dry out your skin, you need to make sure to use sunscreen. Not only will this stop your skin from being burnt, but also help prevent acne from forming since dried out skin will make your glands start producing more in an attempt to moisturize the skin.
When it comes to deciding what sunscreen to use, make sure to pick one that is oil-free. This will prevent it from clogging your pores with dirt/oil and causing an outbreak. It is also very important to drink plenty of water since being dehydrated will lead to your skin becoming dry. Just like with being sun burned, your skin being dry will just cause the glands to produce more oil and get your face extra dirty.
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