The Link Between Acne and Make Up

For any woman – and perhaps even men – when acne attacks, the first thing that they do is reach for the concealer, the foundation, the powder and the blusher. Acne is deeply unsightly and is accompanied by many negative social ideas, so it is completely reasonable for the desire to cover acne beneath a layer of make up to become overwhelming. Yet there can be real problems if makeup is layered on top of acne; perhaps the worst of this being, it can actually make your acne worse.

Acne forms because cells and follicles on the skin become blocked, usually due to excess fluid on the skin which then infects a follicle and causes a pimple. Acne is therefore, in it’s very essence, the manifestation of a blockage. Many dermatologists talk of ‘flushing’ the skin out in a bid to remove acne, and this is essentially the idea of remove the blockages and allowing pores and follicles to close naturally. This is how completely untreated pimples heal themselves, by allowing the body’s natural defences to solve the problem.

However, if a thick layer of makeup is applied on top of an already infected follicle and its accompanying pimple, the body is going to struggle to flush the infection away as effectively as it might. You are, by applying makeup, essentially trapping the infection in and making it have nowhere to go. When this is done, the healing times are much longer and the chances of acne recurring are high.

It may seem overly simple to say that one should simply stop covering pimples, particularly when they are such a huge influence on self esteem and confidence. After all, no one likes to go out with acne visible on their face, and the promise of makeup products that can disguise the problem are more than a little alluring. If you cannot stomach the idea of going without your cosmetic companions, there are steps you can take to lessen the effect that make up has on pimples.

When it comes to selecting cosmetics for acne sufferers, the keyword is light. Instead of many products, choose one simple, mineral based product which provides effective coverage. These brands may seem expensive, but by only using one product you are likely to actually save money. Use it sparingly and only when you are going to be seen in public, removing it thoroughly as soon as you are behind closed doors. With these simple changes, the vicious cycle of covering pimples with makeup that in turn cause pimples can be reversed.

It’s Not Effeminate To Look After Your Skin

There is so much information flying back and forwards in this day and age about what a man should be. Should you be a metrosexual, spending as long in the bathroom getting ready to go out as the most fastidious of ladies? Should you be rugged, caring not one iota about such things as crow’s feet, laughter lines and body odour? Should you be some kind of mix, proving your macho credentials while at the same time displaying a certain appreciation for the things that make you handsome and desirable? One sure bet is that whatever you do, you will attract some flak from someone, so you are better off pleasing yourself in the end.

This does not mean just allowing your appearance to do as it wishes, of course. But there is a way of following a male skin care regime that does not make you a perfumed dandy who wishes he had been born female – if that’s what you are scared of. You can show some appreciation for the looks you have been blessed with and not come across as vain. It’s a matter of measure and balance, and if you get it right you will reap the rewards in the form of compliments and more. And the first thing to pay attention to is your shaving routine. It’s not just about splashing on a bunch of cologne after you’re done, and holding in an anguished yell of pain, anymore.

Firstly, you should prepare your skin before shaving. There are several good pre-shave treatments out there, and their benefit is something you will appreciate if you have been shaving for a while. They allow the razor to slide over the skin with a lot less friction than if you just daub on the shaving foam – or gel – and have at it with the razor. As a consequence, you take hair off your face without removing a few layers of skin while you are about it. Then when that is done, apply a good after shave balm. This will cool the skin where there has been friction, and replenish the moisture that has been taken away. And after all that? Then you can splash on the cologne – but remember that even the strongest men scream in pain sometimes.

Skin Care Products – Caring for Your Skin, or Careless for Your Bank Balance?

There is a vast range of products on the market for people who want to get rid of facial blemishes and keep their skin looking fresh, clean and young. Some of these products really do work, and do the job for which they are intended. But it is always important to ensure that you get the right product for you, and to make sure that it is actually addressing the problem rather than masking it. In fact, this process can start when you see the product advertised. Certain give away words and terms can be very important in making sure you do not buy something that leaves you feeling like you have wasted your hard earned money.

You may well have seen ads for wrinkle cream, for example, which use the phrase “wrinkles appear reduced”. It sounds like a perfectly innocent phrase, and yet if you think about it, they do not say that wrinkles are reduced, do they? Why not? Because they aren’t. The wrinkles appear reduced because the active ingredient in the cream causes the skin to expand and stretch out where the wrinkles are. The actual wrinkle is no more reduced than if you had done nothing at all, which is why you need to keep applying the cream, and buy more when it runs out. No cream can actually reduce wrinkles, so it is a short term fix at best.

Another word to look out for is “can”. Very often you will be told that a product can have amazing effects. But this depends on a number of factors – factors which are essential in turning a “can” into a “does”, and these very factors can be inconvenient, expensive and in some cases downright impossible. Look out also for products which claim that in laboratory testing they proved to be far and away the best. Legally, the companies are required to include substantive proof that this is the case, and very often what transpires is that a small majority of people found that the product was helpful, within a laboratory sample in the low hundreds of people. Hardly conclusive.

The Moment You Wake Up, Before You Put On Your Make-Up

Make-up is an essential part of many girls’ and ladies’ daily routine. It may be a case of a little bit of lipstick and some concealer and off you go, or it may be a more determined, more elaborate regime that requires getting up hours before work to make sure that everything is done to a T. But if you are one of those who feels naked without a decent covering of make-up, it is important to remember one thing – that stuff has to come off at night. All of it. As a preference you really should wear as little as you can, because while it may be a good way to show off your best features (and conceal those you’re not so fond of), make up stops your skin from doing some things it has to do.

Your skin, for starters, needs to breathe. That’s why you have pores. Without this necessary feature, your skin would clog up and you would break out in all kinds of blemishes. It also needs the space to keep itself cool, because if your skin reaches a certain point without being allowed to cool off it will begin to flush and look blotchy – something no amount of concealer can really hide. So if you can get away with a light dusting, do not go overboard and smother your skin. You will regret it. It is much, much better to allow one little blemish to go uncovered than to cause another several to spring up.

And at the end of the day, you have to take it off. There are so many reasons why, not least the dry-cleaning bill for your pillowcases if you allow them to become caked in make-up. But more importantly, if you do not allow your skin to be itself while you are asleep, you are simply adding more skin problems to the bargain. Sooner or later you will cause yourself problems that no amount of make up can conceal. And there is one final reason you should go easy on the make up – natural beauty wins out every time. You can ask anyone – the less make-up you wear the better you look.

Acne – A Painful And Irritating Problem

There are so many different problems that our skin can throw at us over the course of our lives, and it can seem dreadfully unfair when you finally get one to clear up and another instantly descends upon you. One of the most common problems – and one that has an unfortunate habit of persisting beyond adolescence – is that of acne. Caused by a blockage in the hair follicles on your skin, acne vulgaris is a problem that affects an amazing 85% of teenagers. Even the ones who appear to be completely fresh-faced often have problems with acne – and those problems are of a kind that can have an effect far beyond the cosmetic side of things.

There is little you can do to prevent acne if you are predisposed to it. A family history of acne is a likely sign that you will suffer it, especially as you go through puberty. But even if your adolescence is long past, it can crop up again – or even for the first time – well beyond your teenage years. In some cases, it has been thought to be a side-effect of stress. But one thing that can be guaranteed to bring on a case of acne is an imperfect skin care regime. And it is in the skin care regime that the best solutions to acne are found.

The chief cause of acne, especially in adolescents, is over production of the skin’s natural oil known as sebum. This is why it appears wherever there is a high concentration of sebaceous glands. Along with dirt, excess sebum provides the ideal conditions for acne to grow. So washing your face regularly is an excellent way of attacking acne on its own terms. Not only will you cut down the amount of excess sebum, but you will prevent the accumulation of anything that might become acne given the right conditions.

Acne is also known to become inflammatory. In these cases, a prescribed or store-bought anti-inflammatory medication can help a great deal, by stopping the acne from becoming itchy and painful. Consult a doctor before embarking on any course of medication, though.