What Are the Different Types of Acne and How to Prevent Acne Formations

By Wayne Wilson  |   Submitted On January 16, 2012

  

Believe it or not, there are many different, baneful types of acne. Understanding the different types of acne that you can develop can help you in finding out effective ways for treating the skin condition. In addition, when you know about the unique kinds of acne that can erupt, you can learn how to successfully prevent acne formations from occurring in the first place.

There are two primary types of acne you can develop; acne that is not inflamed and inflamed acne conditions. When acne is not inflammatory in nature, it consists of the formation of blackheads, white heads, and tiny, practically flat pimples. Blackheads and whiteheads are called blemishes or comedones. In essence, when you get non-inflammatory acne you are dealing with as many as four different types of acne formations.

First, when it comes to non-inflammatory comedones, they are often painless, and they do not tend to rise too far above the surface of the epidermis: the uppermost layer of your skin. They usually do not become reddened or irritating, but they can prove unattractive. In contrast these types of formations can and do become infected over time, and can turn into inflammatory conditions if left untreated. The non-flammatory variety of acne is the most common of formations that acne sufferers endure.

In terms of comedones, you can have closed comedones that are soft or you can develop closed comedones that harden. You will note these soft types of comedones as they appear in the form of white bumps on the face without reddening; the surface of the bump does not develop a head or it develops a small whitehead. Beneath the whitehead is a pour that has been clogged by dead skin cells or cellular debris, sebum, trapped oils, and/or dirt. The interior of the comedones that is soft remains in a liquid form so the body of the formation remains soft. To get rid of these types of acne formations, you will have to deal with the excessive dead skin cells, excessive oil, and excessive sebum that are causing them in the first place. These comedones can sometimes be extracted by a professional dermatologist or esthetician, but you should not squeeze them yourself; doing so can cause the comedones to become infectious.

Harden comedones, sometimes identified as milia, are whitehead that do not hurt. They do not become red, and you will commonly see this formation erupt around the eyes. These types of acne will form the same way soft comedones do, however, the body of the formation hardens because of the impacted dead skin cells, oil, and sebum in the pour. This type of acne can also be extracted, but only by a professional dermatologist or an esthetician; sometimes a small incision is made so that the harden comedones can be removed. If left alone, the hardened mass will force its way to the surface on its own.

If you develop open comedones, you will notice them as blackhead formations. These types of acne are also caused by the accumulation of excessive sebaceous material and dead skin cells. With a blackhead, the head of the acne is dark brownish in color because the infection has been exposed to the open air and melanin reacts to being exposed. The uppermost part of these comedones is open, allowing for a dark black/brown tip to protrude. This can be extracted by a professional, but should never be extracted at home. Keeping the skin as clean as possible will help in the reduction of the open comedones and their formation.

Another of the common types of acne people develop is identified as microcomedones. These formations are so small they are practically invisible to the eye. All comedones, opened, closed, hard or soft, start out as a microcomedo. When acne is in this stage, this is the ideal time to treat it; cleaning the skin, skin exfoliation techniques, and acne products can be used to prevent a full fledge acne eruption.

To learn more about different acne types and what is the best acne treatment, please visit acne treatment reviews.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Wayne_Wilson/239370

Which Topical Acne Treatment?

By Balint Haui  |   Submitted On January 03, 2011

  

The choice of which topical acne treatment to buy is trying. With dozens of products available the acne consumer might feel he has to reach deep in his pocket if he wants the real deal. He has to spend above 20 bucks if he wants to get a maximum potency topical treatment and which acne sufferer would not like to have the prize-winner treatment?

Today's topical acne treatments utilize benzoyl peroxide or salicylyc acid as active ingredients. The real problem with these is that they do as much harm as good. In fact, while exposing acne bacteria to oxygen, in order to destroy it, they badly irritate and dry the skin. It is not unusual to get ugly, never healing scars after the long term application of these over the counter topical steroids. Does the unlucky acne sufferer really have to endure the side effects of these drugs, or is there something available that will not damage the skin while fighting acne?

To answer the question shortly: there is. It is called Manuka honey, honey of the Manuka shrub indegenous to New Zealand. The honey harvested from it has anti fungal, anti biotic, anti inflammatory, anti mutagenic properties. When compared in efficiency to over the counter products, it beats the pulp out of traditional acne treatment creams. All the better, it is gentle to your skin so you don't have to worry about ugly scars or iching, dry skin. It has a unique number, the UMF (unique Manuka factor) to it that is indicating it's potency. The higher the better, but 10 + is already considered good. Worth a try?

Balint Haui is an expert on the topic of healing acne naturally. For more free information visit the site: [http://www.howtobeatacnewithoutantibiotics.info]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Balint_Haui/775958

Getting Rid of Acne - Topical Acne Cream or Oral Acne Treatment?

By Richard Hargreaves  |   Submitted On October 08, 2006

  

Although topical acne cream products are the more high profile treatments today, oral treatments have long been used for acne therapy. But, through the years, many acne patients have suffered side effects from their use.

Most of these oral medications are antibiotics that, with prolonged use, lose their effectiveness since patients develop acne bacteria that grow resistant to the antibiotic being used to fight it.

That is why doctors prescribe oral antibiotics no longer than six months. But since this could pose a problem for a long-term acne sufferer, oral treatment is sometimes prescribed in conjunction with topical acne treatment cream.

Oral Treatment Side Effects

Three of the most popular oral acne treatments and their side effects are:

· Erythromycin -- This often causes gastrointestinal irritation.

· Oral contraceptives -- These should not be taken by women who smoke, are over age 35, have any kind of blood-clotting disorder, or are prone to migraine headaches, unless with the consent of a gynecologist.

· Tetracycline -- This should not be taken by pregnant or breastfeeding women since it can adversely affect the child's teeth and bones, and lead to skeletal defects.

What Makes Topical Cream Different?

A growing number of patients who have grown weary of the side effects and dangers associated with oral treatment, however, have opted to stick to topical medication, particularly acne creams.

Acne cream products have relatively less harsh side effects than oral medicine. Also, most acne treatment cream products can be used for longer periods than oral acne treatments.

Acne cream is easily spread on and absorbed by the skin, and does not leave the greasy feeling an ointment does, nor does it cause the flaking that results from some kinds of gel.

A Breakthrough New Type of Acne Cream Hits the Market

Some of the newest and best acne cream products contain a vitamin B derivative called niacinamide, which was discovered to be excellent for the treatment of acne by the State University of New York College of Medicine.

Through tests done across eight weeks on 76 acne patients, topical 4% niacinamide was found to cause improvement in 82% of those treated with it, while only 68% of those treated with clindamycin (an antibiotic...and the leading prescription acne treatment) reported improvement.

Acnessential (a topical 4% Niacinamide cream) contains NO ANTIBIOTICS and is safe to use even for extended periods of time. Moreover, since its active ingredient is simply Vitamin B3 (niacin) it will not usually cause the irritation, drying, and itching that other acne creams often do.

The great thing about Acnessential is that it can be used in conjunction with other acne treatments. For example, subjecting a post-treatment scar to azelaic acid acne cream, lesions, or wounds may form on severely irritated skin already made tender by recent treatment.

Acnessential soothes the skin by reducing redness and inflammation, even as it continues to counteract the tendency to acne. Moreover, its active ingredient, niacinamide, is known for improving circulation and can therefore help speed up the healing process of skin scarred by a bout with acne.

Richard Hargreaves is a former MR AUSTRALIA and publisher of Acne-Free-Info.com. On his website he provides a FREE 70 page Acne Skin-care Treatments eBook and information on Topical Niacinamide Gel and Nicotinamide Acne Treatment Cream.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Richard_Hargreaves/2352