A report published in January, 2011 in the “New York Times” says some experts recommended tea tree oil when the commonly used acne fighting compound benzoyl peroxide often contained in over-the-counter acne products is too irritating, ineffective or both. Benzoyl peroxide helps clear away dead skin cells and diminish inflammation.

A study published in “Clinical Microbiology Reviews” compared the effectiveness of 5 percent tea tree oil (TTO) for acne against 5 percent benzoyl peroxide (BP.) Researchers found that both TTO and BP decreased the number of inflamed lesions. However, the skin of study participants who used BP was significantly less oily than those who used TTO.. Fewer side effects such as scaling were reported by the TTO group. The study involved 124 acne patients, approximately half of which used TTO and the other treated their skin with BP.

Tea tree oil may work best on mild to moderate acne, according to a number of small trials. A 2007 randomized study of 60 patients with mild to moderate acne were split into two groups. One used a gel containing 5 percent tea tree oil and the other treated their skin with a placebo daily for 45 days. Researchers discovered that tea tree oil worked much better than placebo in diminishing the number and severity of blemishes. A smaller British study of 27 acne patients also supported tea tree oil’s anti-inflammatory effects. Scanning the labels of various acne creams, soaps, cleansers you will undoubtedly find many acne products list tea tree oil as an active ingredient, notes the ACS.

Tea tree oil proved to be more deadly against head lice than peruviol.

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Acne control

Including a variety of seeds, nuts, vegetables and fresh fruit in your diet can be a good control for acne. Drink plenty of water every day since dehydrated skin sheds dead cells which can lead to clogged pores and effective acne control. Most skin care products contain chemical ingredients that can aggravate acne. If you use make-up, try products that are non-comedogenic. Keeping stress levels low can also reduce the release of stress hormones and reduce the intensity of acne. Dairy products and red meat in your diet can cause acne. Heavily tanned skin can lead to blocked pores. Some of the acne control guidelines recommended by The American Academy of Dermatology are as follows.

* Do not squeeze, pop or pick at the acne lesion. This can spread the inflammatory process and worsen the acne.

* Wash your face twice a day gently with mild soap or sulfur soap. Just pat your face dry and do not rub it with a towel.

* Avoid oil based products.

* Avoid acne irritants such as airborne grease from fast food restaurants, rubbing or friction from sporting equipment etc.

* Give anti-acne products time to clear up the lesions. This can mean several weeks or even months.

* Some acne products increase the skin’s photosensitivity. When in the sun wear a hat and use sunscreen and avoid tanning booths while using these products.

Acne Cleanser

Acne Cleansers have an important part in skin care. A good acne cleanser will remove make-up, oil build up, dirt and other debris from the skin’s surface, preparing it for acne fighting treatments.

Before the acne treatment, the skin has to be washed properly. Avoid using bath soap on your skin for cleansing. There are many kinds of skin cleansers in the market and you can choose the mildest cleanser for your skin. They are all natural and medicated cleansers and are great in controlling acnes. Some of the natural daily cleansers are as shown.

1. PhytoMe Gentle Cleansing Gel

Ingredients include herbal extracts that remove debris, impurities and excess sebum from the skin’s surface to leave a clean refreshed feeling to your face. It can be used 2-3 times daily as a facial cleanser or make-up remover.

2. Clarins One-Step Facial Cleanser

It includes all natural, facial cleanser/toner/make-up removers. This acne cleanser uses the properties of orange extracts to remove impurities and dirt from the surface of the skin. This product does not clog pores and it keeps the skin clean and nourished and is great even for oily skins.

3. FACE Stockholm Foaming Facial Cleanser

The self foaming formula of this cleanser clears all make-up and impurities without harming the skin. The skin is cleaned and refreshed and can be used both in the morning and night.

4. St. Ives Facial Foaming Cleanser

It is 100% soap-free and includes acne-fighting tea tree oil combined with gentle glycerin and chamomile extract to balance the moisture, creating a cleanser that prevents breakouts without drying the skin. This cleanser is excellent for removing facial make-up, oil and dirt.

5. Fira Foaming Tea Tree Facial Cleanser

The clarity, tone, and texture of your skin can be greatly improved by using this instant, self-foaming acne cleanser. The tea tree oil has the natural properties for controlling skin problems and fighting acne causing bacteria. Due to the deep penetrating action of the foam, the skin is cleaned, leaving it fresh, and refreshed.

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For example: Topical retinoids (Retin-A, Differin and Tazorac, for example)are helpful for mild to severe acne especially when they are used early on combining with hormonal antibiotics,or benzoyl peroxide treatments. When you discontinue the antibiotics you can maintain clear skin with retinoids. Another way to treat your acne is with laser light. The doctor applies a chemical called aminole-v-vulinic acid and then exposed to a sunlump called Clearlight. You need two to four treatments to kill bacteria and keep skin clear for 5 months or up to 2 years.

Over the counter products aren’t strong enough to treat severe acne. Try using a product with 10% benzoyl peroxide plus another product with 2% percent salicylic acid. Keep a daily routine faithfully and if your skin doesn’t improve see your dermatologist.

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The number people over 30 needing acne treatments has climbed to the extent that a report published in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology recommends raising the age for insurance coverage of the acne drug tretinoin to at least 40. The authors of the report, Drs. Steven Feldman and Alan Fleischer, add that many insurance companies refuse to pay for tretinoin prescriptions for patients older than 25.

Cosmetic Catch 22 Even if your insurance company leaves you to fend for yourself, you still have options for freeing yourself from acne and wrinkles. At first, coping with acne and wrinkles may seem like a cosmetic catch 22. Do you dry your skin with acne cleansers containing benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, and worsen your wrinkles? Or, do you smear on the moisturizer to smooth the wrinkles, but cope with the zits brought on by the extra oil or sensitivity to a new product?

There’s a smarter way to handle acne and wrinkles.

1. Interpret the acne

2. Allow your skin to improve as you use self-awareness to remove zits.

Interpret the acne

While dealing with acne and wrinkles, target the acne first because acne is an autoimmune disease. Having an autoimmune disease means that your thoughts, emotions, and/or environment are affecting you in an adverse way and require immediate attention. Thus, acne may reveal that you need to relax more, change your eating habits, reframe your interpersonal dialogue, stop dating that jerk from the office and/or make another beneficial alteration to your lifestyle.

Zits arrive on your face to report on some unpleasant activities within your body and life. Once you get feedback from these zits, you can take action to send the zits away while augmenting your health in the process.

Acne is usually an indication various hidden or overlooked health problems. Here’s a sample of the questions you should ask yourself when dealing with acne so that you can unravel the mystery behind your zits. Are you:

Regular?

About 70% of your immune system is located in your intestines. If this area is blocked with waste, your immuno-defenses are down. So, instead of waste leaving your body via the rectum, it chooses to leave through the skin. Waste leaving the skin can cause an infection that presents itself as acne.

Tense?

Tension likewise reduces the vigor of the immune system. Take a few deep breaths throughout the day to calm your body. Take a long walk in the fresh air to wind down.

Eating nutritionally?

Cases of acne have been improved with consuming foods containing zinc, essential fatty acids, vitamin A and a host of other nutrients. All of these vital nutrients are available in leafy green vegetables, fruits and olive oil.

Worried about unresolved issues?

Not resolving personal issues creates conflict and tension in the body. Again, these issues most be addressed to avoid undue stress within the body.

Exercising daily?

Exercise reduces stress and gives you an opportunity to subconsciously contemplate challenges that you may be facing. Physical activity also keeps your muscles and intestines toned, which keeps encourages regularity.

Changing pillowcase frequently?

Using a dirty pillowcase aggravates an acne condition. Your face naturally secretes oils during the night. These oils are sticky. So if you pillowcase if dirty, you are allowing your face to collect extra waste during the night, which could further clog your pores.

Moving or changing your job/career?

New demands or feelings of lose can sometimes accompany change. Transfer these emotions into something constructive by writing in a journal or envisioning how these changes are going to benefit you. Find comfort in these changes and opportunities for new beginnings.

Experiencing excessive facial hair growth and erratic periods?

Conditions such as acne, excessive facial hair, and erratic periods could indicate an androgen disorder or other underlying hormonal imbalances. Your doctor can provide you with a series of endocrine tests to ascertain your hormone levels and what corrective actions you should take. Ricardo Azziz, M.D, who serves as Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Director of the Center for Androgen-Related Disorders at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, estimates that 80 percent of women with excessive androgen levels suffer from an endocrine disorder called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Dr. Azziz adds that women with PCOS often have insulin resistance and are at increased risk for developing Type II diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

Once the acne is under control you can move on to the wrinkles. Another reason for treating the zits first is because if you alter your lifestyle in such as way as to free yourself from acne, and you doing this in a healthy and patient fashion, you will actually lessen the number of wrinkles you have.

Health is wholeness and beauty is a reflection of robust health. You’ll never buy robust health in a jar. It is a mind, body, spirit and environmental support system that garners full-bodied health. Lets look at want you actually need from a “beauty cream”.

Face Cream Education There are five basic ingredients in any given anti-aging or anti-wrinkling cream.

1. The oil or moisturizer

2. The preservatives to keep the cream from spoiling.

3. A scent or flavor

4. A color

5. The active ingredient.

Only one of these components is essential, the oil. The preservative is only needed to keep the cream useful. Your face does not need preservation because the skin is alive. Since some people have allergies to scents and colors in cosmetics, the body says that these two ingredients are not necessary. The active ingredient is usually the latest cosmetic drug or multivitamin that is supposed to lift or dramatically reverse your age by 5-20 years.

Researchers S. Jay Olshansky, Leonard Hayflick and Bruce A. Carnes bluntly comment on the antics of cosmetic companies in their report No Truth to the Fountain of Youth, published in the June 2002 edition of Scientific American. The authors warn everyone aiming to reverse the signs of times on their face that, “… anyone purporting to offer an anti-aging product today is either mistaken or lying”.

I bet you are thinking, “Won’t that oil make acne worse?” The answer is not if you are using the right oil. Some essential oils such as bergamont, lavender, lemon, neroli, sandalwood, tea tree and ylang ylang have cleansing and antibacterial properties which help combat acne infections. Other essential oil like geranium, clary sage and orange regulate the production of oil on the face. When mixed with a carrier oil such as jojoba or camellia, these essential oils are ideal moisturizers.

Nothing that you put on your face will truly change your appearance. Creams are useful, but they are only one instrument in an orchestra of anti-aging concerts. Health starts on the inside. If you want to improve your beauty start with how you treat yourself and feed yourself. I mean not only what foods you eat but what thoughts you eat.

You may eat thoughts of the sort, “I can’t…”, “I had a stressful day”, “I’m tired of…”, “I can’t wait until…”, “I’m getting old”, “My body isn’t as healthy as it used to be”. The menu is endless. If you want to look young and healthy, you have to think young and healthy thoughts. Here’s steps to jumpstart your quest:

Start by changing your thinking. Develop your own youth model, i.e. with steps you’ll take to maintain your vitality and stick to it.

Enjoy nutritious foods. A study in the Journal of American College of Nutrition found that eating a variety of fruits and vegetables and using olive oil every day could help keep wrinkles away. The researchers found that people who ate a diet rich in green leafy vegetables, beans, olive oil, nuts and multigrain breads, while avoiding butter, red meat and sugary goodies, were less predisposed to wrinkling. Researchers believe that antioxidant vitamins, such as A, C and E, which are found in fruits and vegetables, may help protect the skin from environmental damage.

Use a gentle cleanser each day.

Steam your face everyday for 5-15 minutes, especially if your have acne. The steam removes waxy build-up on the skin while it stimulates circulation. This combo of benefits cleans to pores to reduce the possibility of acne while firming up the skin and facial muscles.

Exfoliate your skin daily.

Moisturize your face in the morning and evening with natural oils. In addition to the acne fighting oils listed above, you can mix essential oils such as frankinsense, myrrh, neroli and rose to help encourage the growth of new skin cells. You can create a moisturizer by diluting 1-3 of your favorite essential oils in a carrier oil such as jojoba or camellia oil in a ration of 1 part essential oil to 3 parts carrier oil.

Massage your face daily when you apply your facial oil.

Lie down on an incline bench for 5-20 minutes each day to let the blood flow to your head.

Wear a sunhat in the sun.

Give yourself a light skin peel once a month.

Finally, forty can still be fabulous and your beauty-plan a lot less enigmatic. Just remember the basics, interpret the messages of your zits, and educate yourself about wrinkle creams- you don’t need them.

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