How Can You Shave if You Have Acne or Acne-prone Skin

How Can You Shave if You Have Acne or Acne-prone Skin

How Can You Shave if You Have Acne or Acne-prone Skin

Men know that shaving when you have acne can be a challenge. Here are some dermatologists’ tips that can help give you a clean shave:

• Before shaving, soften the hairs
  Wetting the face thoroughly with lukewarm water can help soften the hairs.
• Experiment
  Try shaving with electric and safety razors to see which works best for you.
• Make sure the blade is sharp
  This helps prevents nicks from a safety razor, which can irritate the skin and lead to breakouts.
• Shave lightly
  This can prevent you from nicking acne lesions. Nicks can make acne worse.
• Never try to shave off the acne
  Trying to shave off acne aggravates the condition and makes acne worse.

Way to Protect Your Skin from the Sun

Way to Protect Your Skin from the Sun

Way to Protect Your Skin from the Sun

Dermatologists recommend sun protection for their patients with acne. Sun exposure is the most preventable risk factor for all skin cancers, including melanoma.^1,2 Research shows that most cases of skin cancer can be prevented with sun protection. Sun protection also can help prevent a bad sunburn when a patient uses a topical (applied to the skin) retinoid to treat acne. Skin becomes especially sun-sensitive when using these retinoids.

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that everyone protect their skin by following these sun-protection practices.

Be Sun Smart^®

• Generously apply a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 30 or more to all exposed skin. “Broad-spectrum” provides protection from both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. Reapply approximately every two hours, even on cloudy days, and after swimming or sweating.
• Wear protective clothing, such as a long-sleeved shirt, pants, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses, where possible.
• Seek shade when appropriate. Remember that the sun's rays are strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. If your shadow appears to be shorter than you are, seek shade.
• Use extra caution near water, snow, and sand because they reflect and intensify the damaging rays of the sun, which can increase your chances of sunburn.
• Get vitamin D safely through a healthy diet that may include vitamin supplements. Don't seek the sun.³
• Avoid tanning beds. Ultraviolet light from the sun and tanning beds can cause skin cancer and wrinkling. If you want to look tan, consider using a self-tanning product, but continue to use sunscreen with it.
• Check your birthday suit on your birthday. If you notice anything changing, growing, or bleeding on your skin, see a dermatologist. Skin cancer is very treatable when caught early

How to Wash Acne-prone Skin

How to Wash Acne-prone Skin




How to Wash Acne-prone Skin


WAy to Wash Acne-prone Skin

Dermatologists recommend the following for their patients who have acne or acne-prone skin:

• Limit washing to twice a day – and after perspiring
  Once in the morning and once at night as well as after perspiring heavily should be the limit. Perspiration, especially when wearing a hat or helmet, can make acne worse, so the skin should be gently cleansed as quickly as possible after perspiring.
   
• Use a gentle, non-abrasive cleanser
  Wash the face and other acne-prone areas with a gentle, non-abrasive cleanser that does not contain alcohol.
   
• Use your fingertips
  Apply the cleanser and wash with your fingertips. This reduces skin irritation. Using a washcloth, mesh sponge, or anything else can irritate the skin and lead to breakouts.
   
• Never scrub your skin
  Scrubbing the skin does not clear acne. In fact, scrubbing irritates the skin and can make acne worse.
   
• Rinse with lukewarm water
  Be sure to thoroughly rinse away the cleanser with lukewarm, not hot, water.
   
• Shampoo regularly
  If you have oily hair, shampoo daily.

Acne Can Change How You See the World

Acne Can Change How You See the World

Acne Can Change How You See the World

People often say that having acne is no big deal, but that’s far from true. Several studies have shown that acne can diminish a person’s quality of life. Having acne can lead to depression and anxiety. Acne can make people feel ugly. It can destroy a person’s self-confidence. People can feel so badly that they stop hanging out with friends. Acne can even cause adults to call in sick rather than face a day at work. The following lists some of the problems that research shows acne can cause:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Social withdrawal
• Decreased self-esteem
• Reduced self-confidence
• Poor body image
• Embarrassment
• Anger
• Preoccupied with thoughts about acne
• Frustration
• Higher rate of unemployment

To find out just how acne makes his patients feel, one dermatologist asked his patients. This is what they told him.

In their Own Words

I feel like a vampire. . ."I don't look in mirrors.... I am like a vampire--I shy away from mirrors. I comb my hair using my silhouette on the wall to show the outline of my head. I have not looked myself in the eyes in years. It’s painful not to be able to do that, and that is a direct result of acne, the acne scarring."

I feel so insecure . . ."I think that if I had more self-esteem about the way I looked, I think I would have been more outgoing. I would have gone to more parties. I probably would have been more outspoken in class and would not have felt so insecure about going up and speaking in front of a group of classmates."

I feel humiliated . . ."It is really humiliating to feel like I have no control over my acne. I hold my head down, and I am ashamed to look at people; I feel so embarrassed. I am 25 years old and to be acting this way is very frustrating."

I hate that the first thing people see is my bad skin . . . "It's associated with being dirty, and I hate that, because it's not at all like that. I inherited it from my mother, and she's always telling me that she had the exact same thing and that it will go away. I am mad that I inherited it from her. My dad makes me feel bad because he never had bad skin when he was younger, so he doesn't understand.... I hate that the first thing people see when they look at me is bad skin. I really. really hate that."

Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it . . . "I feel like I don't look right no matter how hard I try to dress up and look nice—there is always that area of pimples there, and it is very unsettling. There really hasn't been a day gone by that I don't think about it, or look at my face.... Should I spend that much energy on it? I could be doing other things...instead of wasting 5 to 10 minutes every day looking at my face in the mirror, or playing with it, picking at my acne."

What this Dermatologist Tells His Patients
Clearing up the acne can relieve the source of these disturbances, but many people don't realize that something can be done.

Many myths about acne, especially regarding diet and hygiene, are still considered true. And many parents and older siblings are stuck in the attitude of past generations that nothing can really be done but wait it out. That’s just not true.

Making matters worse, there is confusion among people with acne and their families about what works and what doesn't. They are often frustrated by products that promise to clear skin but that don't work for them.

Some non-prescription products may be more effective than others, but dermatologists have treatments that work just about 100% of the time. Most cases of acne can be cleared up with the right treatment.

*Patient testimonials courtesy of John Koo, MD. Dr. Koo is a dermatologist who practices in San Francisco.

What Causes Acne

What Causes Acne

All types of acne — blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, and cysts — develop when pores in our skin become clogged. The culprit is sebum [see-bum], an oil in our skin. Our bodies make more sebum when our hormones surge. This is why teens get acne. This is why women often breakout before their periods. Since hormones fluctuate in the years leading up to menopause, many women in their 40s and 50s get acne.

Why do people get different types of acne?
What happens inside the clogged pore determines the type of acne we see.

A blackhead appears when sebum and dead skin cells clog the pore. While the pore is clogged, its surface remains open. This lets us look into the pore and see a black color. Your dermatologist may call a blackhead an “open comedo” (co-me-dough).

A whitehead forms when the excess oil and dead skin cells clog the pore and block the opening of the pore. Because the pore closes, dermatologists call this type of acne a “closed comedo.”

	face and chest	upper back
Acne develops where we have the most sebaceous glands. These glands make sebum and are found in the greatest number on our face, neck, chest, back, shoulders, and upper arms.

The excess oil does more than clog pores. Bacteria that normally live on our skin, P. acnes, thrive in this excess oil. Immersed in excess oil, the bacteria can rapidly increase in number. As the bacteria multiply in a clogged pore, the pore becomes inflamed. Inflammation is what causes a pimple to look red, hot, and swollen.

When inflammation reaches deep into the skin, an acne cyst forms. This is the most severe type of acne. Cysts can be very painful. People often see permanent scarring after this type of acne heals.

This 14-year-old boy has acne and acne scars on his upper back and shoulders. Getting the acne under control can prevent more scarring.   (Photo used with permission of the American Academy of Dermatology National Library of Dermatologic Teaching Slides)

Getting Rid of AcneThanks to advances in medicine, today, virtually every case of acne can be controlled. Many people with mild acne can see clear skin with good skin care and acne products available without a prescription. However, this won’t control everyone’s acne. Sometimes acne control requires a dermatologist’s help. Even severe acne can be successfully controlled with treatment from a dermatologist.

While treating acne may seem unimportant, research shows treatment has value. Treating acne can prevent additional breakouts and scars. It can improve a person’s quality of life. People living with acne can suffer from low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Acne can even discourage people from pursuing life's dreams. When acne is under control, a person’s confidence grows. Anxiety and depression diminish.