Battling acne effectively calls for a combination of lifestyle changes, home remedies, and OTC/prescription-strength medications. It may sound like a lot of work upfront but you will be amazed by how easy and manageable some of these acne treatments are once you get going. Let’s dig in, shall we?
Lifestyle Changes as a Treatment Method for Body Acne
Making deliberate and specific lifestyle changes should be your first port of call when angry-looking lesions come calling. The idea here is to prioritize your health in a way that your skin has the best chance of being less oily, which naturally translates to fewer flare-ups.
1. Adopt a Skin-Friendly Diet to Minimize the Occurrence of Nodular Acne
A majority of people who struggle with acne problems are often not aware that their diet could be predisposing them unnecessarily to frequent breakouts. You can’t expect to have a flawless complexion, for instance, if you hardly eat fruits, drink enough water, and live on fast food. The proof, my friends, is in the pudding. Speaking of which, the number one enemy of a pimple-free face is high glycemic load foods. This encompasses all ultra-processed meals, sugar-laden snacks, greasy fast foods, and sodas. Suffice to say, if it comes packaged and pre-cooked, drop it. It does not do your skin any favors. Instead, go for whole grains, unrefined carbohydrates, plenty of fresh vegetables, raw organic fruits, and white meat.
2. Aim to Live a Stress-Free Life and Keep Whiteheads Away
Chronic stress is associated with the overproduction of cortisol – a flight and fight hormone that the adrenal glands secrete when we are emotionally and mentally overwhelmed. While a little bit of cortisol is usually harmless and can give you an impetus for self-improvement, excessive amounts of it, especially in the backdrop of long-term emotional turmoil is hardly good for our skin. It is actually believed to stimulate an overproduction of sebum which opens up the skin pores to an easy infestation by p.acnes bacteria. So, if you want an immaculate complexion you have to learn to take life easy. Alongside this, make sure you are getting enough sleep each night, exercise every other day, avoid skipping meals and quit smoking/excessive consumption of alcohol.
3. Use Oil-free Skin Care Aids to Beat the Acne System
Using excessively greasy and oil-based products is yet another common way that people make themselves susceptible to developing acne lesions inadvertently. You see, some of these oil-based skincare products might be cheaper and more accessible, but the damage that they do to your face by blocking your skin pores could take years to undo. And, that is, if you can even get your hands on a decent scar remover. Make a wise choice and go for cosmetics that are specifically labeled as ‘non-comedogenic’ and ‘oil-free’. They could be a tad bit expensive but that is only because they employ special ingredients that are tailored to keep your pores open and unclogged.
4. Stop Squeezing your Zits, Pustules and Pimples
Bursting pimples can be extremely tempting and satisfying but it only aggravates your skin problems further. It also increases the risk of spreading the acne-causing pathogens to other unproblematic areas of the face, which makes the overall treatment process harder and more complicated than it already is. Besides, squeezing, rubbing, and popping papules is a guaranteed way of introducing foreign bacteria into the inflamed patches that most often than not ends in making lesions worse. It also means that you will soon be shopping around for acne scar removers as the unsightly marks that such sores leave in their wake hardly go away on their own.
5. Wondering How to Get Rid of Papules? Always Stay Hydrated, Inside and Out
Staying hydrated is extremely crucial, not just for your skin but also for your overall healthiness. And a healthier body also implies that healing acne sores are a little easier and less taxing. What’s more, it is an established fact that the skin tends to become more easily inflamed, irritated, and damaged when it’s flaky and dry than when it’s supple and well-moisturized. Speaking of moisturization, the correct degree of hydration is needed to ensure that the regenerated skin cells in the aftermath of acne breakout are formed correctly which further narrows the chances of scars forming afterward.
Home Body Acne Treatments
After making the necessary lifestyle changes as advised above, the next natural step of acne treatment is exploring some of the common effective home remedies that we have for flare-ups. And this includes;
6. Using Aloe Vera as a Moisturizer
It has legendary anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties that could prove to be immensely beneficial in improving your acne symptoms and preventing future breakouts. It’s also a known fact that aloe vera is nature’s own moisturizing talisman that you shouldn’t miss in your skincare artillery if you have perpetually dry skin. The best thing about using aloe vera as a home acne remedy is that you don’t even need a special recipe for it. Simply slice open a leaf and smear the gel on your face. Let the mask sit for 30 or so minutes before rinsing it off with a mild cleanser.
7. Tree Tea Oil to Open up Clogged Pores
Just like aloe vera, tree tea oil packs some incredible anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties that come in handy in halting the activity of acne-causing bacteria. This allows your skin the chance to heal and repair itself thereby making the pimples less noticeable and lessen the probability of them reoccurring. Tree tea oil is also an excellent alternative to benzoyl peroxide (a common OTC acne medication ingredient) for those who are looking for a holistic and 100% natural treatment regimen.
8. Honey for Oily Foreheads
Honey has been used for generations to correct skin defects such as burns, scars, lesions and hyperpigmentation. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it is packed with a rich array of antioxidants that can clear debris and waste from your inflamed pores. What’s even better, the antibacterial properties of honey have been observed to be effective at hampering the activity of ance-triggering pathogens which eases the recovery process.
9. Shake up Your Skincare Routine Order with Jojoba Oil
The waxy and soothing extract from the legendary jojoba shrub is no stranger to skin care formulations. Its revered ability to heal lesions, repair damaged epidermis, and accelerate wound healing can be employed to treat acne sores too. Besides, it packs a unique composition of anti-inflammatory compounds that lessens inflammation, reduces swelling, eases redness around whiteheads and pimples.
10. Garlic as a Sulfur for Acne Alternative
You’ll be hard-pressed to come across folk medicine that does not utilize the amazing infection-fighting abilities of garlic. Such is the eminence and potency of this unassumingly-looking cooking ingredient. Even better, it is believed to contain special organosulfur compounds that have reliable anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects for combating acne-causing bacteria. Apart from that, these organosulfur compounds are also renowned immune-boosters that could come in very handy in staving off future flare-ups.
11. Echinacea Can Be Beneficial for Butt Acne
Commonly known as the purple coneflower, echinacea purpurea, as it is scientifically known, has an unmatched reputation of reducing inflammation and boosting one’s overall immunity to fend off future skin problems. In addition to this, its ability to destroy pathogens could be key in lessening the intensity of an ongoing acne attack.
Prescription Strength and OTC Body Acne Treatment Products
Sometimes the remedies in your kitchen may not be successful in improving your acne symptoms or stopping future breakouts. In that case, the following medical-grade skin care ingredients will, hopefully, be the final stop in your journey to flawless skin.
12. Benzoyl Peroxide, Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamin c
This combination is known for killing acne-causing bacteria in record time, something that explains its presence in almost all OTC acne medications that you can get without a prescription. Nonetheless, you may want to start with milder versions of it (gels with below 5% benzoyl peroxide) if you have super-sensitive skin and build your tolerance progressively. The good thing about benzoyl peroxide is that it is fast-acting enough that you could start seeing an improvement in less than 5 days of using it.
13. Retinization
Retinol is, without a doubt, the holy grail of stopping inflammation and healing pimples. That’s why dermatologists will regularly recommend topical retinol-based medications such as adapalene, tazarotene, and tretinoin to neuter the activity of acne-causing elements. But there is a catch; most retinoids come accompanied by severe side effects especially on first-time users who have never used a retinol-containing cream before. Because of this kind of ‘skin purging’ that ingredient is known for, you may want to start slowly (applying it just once a week) and build your tolerance over time.
14. Azelaic and Salicylic Acid Cleanser
Salicylic acid is a widely acclaimed exfoliant if you are looking to get rid of debris /dead cells or smoothen out acne pimples in the wake of a major flare-up. Just like benzoyl peroxide but unlike retinoids, salicylic acid is largely tolerable and fast-acting enough to offer relief within a space of just a few weeks.
Azelaic acid, on the other hand, is a renowned anti-inflammatory and antibacterial skincare ingredient that is believed to be helpful in fighting acne outbreaks, especially when used alongside retinol-containing topical treatments.
15. Antibiotics
Unlike the other three treatment options listed above, antibiotics for acne require a prescription from a certified dermatologist which should be followed up by routine examinations to track the treatment progress. Speaking of treatment, your physician may recommend getting off the antibiotics as soon as possible to avoid developing resistance to future dosages.
In Closing
There’s no shortage of acne treatments for adults; the same way there’s no reason you shouldn’t get that elusive photogenic complexion that appears to be only reserved for A-list celebrities. It all requires a bit of patience, discipline, and commitment to stick to a certain treatment regimen that works for your skin.
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