There’s no way around it: One of the most worrisome and prevalent skin-care problems many women suffer through at some point in their lives is some degree of acne. Whether it’s blackheads, whiteheads (milia—hard white bumps that do not contain pus and are not swollen or red), papules (inflamed, red, raised bumps that do not contain pus), or pustules (inflamed, red, raised bumps that contain pus), blemishes are commonplace skin imperfections. “Acne affects approximately 95% of the population at some point during their lifetime.” This common disorder can range from mild to severe forms, can sometimes cause extensive scarring, and typically occurs between the ages of 11 and 50 (Source: Journal of Reproductive Medicine, September 2008, pages 742-752).
Regardless of your age, gender, skin color, or ethnicity, what causes acne is the same across the board (Source: British Journal of Dermatology, May 2000, pages 885-892). As a result there are certain basics for fighting breakouts that are essential if you are going to have any chance of winning the battle. To create a plan of action—and it does take an organized plan of action and experimentation—it is essential to let go of all the persistent and pervasive but inaccurate information concerning blemishes and instead learn what really can help your skin. You can’t choose wisely if you don’t know what you’re fighting against! If you don’t understand all your options and don’t focus on what can work and what can’t, you will end up making the condition worse than it was to begin with, or find temporary relief only to have the problems show up time and time again.
First and foremost, you need to get over four major myths about treating breakouts— because they will not only fail to prevent or eliminate a blemish, but they can also cause a whole range of additional skin problems.
The first myth is the notion that you can dry up a blemish. Water is the only thing you can “dry up,” and a blemish has nothing to do with being wet. Skin cells, however, do contain water, and when you dry up the skin you are really drying up the water in the skin cell. Drying up skin impairs the intercellular matrix (skin’s protective barrier), which can increase the presence of bacteria in the pore and cause flaking and a tight, dry feeling. None of that stops breakouts, but it can lead to irritation and add another predicament to your skin-care woes. What’s true is that blemishes are aggravated by oil production, which needs to be reduced and/or absorbed. Absorbing oil on the skin or in the pore is a radically different process from drying up skin. When you “dry” a blemish, all you’re doing is reducing its water content via drying or very absorbent ingredients. That will make the blemish appear smaller, but it slows healing and exaggerates flaking, which really doesn’t make things look better.
The second myth is that blemishes are caused by dirty skin. Unfortunately, this mistaken belief causes harsh overcleaning of the face with soaps and strong detergent cleansers. That only increases the risk of irritation and dryness, while doing nothing to prevent blemishes. Not only that, the ingredients in bar cleansers and soaps that keep them in a hard bar form can clog pores and actually cause breakouts. The truth is that gentle cleansing and overall gentle skin care are critical to getting breakouts under control (Source: Cutis, December 2001, Supplemental, pages 12-19).
The third myth is that you can spot-treat blemishes. You can reduce the redness and swelling of a blemish with a salicylic acid (BHA)-based product or with a benzoyl peroxide – based product, but treating acne that way is a bad idea. For most types of blemishes (other than those created by an immediate reaction to a cosmetic or some other topical irritant or sensitizing reaction), by the time it shows up on the surface of the skin it has been at least two to three weeks in the making. It takes time for conditions in the pore to create a blemish. Dealing with only the blemishes you see means you would be ignoring the blemishes that are in the process of forming.
The fourth myth is that ingredients like alcohol, menthol, peppermint, eucalyptus, or lemon have any benefit for acne. If anything, those ingredients not only are damaging to the skin’s barrier, thus inhibiting healing, but they also generate irritation and irritation can cause an increase in oil production. This is because stress-sensing nerve endings in the skin increase oil production in the sebaceous (oil) gland. (Sources: Clinical Dermatology, September – October 2004, pages 360-366; and Dermatology, January 2003, pages 17-23.) All skin types need to avoid unnecessary irritants, but this rule is even more dire when acne is present.