In partnership with SA’s top medical aesthetic companies
Acne treatment is a holistic affair with treatment strategies coming from nutrition, lifestyle options and, of course, skin care.
Everything we’ve ever told you about dealing with acne urges you to get help early, as this gives you your best chance to treat the problem before it gets too serious, so that you can avoid consequences like severe acne and scarring.
Your first step is to consult a qualified skin-care therapist, who can assess your skin and determine whether you need to see a skin doctor for medical treatment, as well as doing facials and possibly mild skin peels to clear blocked pores. At the same time, the professional will probably recommend a home skin-care routine with an active, medical skin-care range, which exfoliates efficiently to keep pores clear, helps control oil production, has an antibacterial action, as well as soothing skin irritation and redness.
Your home routine will also include lifestyle and dietary tweaks to give your skin its best chance at recovery.
Your home care regime
NeoStrata’s Resurface range (look for the dark blue stripe) is focused on improving texture and clarity with AHA treatments that tackles rough, dull skin and enlarged or blocked pores, sloughing off thick surface layers to reveal healthier, hydrated skin underneath.
Use it with the NeoStrata Refine range (light blue stripe) for mild to extreme acne, which contains N-Acetyl Glucosamine to reduce oil production without irritating or drying out the skin.
Shop for these here.
Lamelle has treatments that tackle acne both externally and internally: they promise an 88% improvement in problematic skin in less than two months if you use Clarity skincare range and Acnevelle oral supplements together.
The comprehensive Clarity range uses proven effective ingredients like salicylic acid and tea tree oil as well as Nobel Prize-winning Epidermal Growth Factor for fast healing, and other ingredients to promote pimple elimination and reduce bacteria, as well as preventing dark marks after acne.
The nicotinamide and zinc picolinate in Acnevelle Capsules strengthen the skin’s own protective barrier, while also soothing and reducing inflammation and redness.
Discover the Lamelle acne range here.
Gut detoxification is vital
There are two types of bacteria living in the gastrointestinal tract or GUT. The so-called good bacteria and the so-called bad bacteria. There is more bacteria in your GUT than there are cells in your body and when things are in balance the bacteria is absolutely essential to your health. But this can turn into a real problem if the bad bacteria take over, for example as a result of too much stress, bad diet or excessive antibiotic usage. Detoxification of the GUT is very important to clean the GUT and to ensure enough good bacteria.
Now for some acne dos and don’ts
You need to treat problem skin with the gentlest TLC, and what you put in and on your skin can either improve or aggravate the situation. These tips will help speed up your results and help maintain them:
- Wear sunscreen every day. Make sure it’s oil-free and non-comedogenic (doesn’t block pores). Exposure to the sun can worsen acne and cause dark marks (post inflammatory hyperpigmentation) on active inflamed acne.
- Use make-up sparingly. Choose only hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, breathable cosmetics, and clean it off at night.
- Avoid scrubbing inflamed skin. Here comes the TLC. Use gentle cleansers that don’t strip your skin, and make sure that the exfoliator you use has chemical exfoliators (AHA, etc.) rather than a physical scrub. Using a scrub will worsen acne by causing inflammation and spreading the bacteria from pustules to other non-infected pores.
- Resist the urge to squeeze, scratch or pick at acne. It’s very hard to resist, but picking and squeezing causes trauma to the skin that can result in potential scarring and worsening of the condition as infection spreads. If you can’t leave them alone, rather book an appointment for a facial with your skin-care therapist who can extract them professionally.
- Eliminate foods high in animal fats (including milk), hormones and iodine. Opt for organic and free-range where possible, and skip the sushi for now.
- Avoid processed foods. Such as bread, processed breakfast cereals, white rice, pretzels, potato chips, cookies and cakes etc. High GL junk foods and sugar are linked to acne. Opting for a diet consisting of whole, natural and raw foods can have a marked effect on your skin.
- Drink enough liquids. Pure water, refreshing cucumber water and antioxidant-rich, anti-inflammatory green tea are especially good for you as they help to flush your system and keep your skin hydrated.
Take the quick Beyond Beauty Survey and you could win a R2 000 Skin Renewal voucher to spend in our online store, with free delivery within South Africa. T&Cs apply.
Should you wish to find out more about treatments to clear up your acne for good, visit Skin Renewal on www.skinrenewal.co.za or contact 0861 SKIN SA (754 672).