Total Wellbeing Blog

Myths About Acne

Acne afflicts many people all over the world and there are many rumours, myths and misconceptions about the causes of acne and how it should be treated. 

The following can help clear up just some of the myths you may have heard:

• The more you clean your skin, the better your acne will get.  Acne is caused by oil in your skin, not by the dirt on your face.  While it’s important to cleanse your skin twice a day, cleaning more than that can overly dry your skin.  Many people believe cleansing all the time will actually worsen the condition.
• Eating fatty foods will make your acne worse.  Specific food groups, such as fast food and chocolate, should not trigger breakouts; however, some people have breakouts due to reactions from certain foods.  If you notice that you break out after eating a certain food, avoid it in the future. Your overall diet also contributes to skin health.
• Stress causes breakouts.  Research has shown that breakouts are not triggered by stressful situations.  If you experience acne problems before a big or stressful event, watch what you do with your hands.  Leaning on your hands on your face can cause a breakout, something you may do in times of stress. 
• Acne will clear up on its own.  Most people are under the false impression that acne only afflicts teenagers; however everyone from babies to women in their 40’s can experience acne.  Instead of waiting for it to go away, you should get it treated.
• Covering pimples with make-up will make them worse.  As long as you use the right make-up, it should not cause breakouts.  Buy make-up specifically designed for people with acne.  If it still triggers breakouts, try a different brand.  Just like food, different ingredients in make up can cause a reaction and result in a breakout. 
• Spots go away when you pop them.  It is hard not but where possible, it is better to leave well alone.  Contrary to popular belief, popping spots can make them worse rather than better.  Popping can also cause infection, increase the likelihood of scarring, and slow healing.  If you must try to speed up healing, spread the base of the zit apart instead of squeezing it.  This opens up the pore allowing it to heal.
• If one medicine doesn’t work, you have to live with acne.  There’s a reason that there’s not one acne medication on the market.  It’s because not one product works for everyone.  If one doesn’t work, keep trying.  Also, it sometimes takes a while for medications to work.  Don’t worry if a treatment doesn’t work after a week.   
• A tan helps clear up acne.  While a tan may make acne less visible, it will do nothing to clear up a breakout.  Regular tanning can make your skin look old much faster and promotes skin cancers.  The permanent damage you cause is not worth slightly decreasing the appearance of pimples.

Learn how you can clear your skin from the inside out naturally with Acnezine

Natural Skin Care with Witch Hazel

Witch Hazel has been used for generations as an effective natural skin care treatment and its popularity and effectiveness means that it is often used in mainstream skin products and well as in its pure form.

Witch Hazel can be found in most stores in the form of astringent, medicated pads, creams, toners and facial washes. There are many benefits of Witch Hazel and here are just some of its most popular uses for your skin problems:

Click here to read the full article...

Give your skincare a boost this New Year!

If you want some great tips on boosting your skincare this New Year, visit Face Natural for a whole host of skincare and beauty tips including one of mine on the great benefits of essential fatty acids for beauty from the inside out!

Also including tips for a soft derriere, aromatherapy, eating for beauty, benefits of hemp seed, 10 step guide, natural tips for acne sufferers and much more... Click here to visit.

No7 Protect and Perfect Beauty Serum

There has been a lot of news coverage about this beauty product thanks to No7 Protect & Perfect anti-aging serum being featured on BBC's Horizon last week. Scientists at the University of Manchester proclaimed it to be the only anti-aging product they tested that actually repairs sun-damaged skin.

Since being featured, stocks have sold out across the nation and Boots are working round the clock to produce more to meet the consumer demands. If this product is really as good as they claim, then it is excellent value at a fraction of the price of most anti-aging products! You can order your bottle online at Boots.com - they are limiting orders to 1 bottle per person each week so get online quick to avoid disappointment.

Acne and problem skin

Living with Acne can have a huge effect on how you feel about yourself and when you are a sufferer, it can feel like a vicious cycle and have a huge effect on your self-esteem and confidence.

Despite using various skin treatments, it can be difficult to keep your skin clear - most work for a while but the effects are often short lived. This is because you are treating the symptoms rather than the cause. The phrase ‘you are what you eat’ may have far more truth than we realise when it comes to dealing with Acne or problematic skin.

Acne is caused by the sebaceous glands producing too much sebum and keratin, causing pores to become blocked and infection setting in. This is thought to be related to either hormone imbalances or an overload of toxins in the body. In today’s world of junk and processed food, pollution and the hundreds of chemicals that our bodies come into contact with every day, toxin overload is becoming more and more common. Getting to the cause of the acne symptoms is what will have the positive results in the long run.

To help overcome Acne, it is important to consider a healthy eating and supplement plan as well as being careful about our skincare routine:

• Deficiencies in Zinc have been linked to Acne, so include plenty of Zinc rich food in your diet such as pumpkin seeds, turkey and brown rice.

• Getting plenty of anti-oxidants is essential when fighting acne - brazil nuts are thought to be one of the richest sources. Eating just a few a day over a period of time may contribute to helping flush out those toxins. Consider taking a good antioxidant supplement to help.


• Sulphur rich foods such as onion and garlic also have a positive effect on the skin.


• Ensure you are getting enough Essential Fatty Acids - found in foods such as oily fish or flaxseed oil. Consider taking a good Omega 3, 6 & 9 supplement. Sometimes acne can be related to hormone imbalances so supplements such as Evening Primrose oil are also useful in controlling this.


• To get rid of toxins and waste effectively, it is important to maintain a healthy digestive system. Probiotics and prebiotics are helpful in ensuring that you have plenty of good bacteria. These can be obtained by regularly eating live yogurt or taking a good supplement.


• Avoid foods high in saturated fat as these can encourage the skin pores to become more blocked.


• Ensure you maintain a good diet full of nutrients by eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables every day.


• Flush out toxins with plenty of water - aim to drink at least 8 glasses a day.


• Sugar can encourage bacteria overgrowth so may make acne worse so it’s best to avoid it as much as possible. Getting rid of acne and keeping it at bay cannot be achieved with a short term fix.

Making the above changes to your diet and taking supplements will help and you should start to see results in a month or two.

The key is to be patient. I suffered with skin problems for a long time and it took a while for me to find what worked for me. I now swear by omega 3, 6 and 9 (with primrose oil) and Grapeseed extract from Healthy Direct. It took a few months for these to have an effect but my skin has been problem free for nearly a year. I get the occasional breakout if I am under stress or haven’t been eating as well for a few days but these are far and few between!

Useful resources:
Healthy Direct - for Zinc, Selenium, Omega and anti-oxidant Supplements
Beauty Expert - see the Acnease range