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Acne Myths and
Facts
Acne Myths:
Washing your face more often will help clear up acne
Acne Truth:
Facial blemishes are not caused by dirt. Pores don’t get blocked from
the top down due to dirt. Instead, the walls of a pore stick together
deep within the skin, which starts forming. frequent washing may
actually irritate pores and cause them to become clogged. A washcloth
can add even more irritation. Your best bet is to wash very gently with
bare hands, and wash twice daily.
Acne Myths:
stress causes acne
Acne Truth: Dose stress cause acne? Stress may have an effect on hormones. However, an effective acne
system is more powerful than a bout of stress any day. Some psychiatric
medications may have acne as a side effect, but stress itself is no big
deal. Your time is better spent determining the right course of acne
treatment rather than feeling guilt about stress.
Acne Myths:
Masturbation or sex causes acne
Acne Truth: Dose masturbation cause acne? Beginning in the 17th century a tactic to stop
young people from having premarital sex, not based on scientific
evidence. A better explanation may be that higher levels of
(male sex hormones) can cause increased sex drive.
We also know that high levels of male sex hormones can be
related to more severe cases of acne. So it may be the higher
androgen(male sex hormone) levels and not the associated increase in
desire for sexual activity that is related to acne.
Myth:
The sun will help get rid of acne
Acne Truth:
The sun may work in the short-term to slow down the clearing
of existing acne while reddening your skin, therefore
blending your skin tone with red acne marks. However, a sun burn is
actually skin damage. It's important to prevent damage to your skin
while trying to get rid of acne.
Sun exposure causes irritation which can make acne worse. People will
often notice their skin breaking out as it heals from sun damage. The
sun is a short-term band-aid which will often bite back with more acne
in the weeks following exposure. Having said that, I don't want to give
the impression that the sun is bad.
We get our vitamin D from the sun for instance. Limiting sun exposure
on acne prone areas of your body is most likely a good idea, but
exposure from time to time is perfectly okay.
Myth:
Diet and acne are related
Acne Truth:
The bottom line is we need more research. We do know that people in
some indigenous societies do not experience acne whatsoever across the
entire population. This is in stark contrast to the widespread presence
of acne throughout all modern society.
It leaves us to ponder the question of whether the indigenous people's
diet contributes to their acne-free skin. Discovering a dietary way of
preventing acne may be a future reality, however, we may live so
differently from our hunter/gatherer ancestors that it has become close
to impossible to replicate our ancestral diet.
Let's see if we can work together to come to some consensus from our
own experiences. If you feel that you have cleared your acne using a
particular diet, or if you are planning on attempting a diet of some
kind, please post your method and let us know.
Myth:
Does Chocolate Cause Acne?
Acne Truth: Good news for all you chocoholics eating chocolate does not cause acne. Skin care experts agree that acne is not caused by any
specific food, including french fries, candy, or soda.
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