Tag Archives: acne

What Causes Adult Acne?

Healthy Me, ,

Do suffer from adult acne? Did you suffer from acne during puberty, which improved and has now returned with a vengeance? Do you suffer from cystic acne around the jaw and chin line which is painful and hard to treat?  Have you tried all kinds of medications and over the counter face washes and miracle cures and have not noticed any dramatic changes in the healing of acne?  You must then ask yourself the following question – what is causing your skin to react this way and how do you work with your body to treat it?

Here are some of the factors that maybe affecting the acne or may in fact be the primary cause of acne: 

1. Hormonal changes – As you get older, your body’s hormones fluctuate depending on the time of the month, your diet and stress levels. The hormones that usually affect acne are testosterone and DHEAS (both of these are male hormones) and of course the balance of female hormones (estrogen and progesterone). Talk to your naturopathic doctor about having them tested to see where your levels are at.

2. Stress – So school is finished and you are either in college or university in your early 20’s or starting of a career in your late 20’s right? Talk about the stress that we went through! With life and finances and relationships and exams and friends and the list just goes on and on! Yes stress is one of the biggest reasons for any kind of changes in the body. Stress causes the oil glands to overproduce sebum and cause a release of cortisol and testosterone.

3. Medications – especially birth control pills and medications which contain iodine may cause breakouts. On the other hand, low hormone based birth control pills are also used to control acne during teen age years.

4. Amount of sleep – Your body repairs and revitalizes itself during sleep. Every body varies in the amount of sleep they get and need to feel good and refreshed. General rule is at least 71/2 hours of sleep is important to rest and rejuvenate your body. So constant lack of sleep will affect your stress hormones and in turn your skin.

5. Facial care – In a previous blog, i talked about facial skin care, please read it for more information on how to take of your facial skin daily. The type of make up you use definitely affects the health of your skin pores. If you are using oil rich make up, these tend to clog pores and in turn cause comedones , white heads and black heads and of course acne.

6. Diet – Your diet has a huge impact on your skin. A diet high in saturated animal fats, refined carbohydrates and salt, and alcohol and caffeine will most likely worse adversely on your body. Try to have a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, healthy proteins and make sure you hydrate your body with lots of water. Remember you are what you eat and quite often even the good foods you may be eating may be affecting you if you are sensitive/ intolerant to those foods. Talk to your naturopath about testing you for these food sensitivities and intolerances.

If you are dealing with acne, try to treat acne naturally first before trying harsh chemicals and medications that can have other side effects on your body.

By: Dr. Sushma Shah – Toronto Naturopath.

 

Can My Shampoo Or Conditioner Cause Acne?

Healthy Me, ,

Here is a question that has been boggling quite a few clients who have been suffering from acne on their shoulders, back and hairline. Can acne be caused by or worsen due to shampoo and conditioner use? The answer to this question is may be yes, especially if there are  waxy ingredients in the shampoos or conditioners that are used to give volume or tend to coat the hair with a thin layer of conditioner on, or give it extra shine. These products, if not washed out properly when washing your hair,will stay on the surface of the skin and clog up the pores, and if you tend to sweat a lot, and have a tendency to oily skin, it quite possible to get clogged up skin pores that will eventually result in acne or pimples with pus or infection.

Its also possible to get an acne like rash if you are reacting to some of the ingredients in the shampoo or conditioner, such as

  • sodium lauryl sulphate
  • sodium laureth sulphate
  • sulpha / sulphur
  • ammonium lauryl sulphate
  • ammonium laureth sulphate
  • selenium sulphide

These are some of the more common ingredients that you find in regular store bought shampoos.

What can I do naturally to treat/ heal the acne ?

If you are suffering from acne that you think maybe a result of the shampoo or conditioner you are using, you can switch you shampoo or conditioner to one that is more natural or hypoallergenic. This will help overtime, and the change will be seen in a few weeks.

If you have acne that is painful and infected, try using a tea tree based shampoo or conditioner. Tea tree oil is a natural anti- bacterial and anti- fungal.

If you are washing your hair with very hot water, you might want to bring down the water temperature a little.

There are various naturopathic treatments available for acne.

My recommendation is to talk to you naturopath or dermatologist and first get a proper diagnosis. Acne can be caused by various health imbalances and diet. If you need more information, please check causes of acne.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Natural Treatments For Acne And Cystic Acne

Healthy Me, , , ,

Acne is one of the most disfiguring and embarrassing symptom that most teenagers and quite often adults go through in life. It quite often impacts how you see yourself around others as well, affects confidence and self esteem levels. I remember when i was younger and we had this one friend who had severe acne and people quite often called her all sorts of names, which really then went to affect her in later life, in terms of how confident she felt about herself when applying to all these high positions, even though she had all the school smarts.

Acne can be caused by :

Stress – Usually when you are more stressed, there is a tendency to break out more. right? The reason behind this is when you are stressed your body produces more of a precursor hormone called DHEAS – which can cause scalp hair loss, oily skin and acne. Cortisol, a stress hormone, is also produced in high amounts, and can also cause more inflammation and redness on the skin, creating a “flare up” so to speak.

Diet – You are what you eat and what you digest from it. Diet plays a huge role when it comes to acne and skin problems in general.  In general, spicy hot, greasy and sweet foods tend to worsen acne. Chocolate and caffeine also worsens acne. Having a diet that is wholesome and fresh is not only good for the skin, but also for the digestive system. Seafood and sea weed can effect acne as well. The inability of the body to process iodine, that is found in seaweed, is often the culprit when it comes to cystic acne.

Hormonal changes – Acne usually comes in puberty or later years. (New born acne is different). Hormonal changes can trigger changes in the amount of sebum produced in the body and in turn affect acne and the type of acne. Thyroid issues can effect cystic acne. Females can track their break out and see if there is a correlation between acne and their menstrual cycle and if there is, then working on balancing those hormones will also help improve the skin and acne. For males, high levels of testosterone can cause acne and hair loss.

Personal hygiene – This one goes without saying. If you keep you skin clean – it will usually stay clear. Sweat, mixed with sebum and make up, and other skin products, along with moisture will definitely clog up pores which in turn can get infected with bacterial creating pustule acne that may or may not be pus filled.

By: Sushma Shah, Toronto Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Doctor.