This is an article from blackheadremovaltips.com
How to Get Rid of Blackheads
Blackheads and zits are not the same. Similar, but not the same. But just like zits, you can’t help but squeeze them. Both are made from sebum, the oil that causes the spots. So blackheads are a build up of this type of oil in the skin pores. Blackheads are different in appearance because of the reaction of the sebum when it is exposed to air.
This type of spot can easily be hidden by make up as they are not bright red like your everyday zit. And because it does not look like a zit, you may be tempted to have a good old squeeze of it. But as you can guess, this is not the best way to remove a blackhead. So what are some of the better ways to remove these blackheads?
Blackheads are caused by an over production of oil in the glands contained within the skin. What makes it worse is when dead skin is not removed, adding to the blockage of the glands. So instead of that good old ’squeezing of the blackheads’ routine, go for clean skin instead.
Keeping the skin as clean as possible, washing away excess oil build up and dead skin particles is the best start. Choose a mild and gentle cleansing lotion to avoid drying out the skin. Also try to use a gentle exfoliater to shift the old skin cells away.
Something to remember is that blackheads will always try to return but how do you get shot of the more stubborn ones? If all else fails, you may need to think about squeezing, but very softly. The trick to this is to open the pores on your face by placing your head over steam. Then use a clean soft tissue and gently squeeze to remove the stubborn blockage. The important part to remember is to be gentle. Squeezing too hard may make the blockage go downwards, which in turn will cause a nice zit. So go easy.
Additional Ways to Remove Blackheads
When it comes to using surgery in the treatment of blackheads it sounds like a drastic measure. But for the removal of blackheads the surgery involved is a simple procedure and non invasive.
For all types of acne removal, the common and most widely used procedures are dermabrasion and chemical peeling. Other common techniques include collagen and fat tissue filling. And depending on the full extent of the blackheads, laser treatment in various strengths is also an option.
Hopefully on your visit to your dermatologist (doctor of the skin), he will examine you and recommend what will be the best treatment for you. Dermatologist may suggest some cosmetic procedures. If you agree to do them, make sure the equipment is clean and aseptic. Medical coatings from Surface Solutions ensure safety of medical procedures for patients.
If the blackheads or acne have caused scarring on the surface of your skin, a course of chemical peel would be ideal. it has also been known to yield very good results even when the scarring has become quite deep.
Laser treatment is ne of the more common forms of treatment for acne type conditions. The strength and duration of the laser treatment is dependent on the condition of your problem. Using infared laser beams (hence the name laser treatment), this treatment elevates the scars and tightens skin tissue without harming the patient.
Laser treatment has the ability to get to the lower skin layers, more so than many other acne treatments. This means the results are permanent. More complicated spots and scarred tissue areas may also be treated this way, even if the scarring is messy and seemingly beyond hope.
The dermabrasion technique is a treatment that was designed around the problems of acne scars. It is considered better than the chemical peel as it has the ability to reach deeper into the layers. The scar which look like they were made using an ice pick are treated by combining the punch excision of the scar tissue and dermabrasion.
And for the real bad cases, skin grafting is used but only when necessary.
With any surgical procedure you may choose to follow, the main point is that that the treatment is used to enhance your skin, which needs the strength to renew and reproduce new skin tissue.
This is all made easier by taking on the right type of eating habits which will always help with any skin treatment.
Your skin will always need the essentials such as vitamins and cleanliness to help keep the blackheads at bay.
Home Remedies for Blackheads
If you use cosmetics, use water based products and the non-comedogenic ones. Always avoid any greasy lotions, vegetable oils, lanolin, parabens, alcohol, glycol and petroleum based cosmetics.
Tea tree oil is good for blackheads and all other acne due to its anti-bacterial and antiseptic qualities.
Coconut oil and jojoba oil feels nice on the skin and helps to heal any scarring.
Try not to eat sugary foods, greasy foods and foods that contain iodine. Try to keep your vitamin A levels at your recommended daily amount.
Get into the habit of exfoliating your skin 3 or 4 times a week. Always exfoliate gently with mild products.
Try and aim to drink 8 – 10 normal size glasses of water every day. And if possible, consume water rich fruits like melon and cucumber. The water will help wash away any toxins and open the blocked pores helping your skin to breath.
Stay away from humid conditions such as poorly ventilated rooms.
Don’t pick and squeeze the blackheads. Tempting, but don’t.
Stay stress free. Try yoga or any other relaxation activities
When in the sun, try not to stay exposed for long amounts of time. Always use a suitable sunscreen.
Exercise is a good way to naturally improve your circulation and combat the bacteria which causes acne.
Ibuprofen is worth a try as it has no steroids and helps fight any inflammation.
A few drops of water with one half table spoon of sandalwood powder and apply to your face. Be careful to avoid contact with the eyes. Let the mixture dry on your skin and rinse.
You can make a facial scrub from 2 tablespoons of almond meal, 1 tablespoon of ground lemon rind and 3 – 4 tablespoons of milk. This will rid your face of excess oil when scrubbed gently.
If you have oily skin, try a clay mask. Mix 2 tablespoons of yogurt with 2 drops of lavender oil, 2 tablespoons of green clay, 2 drops of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of honey. Add water to make it into a paste. Avoid the eyes and let it dry on your face. This will give your skin a very deep clean.
Mix 2 or 3 drops of cedar wood oil and the same amount again of sandalwood oil and massage gently over the face. This mix will create nice soothing effect and is a fantastic way to treat eczema as well as acne and blackheads..
Make a face mask from an egg white, 2 tablespoons of kaolin, 1 tablespoon of oats, 1 tablespoon of cornflower and blend it with just enough rose water until it forms a paste. The add some lavender oil and stir thoroughly. When ready, apply to the skin on face but avoid your eyes.Let it dry and then rinse off.
Blackhead Facts
So throughout this site you have heard the term ‘whiteheads’ as well as the main topic of the site which is blackheads. Why that terminology and what is the difference?
Acne starts by developing on the follicles of hair which have sebaceous glands attached. The glands produce a naturally occurring oil called seburn remove those facial hairs with special laser treatments find our via TouchUpLaser.com. For various reasons, the oil seburn changes in type and amount to give the hair follicle scales. It is this which blocks the pores of the skin to cause acne. Visit www.touchuplaser.com/treatments/laser-hair-removal/ to learn more about laser treatment.
The initial stages of the blockage presents itself as a whitehead or a blackhead. These are also known by the term ‘comedones’. The comedone is a follicle that is congested and full of seburn and dirt. An open comedone is referred to as a blackhead because of the colour of its appearence. A closed or blocked comedone is referred to as a whitehead. This is usually a bump or pimple presenting itself as a small elevation in the skin surface.
Whether you have blackheads, whiteheads or both. Don’t squeeze them. Why? You run the risk of causing an infection or even leaving a permanent scar. We discuss elsewhere in this site as the best course of action if you feel you need to squeeze but if you have the time. It is always best to seek the advice of a dermatologist.
And always remember the basics. Wash twice daily with warm water and mild soap to remove excess oils and dead skin particles. Your skin may take a little while to clear up so don’t hasten the procedure by scrubbing your skin as this will make it worse.
Patience is the key. Try to rush or take shortcuts could leave you with permanent damage
Blackhead Treatment with Chemical Peel
Before you learn how to treat blackheads with chemical peeling, you need to fully understand about blackheads.
Blackheads and whiteheads usually indicate the first signs of acne. This takes development on the follicles of hair which usually have the sebaceous glands attached to the hair.
These glands in turn then produce a natural oil called seburn. For whatever unknown reason, the seburn varies in the amount produced which can result in scales on the hair follicle. it is the scales which block the skin pores which in turn causes the acne to begin.
So what you see is a zit, be it a blackhead or a whitehead. In a nutshell, the follicle is plugged tight and filled up with the seburn oil, dead skin cells and dirt.
An open but blocked pore is the blackhead and the closed but blocked pore is the whitehead. This one is the common zit, the small pimple.
The blackhead is black in colour not because of dirt but the colour is the reaction to the seburn oil being exposed to air.
As you may have already encountered, blackheads can be problematic to remove successfully. Even with medication, sometime they are still there, all present and proud. This is the time the chemical peel is brought onto the scene.
The qualified person who performs the chemical peel should be just that, qualified. The procedure involves applying a chemical onto the surface of the skin for a given period of time. The time the chemical is left on the surface of the skin is dependent on the strength of the chemical.
As the name suggests, the chemical peels of the micro layer of the top skin surface and as the new skin heals, any scaring or previous blemishes have now been shed.
The term chemical can conjure up images in the mind of skin burning red when the chemical is applied but fear not. The chemical used to make up the peel is very mild and is usually on the skin for only 10 minutes or so.
The skin which comes away with the peel will usually be the dead skin cells with the blackheads attached.
This treatment is not something you get over the counter and you will need to consult your doctor or G.P. before taking the next step.
More Blackhead Treatments
You can imagine the scene. You’re getting ready for a date and everything is going well. You look into the mirror and there it is, a dreaded blackhead! The breakout could be due for a number of reasons. Anything from hormones to cleanliness could be the cause. Whatever the reason for the appearance of the blackhead, there are treatments you can use.
A few of the more popular remedies and preventions you can take to combat the blackheads include oral contraceptives and antibiotics. The antibiotics are a great way to get rid of the bacteria which can be the underlying cause in blackheads. They also help on the more pimpled areas of your skin. The oral contraceptives are used to redress the balance of your hormones as too many hormones is another cause of blackheads.
Some more prescription treatments worth a mention include both Tretinoin and Adapalene gel. This gel will help to keep your pores clear and clean but beware of the side effects such as itching and irritation, dryness and sickness. And if you are using birth control pills, please note that the Adapalene will reduce the effectiveness of the pills!
The Tretinoin comes in lotion form. it is also available as a cream or gel. Use this to help unblock the pores. Tretinoin should only be used as a short course but users agree the results are usually good.
Some more treatments/remedies include Benzoyl Peroxide. This comes under many brand names and helps to overcome the strong bacteria that is involved in the production and growth of blackheads.
Anti-Androgen products will help to lessen the production of the natural oil seburn and comedone. It will also aid in the prevention of hormone production that accelerates the problems with blackheads.
A solution called Proactiv® Solution which was made by a high ranking dermatologist is used to combat the blackheads. It works as a 3 step system of a combination of high strength ingredients to help solve the difficulties.
Retinoids and Salicylic Acid which are found in some products help to decongest the skin pores by removing any dead skin cells to help clear your skin.
As a daily routine, hot water and soap at least twice daily. Always was the spotty areas with a gentle motion. Never go harsh as this will irritate the skin. Rinse well and pat dry.
Blackhead Prevention
You could easily blow a fortune on wonder cures for blackhead treatment. But there are many ways to help and treat the problem for a fraction of the cost.
So here are 3 of the more cost effective steps you can take to prevent blackheads:
Step 1 – clean from the inside – We all wash the surface of our skin but for even cleaner skin, think about what you are putting inside of you. There are certain ingredients which help block the skin pores and hinder the treatment process
One of the big culprits is vegetable oil. This can cause the breakout of blackheads simply due to the fact that vegetable oil is known to cause imbalance in the hormone levels
So what should you do. Try not to cook with vegetable based cooking oils, such as sunflower oils. This is where the biggest amount of vegetable oil in your daily intake may be coming from.
Also, be aware of vegetable oil as an ingredient in sauces and other various food products so you will need to get into the habit of checking the ingredients on food packaging where possible. this is a simple step and there is no need to despair. You may need to lose a few of your favorites but there are usually alternatives.
Just from this step alone, a difference will be noticeable in your skin.
Step 2 – Eat quality – The need for nutrients in your body is of great importance as this will really help to improve the quality of your skin surface and reduce the appearance of blackheads.
Try to eat and incorporate more whole foods and vegetables into your daily diet. These foods are full of vitamins and minerals. If you feel you may not be eating enough of this type of food to get your recommended daily allowance of the various vitamins needed, start taking a good quality vitamin supplement.
Step 3 – Do you have candida? – Yes, strange question but also an important one. Candida does cause acne and many people are not aware if they even have it. One of the main symptoms of candida is a white coating of the tongue. If you find that you do indeed have candida, the one major step you will need to undertake is to remove as much sugar from your diet as possible. And to help speed things along, consider taking probiotics (if you don’t know what they are, take time out to look it up).
These are basic steps to combat candida but feel free to do a search or seek medical advice for more advance steps.
Just by introducing these three steps mentioned above will see a marked improvement in the quality of your skin. These steps are safe cost effective way in your battle against the blackheads.
Blackheads and Smoking
We all have our own theories regarding blackheads and the various factors that will affect the treatment and removal of them. But if you’re a smoker, will you have less of a chance of a quick cure?
Numerous studies have been carried out to find out the exact effect of smoking and how plays in the treatments of blackhead removal. But as of yet, nothing concrete or solid results have been established.
Make no doubt about it that smoking will greatly slow down any treatment of blackheads. We don’t know if smoking will actually cause the onset of blackheads but if you wish to see faster results, it’s best to kick the habit.
But if you can’t kick the deadly weed try not to make things even worse when outdoors in the summer time
It has not been scientifically established but many people believe sunlight has the power to reduce blackheads. This is based on the fact that the rays of sunshine help to lower the amount of bacteria in the skin.
On the flip side, to much sun is well known to be harmful to the skin and can cause an aged look. And as a worst case scenario, too much sun can play a part in the formation of skin cancer.
Many medications used in the treatment of blackheads can make the skin more sensitive to sunlight and you may find that you don’t need to exposed to the sun for too long before the sunburn starts.
Be sensible and know your limits when it comes to your exposure to sunlight.
Blackhead Myths
There are many folklores and much hear say about what causes blackheads and pimples. There is an equal amount of speculation or so called fact in regards to what works best in the treatment. Too much information. But there are a few common beliefs which keep coming up over and over again. Lets discuss 4 of them below.
Myth number 1 – More washing means less spots – Too much of a good thing is not always a good thing. Although you must keep the surface of the skin clean and the pores of the skin free from dirt and dead skin cells, too much washing will actually become a factor in helping the pores in the skin to clog up even more! So you will actually causing blackheads instead of treating them. Twice daily is enough for most people.
Myth number number 2 – Self pleasure can cause blackheads – To masturbate or not to masturbate. Can this really be a cause of bad skin and blackheads? In a nutshell, NO! This is just one of the ales teachers and parents have told in the past to stop teenagers from playing with themselves in that certain way. This tale has been batted around but there is no basis for it and it is not true.
Myth number 3 – Blackheads can be caused by stress – This can be true. Blackheads can be caused by an internal imbalance of hormones. And your stress levels can affect your hormone levels so it is possible. However, try not to worry about this factor as it will only raise your levels of stress and …..well, you know the rest.
Myth number 4 – bad diet plays a part – Bad foods such as lovely chocolate and other things we all love but we know is not good for us all is often blamed in the cause of bad skin and blackheads. But we have all seen certain people who carry on with a bad diet and they don’t have a single spot or blackhead. How could this be? The simple answer is, everyone is different. But for the majority of us, diet and what we eat does play a massive factor with regards to the quality of our skin. A good quality diet should not be overlooked. Yes, there are a few which diet does not seem to affect, but maybe they’re just freaks!
Blackhead Diet Treatment
Being the largest organ in the human body, the skin helps the other organs get rid of waste. The best type of blackhead treatments is a diet which aids in the skins wok of eliminating the waste. This will stop the interference with your skin which can cause the blackheads. Not getting rid of waste from the inside is a bad thing as the results is reflected in the quality of your skin surface.
The job of removing hormones from the body falls down to the responsibility of the liver. You will end up with excess hormones within the skin if your liver fails to do the job efficiently. This leads to excess oil which in turn blocks the pores.
The liver also needs to be able to flush out any toxins from the system of the body. Again, if there are too many toxins inside of you, the liver has a hard time removing the hormones.
The toxins you should most concerned about are Mycotoxins. Consider these the bad stuff. Mycotoxins are horrible little chemicals that are the excrement waste of yeast and other bacteria and usually located in the intestines. Mycotoxins can hinder the performance of the livers ability to shift excess hormones and we all know what that will lead to.
Using diet, there are a lot of foods that aid the liver in its function to remove the waste which we don’t want or need.
What type of foods should we be considering for the job? Firstly, the simple apple. The Apple contains fibre which will absorb and help to push out the crap which gets lodged in the intestines. Some of that junk in your intestines may have been in there for many years! Getting rid of the junk is of major importance as left untouched, this stuff is the breeding material for Mycotoxins.
Beetroot is another food up to the job. Beetroot is excellent for cleansing the liver and has exceptional properties.
Also consider a herb called Milk thistle. Research has been shown that this herb has certain chemicals that help the liver protect itself from various viruses, toxins and alcohol.
When we first start off in our fight against blackheads and acne, we usually seek out the best over-the-counter remedy we can afford. The trouble is that most of our skin problems start from within. So maybe the potions from the pharmacy will quell the blackheads but they will keep coming back unless you change what you’re putting inside of you.