Three Facts About Adult Acne

Selecting an adult acne treatment is often not as easy as finding the right acne treatment solutions in your younger years. Older sufferers of acne breakouts may have additional skin care needs that weren’t present when they were younger, such as the need to address anti aging concerns as well. Also, adult acne is often driven as much by lifestyle and Cultural Stress® as by hormones. Of course, part of the solution is to understand the facts and myths about adult acne. Here are three important facts about adult acne that can help you find the right treatment solution for your skin care needs.

Fact: Adult Acne Forms Just Like Teenage Acne
While the causes that lead to acne in adults may be different than the causes of acne in teens, the actual acne blemishes are formed in the same way and are due to the same biological processes. Excess skin cells are formed within a hair follicle, and then clog the pore that houses the follicle. Once the pore is clogged, the oil and dirt trapped inside lead to the buildup of acne-causing bacteria. This causes inflammatory acne (visible blemishes) to form on your skin. While it’s true that a small percentage of acne breakouts will be caused by reactions to skin care or makeup products (acne cosmetica), the vast majority of breakouts in all ages result from excess skin cells in hair follicles. Fortunately, because the formation of acne is the same across all ages, the same acne medications are effective. Salicylic Acid, which is the key ingredient in Murad Acne Complex® products, works both to slough away dead skin cells beneath the surface of the skin and to fight acne-causing bacteria.

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Three Ways Winter Can Increase Acne Breakouts

Have you ever noticed that, often, your acne breakouts become more severe in the winter? It’s not just you! No matter what acne treatment products you’re using, if you live in a part of the world where winter means drier air, colder temperatures, and inclement weather, you may have a more difficult time controlling your acne-prone skin December through March. Why is that? There are a number of ways winter can wreak havoc on acne-prone skin—here are three to look out for.

Problem: Drier Winter Air Can Mean More Clogged Pores
Acne Treatment Solution: Be Sure to Exfoliate!
When the air is dry, your skin is dry as well. You may not notice this if you have acne-prone skin because your skin will remain oily and soft. However, in reality there’s an unavoidable increase in dead and dry skin cells on the surface of your skin. Combined with the extra skin cells in your hair follicles that already cause blemishes, this extra-dry and often irritated skin can lead to breakouts. How can you minimize this winter acne issue? Use an acne skin cleanser that also exfoliates. Because your skin is acne-prone, it’s important that you use a cleanser that relies on Alpha Hydroxy Acids and Beta Hydroxy Acids (AHAs and BHAs) to exfoliate both on the surface and beneath the surface of your skin. A textured exfoliating cleanser may irritate your already dry skin or even clog pores for more acne breakouts.

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New Year, New Acne Treatment Advice

The New Year is a great time to revisit your acne treatment program. You’ve got a fresh start and are excited about the possibilities the coming year will bring. Common acne treatment tips for the New Year include finding the right skin care regimen, learning about ingredients, and even changing how you wash your face. Here are a few tips for getting clear skin in the New Year you may not have found yet.

Tip One: Add an Acne Face Mask to Get Healthy, Acne-Free Skin
One step you can take to get clear skin in the New Year is to add not only an acne face mask to your treatment regimen, but also an at-home facial kit that will improve your overall skin tone and complexion. Face masks and at-home facials are a great way to boost your skin care regimen for increased results. For acne-prone skin, you’ll certainly want to add a weekly application of Murad Clarifying Mask. Murad Clarifying Mask uses rare earth clays to draw toxins to the surface and purify your skin for a reduction in acne breakouts. For the best, healthiest skin possible, it’s also recommended that you use an exfoliating face mask or antioxidant-rich face mask. Murad Pomegranate Exfoliating Mask is a weekly face mask that uses the antioxidants found in pomegranate to improve cell turnover and give skin an overall even, balanced glow.

Tip Two: Don’t Skimp on the Anti Aging Skin Care Products
You’re never too young to begin the best practice of incorporating anti aging skin care products into your skin care regimen. This is true even if your skin breaks out with acne blemishes regularly. While you could use a mix of anti aging and acne treatment products, there may be a simpler solution to help to heal your acne breakouts today as well as delay and diminish wrinkles tomorrow. Murad’s Anti-Aging Acne Regimen combines the power of acne-fighting ingredients like Salicylic Acid with the hydrating treatments Murad Acne & Wrinkle Reducer and Murad Anti-Aging Moisturizer SPF 20. You’ll get the benefit of healthy, clear skin in the present and younger-looking skin in the future.

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How to Select an At-Home Facial

With the holidays just around the corner, it’s important to find time to relax and treat both you and your skin. After all, skin can react poorly to the increased stress levels of the holidays. A skin care face mask or home facial is a perfect way to treat yourself to some quality “you” time this holiday season while also doing something healthy for your skin and your complexion. If you’ve never selected an at-home facial or face mask before, here are some tips to get you started.

Acne Face Masks and Facials for Acne-Prone Skin
Acne breakouts can increase over the holidays due to increased stress levels as well as diet and lifestyle changes. If you’re experiencing more breakouts than normal leading up to the holidays, an acne face mask can help augment your acne treatment products to get you clear skin for the New Year. Don’t look for masks that work to dry out your skin. Particularly with the drier air of winter, they can actually lead to over-dry, red, irritated skin and additional acne breakouts. Instead, look for masks that will draw out impurities from your skin, such as Murad Clarifying Mask. Murad Clarifying Mask uses rare earth clays to draw out the impurities that can clog pores and cause acne-causing bacteria to build up.

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Five New Year’s Acne Treatment Resolutions

The best New Year’s resolutions are attainable ones. If you’re struggling with your acne treatment program, this year you can set some acne treatment resolutions that are achievable and will help you get rid of acne and get clear skin. Here are five suggestions from the acne experts at Murad.

Eat Less Junk Food and Processed Foods
Many New Year’s resolutions center on diet. Ideally, eat an acne diet packed with antioxidant-rich fresh fruits and vegetables that will also help you “eat your water.” A more manageable New Year’s acne resolution might be to simply reduce the amount of junk food and processed foods you eat and replace them with healthier foods for your skin.

Add an Acne Face Mask to Your Treatment Regimen
If you’re not already using an acne face mask as part of your acne treatment regimen, 2012 is a great time to add one. Enhancing your acne products with a weekly mask treatment to draw out impurities and dry out existing blemishes can improve your overall skin tone and reduce acne breakouts. Consider Murad’s Clarifying Mask, which uses rare earth clays to draw out skin impurities.

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Caffeine and Acne: Is There a Connection?

When considering the best foods for a healthy skin diet or acne diet, the topic of caffeine often arises. Does caffeine cause acne breakouts? The research doesn’t point to a simple yes or no answer, despite the commonly held assumption that caffeine is linked to acne. However, it’s true that your caffeine intake can work against finding an effective acne treatment. What’s the truth about caffeine and acne? Here are the facts you need to know.

Don’t Trust All the Research Studies on Caffeine and Acne
First, some of the research studies that linked caffeine and acne were done decades ago. If you come across these studies, you should know that current research considers them to be problematic because the studies were based on chocolate bars that actually used imitation chocolate and no real milk products. While cow’s milk and a high glycemic index are considered to be factors that contribute to acne breakouts, the role of caffeine in facial acne or back acne breakouts is not as clear.

Cow’s Milk and a High Glycemic Index Can Cause Acne?
Yes! Separate from the issue of caffeine and acne, if you’re looking to minimize foods that aren’t part of a healthy acne diet, reduce foods that are digested quickly and release a high amount of glucose into the bloodstream, such as baked potatoes and refined carbohydrates. When your blood sugar increases, so does your insulin level, and a growth hormone called IGF-1 is produced. That growth hormone has been linked to acne breakouts. Additionally, cow’s milk has been linked to acne breakouts due to the presence of hormones.

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Acne Treatments That Work Fast? Faster Isn’t Always Better!

When you’re evaluating acne treatment products to treat and get rid of your acne breakouts, chances are you want acne products that work fast. After all, don’t we all want to get clear, acne-free skin as quickly as possible? However, the best way to treat acne is to think long term. You don’t just want an acne treatment that clears up your existing breakouts; you want an acne treatment that helps clear up your acne for the long term and, more importantly, gives you healthy skin. What are the pros and cons of fast-acting acne treatments versus those that take longer to deliver visible results?

There’s Nothing Wrong with an Acne Treatment That Works Fast for Temporary Results or to Get Rid of a Surprise Blemish
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using something that gets rid of acne fast to heal a temporary breakout or an individual blemish. In fact, the most effective way to heal acne breakouts quickly is to minimize bacteria and reduce inflammation and irritation. For that reason, the most effective acne treatment for individual blemishes or surprise breakouts is often one that works to dry out the acne blemish and the surrounding area. Murad Acne Spot Treatment uses sulfur to both treat and heal blemishes on contact. In fact, you can actually heal your blemishes as you feel them forming, before they become visible to the world. On the other hand, an acne treatment that works fast but dries out your skin may only deliver temporary results, and may actually damage your skin in both the short and long term.

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Winter Acne Treatment Tips for Clear Skin

If you have acne-prone skin, winter can present some unique challenges for you no matter how effective your acne treatment products are: the drier air that can irritate skin and cause redness and increase breakouts, the reduced exposure to Vitamin D from the sun as we all spend more time indoors, a diet made up of fewer fresh fruits and vegetables, and even the stress of the holiday season can worsen breakouts and blemishes. How do you keep your skin healthy and acne-free during the winter months? Here are some tips from the acne experts at Murad.

Winter Acne Treatment Tip: Consider a More Gentle Acne Product
One winter challenge for acne-prone skin is that the drier air in most climates can cause your skin to become more sensitive. That means if you are using a particularly harsh acne treatment that over-dries your skin (such as products that contain Benzyol Peroxide as the primary active ingredient), you may actually end up irritating your skin and causing even more acne breakouts. Make sure your skin cleanser and acne products are effective but also gentle enough to support the drier, harsher elements of winter. You may want to consider Murad’s Clarifying Cleanser, which delivers ingredients to fight off acne-causing bacteria and remove pore-clogging dead skin cells from the skin’s surface while also not over-drying or irritating sensitive skin.

Winter Acne Treatment Tip: Moisturize and Hydrate
Believe it or not, as noted above, the dryness of winter can actually result in more breakouts. When your skin thinks it’s too dry, it will produce even more oil to compensate, which can mean more clogged pores and more acne-causing bacteria. Use an oil-free moisturizer topically and be sure to both eat and drink ample amounts of water throughout the day to hydrate from the inside as well. If you’re unfamiliar with the benefits of “eating your water,” you may want to read Dr. Murad’s best-selling book, The Water Secret.

Winter Acne Treatment Tip: Winter Means Back Acne Treatments
Cold weather means sweaters and layers of clothing. Sweaters and layers of clothing mean that, if you have acne-prone skin, you are likely to experience more back acne breakouts as dirt and oil is trapped against your skin each day. Combat back acne all winter long by using a great exfoliating body wash that also contains acne medications. Murad Acne Body Wash combined with Murad Clarifying Body Spray can keep your back and body acne-free until it’s tank top and swimsuit season again. Remember, the acne products you use on your face may not be as effective on your back and body because the skin is rougher and the oil glands are larger in those areas. Choose products specifically designed to combat back and body acne.

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Holiday Stress: The Enemy of Your Acne Treatment Plan

The holidays are a merry time full of family and friends and, for many of us, a break from work or school. However, the holiday season can also come loaded with a significant amount of stress. Cramming for school finals or to complete work projects in time for vacation, planning for holiday travel, holiday shopping on a budget and, in many cases, preparing to host friends and family at your home are just a few of the stress-inducing activities that can layer on in the final months of the year. All these activities and more can mean an increase in stress in the lives of many people. As you know, stress is the enemy of healthy, clear skin no matter what acne treatment products you’re using! Here are some tips for making sure that holiday stress doesn’t result in holiday breakouts.

Get Organized and Make a Holiday Plan
One of the greatest causes of stress that can have a negative impact on an effective skin care regimen is the feeling that the holidays are out of control or that you can’t possibly complete everything on time. You can counteract this feeling by making an “action plan” or a to-do list with deadlines and big tasks broken down into smaller ones before the holidays start. Instead of looking at your holiday workload as one big, out-of-control situation, look at it as smaller tasks that are manageable in smaller chunks of time. As you complete them, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and keep your stress level from spiraling as the holidays near.

Designate “You Time” Every Day
No matter how busy you get with the holidays, be sure to designate ten to fifteen minutes of “you time” every day. This is time when you don’t think about schedules, to-do lists, holiday stress or even the general stresses of life. It’s important to do this throughout the year, but as stress mounts around the holidays, it becomes even more important to take a daily time-out. What you do during your “you time” is up to you, as long as it is relaxing and helps you unwind! Enjoy a cup of healthy, antioxidant-filled green tea. Give yourself a face mask or home facial. Listen to your favorite music. Even just lie in bed in the dark and enjoy the silence. As long as it’s time dedicated to relaxing your mind and spirit to reduce your stress level, it’s time well spent.

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Five Tips to Get Rid of Acne

On the Murad Skin Deep blog, we often focus on ways to get rid of acne that include acne treatment products and lifestyle choices around diet, stress, hydration and exposure to toxins. However, there are some basic, everyday skin care best practices that can actually work wonders in reducing blemishes and acne breakouts. Sometimes, getting clear skin can be as simple as breaking a bad habit. Here are five daily habits you may need to change to get healthy, clear skin.

Get Rid of Acne by Not Touching Your Face
It seems so simple, but acne is ultimately caused when your pores become clogged. Then blocked and trapped sebum (oil) creates a breeding ground for acne-causing bacteria. Every time you touch your face, you transfer dirt and oil to your skin that can contribute to the clogging of your pores. If you chronically touch your face, work on breaking the habit to reduce your acne breakouts.

Get Rid of Acne by Not Over-Washing Your Face
We commonly encounter acne sufferers who attempt to treat their acne by washing their face many times per day in order to remove excess oil. In fact, if you want to remove excess oil throughout the day, the best solution is to use a dry blotting cloth. When you wash your face too many times during the day, you can strip essential oils from your skin. Then, your skin simply produces more oil to compensate and you break out more. It’s recommended that you only wash your face twice per day—once in the morning and once at night.

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