Photo: Acne Vulgaris
Every day when you look at yourself in the mirror, they are the ones that greet you a not so pleasant good morning. If you are a teenager, most probably you have had your share of having it. If you are a young adult (aged 20-29), chances are you are still having it every now and then, although not as frequently compared to teenagers. They come in many forms, but most of the time they look like dark red bulges on your forehead, cheeks, or the rest of your face; sometimes they even reach your neck, shoulders, chest, and back. Yes, it is acne vulgaris.
Clearly no one likes to have acne. But unfortunately, 85% of teenagers have to experience having a few. In order to help ourselves totally avoid (or at least minimize) occurrences of acne in our face and the rest of our body, we have to know first what acne is, how we can have it, and most importantly, how we can avoid it and/or treat it once it’s there.
Acne vulgaris is a common skin condition. They may be inflammatory or non-inflammatory. They are caused by changes in the pilosebaceous units, which are hair follicles and their related sebaceous gland. The areas of the face with the most dense amounts of sebaceous follicles are the ones that are most affected by acne. These areas are the face, neck, shoulders, chest, and the back. In lay man’s term, acne is commonly referred to as pimples, spots, zits, or blemishes.
There are a lot of ointments, lotions and facial wash formulas that claim that they can treat acne as quick as possible. Some promise results to be observable in two weeks’ time, others a week or less, and still others overnight or after 2 days. Most of these acne treatment formulas however, fall short of their claims. Most improvements are only observable after months of continued use. Some of the well known acne treatment formulas are topical bactericidals, topical antibiotics, oral antibiotics, topical retinoids, and oral retinoids.
Although the effects these different formulas promise normally revolve around clearing the affected area from acne, it is important for everyone to consult a dermatologist or skin doctor before they start using them, because there may be harmful chemicals that may cause damage to a person’s skin. Hopefully, you can find a formula that does not cause harmful side effects. If you have, then consider yourself lucky, and if everything goes well, acne-free in the days to come.