Hate Blackheads? Fight back!

Posted by Kathleen W. Judge, MD on

Hate Blackheads? Fight back!

#1. Keep your skin fed

#2. Get rid of the bad stuff

#3. Don’t cause more trouble

Give your skin what it needs to be healthy. Eat a balanced diet. Foods high in anti-oxidants, especially Vitamins A & C, are great for your skin. Drink enough water. Moisturize with a product that helps maintain the barrier function of your skin without causing more blackheads, one that is non-drying and non-comedogenic. This means that if you’re determined to use Coconut Oil on your face, (I don’t know why), please make sure it’s the fractionated oil, with the Lauric Acid removed. It’s less likely to cause blackheads.

Cleanse the icky stuff away. Your skin is a barrier, working to keep the outside world on the outside of you. It is constantly bombarded with airborne pollutants, dust, and dirt in your everyday environment. Add to that the things you apply yourself, like makeup and sunscreen. Then there’s the debris your skin generates itself.  It’s in constant production. New skin cells are made at the bottom layers and push the old tired ones up to the surface to die. Oil glands are making sebum, which is good for your skin in normal levels. But when sebum collects in the pores as blackheads, bacteria start to grow, inflammation is next, then you’ve got all kinds of badness going on … on your face.

          So, cleanse, gently. Use a non-comedogenic cleanser that doesn’t dry you out too much. Dry skin is not happy either and can compensate by upping oil production, which you really don’t want, or by becoming inflamed, which can lead to more breakouts.

          Do not pick and do not scrub. If you do, you can introduce more bacteria into the pores. You can also cause more inflammation, which leads to discoloration that lasts for months or longer, and possible scarring. (Are you getting that inflammation is bad?) Don’t upset your skin while you’re trying to make it better. Improvement takes time. Be patient. Don’t resort to violence.

         

Remember, feed your skin, keep it clean, and be kind to it. You need it to last you a long time.

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