Basic Operating Instructions:

Basic Operating Instructions:

Taking Care of Your Skin

Different people and different skin types need to do different things

for their skin. We have an old expression in dermatology that still

rings true: “If it’s dry, wet it; if it’s wet, dry it.” In recent decades,

another truism has been added: “If it’s fair, shield it; if it’s dark,

you’re probably very fortunate.” That’s because your melanin pro-

tects you from skin cancers, wrinkling, and keeps you looking

young.

If your skin is fair, if you burn easily, or if you have a personal or

family history of skin cancer, you should protect yourself from the

sun by wearing hats and caps, using sunscreens, and avoiding

going to tanning parlors. If your skin is dark, you may have other

reasons to protect it from the sun (see Chapter 12 where I talk

about the dark spots that occur in dark skin). People with dark

complexioned or Asian skin may have other reasons to be very

sensitive and prone to irritation and possibly less tolerant of many

of the topical medications that are used to treat acne.

The ultimate operating instruction: Whether you have dry, regular,

or oily skin, a big acne breakout or smooth sailing on the pimple

front, there’s something that’ll keep your face looking its best and

most attractive to the rest of the world and is guaranteed to help

you make friends and influence people. I suggest that you simply

exercise your muscles of facial expression — and smile!

Washing your face

Rocket science? Maybe not. But as a dermatologist, I have a few

reasons for walking you through a little face-washing tutorial. First,

I often begin my instructions for applying medications in later

chapters with phrases like “Wash your skin . . .” or “To a clean, dry

face, apply . . .” so, it seemed to make sense that I fill you in on the

details. The second reason for this bit of Face Washing 101 is even

simpler — many people screw it up. But don’t worry: I’m here to

help. And, if you’re like many folks, my face-washing routine can

simplify your mornings and evenings and save you some cash.

These days, society as a whole is really into soap — the cleaner the

better! As little kids, we’re told to scrub, scrub, scrub with plenty of

soap and water. As teenagers, we use more soap — to fight acne and

oily skin. As adults, we tend to follow the same routines even though

our skin has changed. And the range of different types of soaps

available is mind boggling — super-fatted, deodorant, rejuvenating,

oatmeal, avocado, citrus, aloe vera, sandalwood, wintergreen, pep-

permint, patchouli, and vitamin E to name a few.

Many types of cleansers are also available. Some exfoliate as they

clean, and the medicated ones generally contain benzoyl peroxide

or salicylic acid in various concentrations. Overcleansing with

these products can be irritating. More often than not, these items

will only dry out and irritate your skin, particularly if you’re already

applying a topical anti-acne medication (see Chapters 7 and 9).

Washing excessively — more than twice a day — with any soap

(regular soaps, acne soaps, antibacterial soaps, soaps with abra-

sives, or even gentle soaps) has little positive impact on your acne.

In fact, if you have acne, your skin may be red and inflamed, and

frequent washing only makes it redder.

Washing your face with a mild soap just twice a day is the best tactic,

regardless of your skin type or acne activity. I recommend the follow-

ing soaps and cleansers, depending on your skin type. These tried-

and-true recommendations may not sound as exciting as a Provencal

honey-lavender soap with grape seeds, but they flat out work:

Oily skin: Ivory soap

Dry skin: Dove soap

Extra-sensitive skin or allergic reaction to soaps: Nonsoap

cleanser such as Cetaphil, Aquanil, or Neutrogena Extra

Gentle Cleanser

At the risk of sounding like a parent — with the whole “wash

behind your ears” thing — now that you have your soap, here’s

how to use it:

1. Get the soap wet, using lukewarm water.

2. Using your fingertips or a soft washcloth, apply the soap

to your skin and rub it gently into your skin using a cir-

cular motion. Don’t use loofah sponges, brushes, or sand-

paper please.

3. Splash your face with lukewarm water until the soap is

completely gone. Expect to rinse your face for just a few

seconds — perhaps as long as it would take to sing “Happy

Birthday.”

4. Pat — don’t rub — your skin until it’s dry. Use a soft

cotton towel.

And that’s it!

Dealing with dry skin

If you have overly dry skin (known as xerosis in the medical world),

it’s probably more of a problem for you when the weather is cold and

the humidity is low. This occurs most often in the winter months in

northern climates. In Western societies, our modern lifestyles also

emphasize overbathing, which only serves to worsen the dryness.

On top of that, we often live and work in overheated spaces.

If your skin is dry, keep it moist by using only mild soaps or soap

substitutes as I recommend in the preceding section. You could also

consider moving to a more humid climate — think rain forest. If

you’re already using a mild soap (and assuming a move to the

Amazon is out of the question), apply moisturizers regularly, partic-

ularly when your skin is still damp (check out the “Giving your skin a

drink!” sidebar in this chapter to find out why). Finding the right

moisturizer for your skin may involve trial and error. Look for those

that are labeled as noncomedogenic. I happen to recommend Oil of

Olay, but many other excellent products are available. Go ahead and

use a moisturizer that contains a sunscreen if you think you need

one. You can also use room humidifiers to help hydrate your skin.

If you have acne and dry skin, you probably know that acne treat-

ments can make your dry skin worse. Using moisturizers over your

topical acne medicine can make these symptoms more tolerable. If

you wear makeup, you can apply it over the moisturizer.

Some common recommendations for dry skin are of questionable

or no value, including the following:

Ingesting copious amounts of water

Taking lots of vitamins

These “remedies” won’t hurt you, but don’t look to them to cure

your dry skin. Instead, treat your acne and dry skin with TLC and

the gentlest of cleansing methods.

If your skin gets flaky and scaly, that doesn’t mean that you have

wrinkles. In fact, several of the topical treatments that I cover in

Chapter 9 can cause your skin to look dry and scaly as a side effect,

but some of these medications can actually prevent wrinkles.

Coping with an oil glut

If you have excessively oily skin, that’s due to your sebaceous

glands producing more sebum (the acne-related oil that I discuss

in detail in Chapter 3) than you’d like them to. This is often the

case if you also happen to have acne. But for now, here are some

tips on caring for your oily skin:

Be happy that you’ll save a few bucks on not buying

moisturizers.

Be happier because your skin will tend to stay more wrinkle-

free and younger looking!

Be even happier because your skin will tend to be less sensitive!

But you probably want some more concrete tips, so here you go:

Even though your skin’s oily, don’t irritate it. Washing your

face twice a day should be enough. I realize that you may have

been told to wash 77 times a day with strong abrasive soaps,

but that will only irritate your skin and make it redder — and

if you have acne, all that scrubbing will only make it look

worse! For advice on exactly how to wash your skin, check

out “How to wash your face.”

If parts of your face feel oily during the day, the oil can be

wiped away with a mild alcohol-and-water astringent such as

Neutrogena Clear Pore Oil-Controlling Astringent, Noxzema

Triple Clean Astringent, or Clean & Clear Advanced Acne Pads.

For the wealth of information visit
http://acnecareinfo.blogspot.com
http://wwww.acnenaturalremedies.com