There are plenty of acne myths out there.  After all, it’s a field we don’t yet understand, that science does not yet fully understand.  Yes, we blame it on hormones, and influxes of acne seem to support that idea.  But it’s not all that.  There are various other contributors, and we honestly cannot say it’s just one cause being that many suffer acne well into adulthood, and frankly there are quite a few types of severe acne that manifest only in adulthood.  So obviously, it’s not just hormones.  But here are a few major myths.

1. Acne can only be treated by a doctor-ironically, it seems that doctors can be the most uninformed individuals when it comes to acne.  Yes, acne is a medical condition.  But many over the counter treatments are clinically proven, and many use the exact same ingredients found in prescriptions in the same amounts!
2. Chocolate causes acne-there is no known cause of acne, only contributors.  So while chocolate and other foods like it certainly do contribute to acne breakouts, they do not directly cause acne.
3. By eliminating oils, you can get rid of acne-no.  That is not true.  While many think that oil causes acne, your skin needs moisture just as your body needs water.  The key is to balance these things out.  Dry skin can be just as prone to acne as oily skin.  And using treatments that dry out the skin can do more harm than good.
4. You grow out of acne at 18-while it’s a popular idea to think that you automatically grow out of acne, it’s not true.  Most people grow out of acne at some point.  But some suffer their whole lives with acne, and others suffer acne well into adulthood.
5. Acne is caused by poor hygiene-this is one of the biggest myths.  It’s easy to think that if they have acne, they must not take care of themselves.  But honestly speaking, there are quite a few that use what they think are the best scrubs and washes, and they still have acne.
6. You should treat acne by using no products-you have to wash your skin and take care of it.  We think that if we cover our eyes, it will automatically help.  But if you do nothing to treat acne, you will make it worse and make problems in the future much more likely.

It’s been a popular concept among some.  Treating acne internally has been suggested to be largely effective, because you are actually targeting the cause of acne rather than the symptoms.  Or at least that’s what they say considering nobody actually knows the real cause and root of acne in general terms.  They claim that they do a myriad of things from addressing hormonal imbalances to toxic imbalances.

The most popular is Accutane of course.  Accutane basically dries up all oils in the body, which can be extremely harmful and detrimental to the body.  But then again, sometimes it works.  I don’t think killing all bacteria with antibiotics works, because there are a lot of good bacteria in there.  So that definitely causes more serious problems.

But with all this in mind, though there are plenty of imitators of Accutane that say they only reduce excess oil production, the best ones are the comprehensive ones.  Comprehensive treatments that work in treating acne internally actually address more than one possible cause, and they go the natural route.  Generally speaking, the best ones actually combine the fight against toxins with vitamin supplementation and for that matter balancing out hormones or oil production, really either or.  But with this, you can really get the benefits of treating acne internally or so customer reviews seem to think.

If you want to heal your zits without red skin, the first thing you should remember is that red skin denotes skin damage, and therefore you are not properly healing your zits. In fact, some could say you are actually breaking down the skin cells and causing a greater likelihood of scarring, damage, and other problems in general.  This being said, it’s definitely not the way you actually want to go to say the least.

But if you want to heal your zits without red skin, the other thing to remember is that you have options.  You have options that are just as powerful as say benzoyl peroxide, which has long been accepted by some as their only option realistically speaking, and they have acted accordingly.  But there are ingredients such as tea tree oil for example that have actually been proven to be just as effective as benzoyl peroxide if not more effective, and they do not actually cause any side effects at all.

With all of this in mind, you don’t have to settle for an acne fighter that will leave you with red skin.  You can eliminate your acne, heal your zits, and have the clear and smooth skin you want without any other problems.  But this being said, there are also combinations that you can choose.  This being said, you shouldn’t just take one approach.  No ingredient can actually make up for the damage associated with benzoyl peroxide.  However, with tea tree oil for example, other ingredients can actually compliment the effects thereof.

Exfoliating scrubs are important, simple fact.  But so often, when you buy a treatment already made for you, you find that those exfoliators are combined with so many harsh chemicals like benzoyl peroxide that you have to debate whether it is realistically worth it.  It’s how it goes.  But of course, you can make your own exfoliating treatment at home, which helps you to control what goes into it.  For example you could use tea tree oil as your antiseptic instead. 

You could of course crush up walnut shells, but it tends to be a lot of work.  Instead, use turbinado sugar which is brown organic sugar.  Coffee grounds can keep their consistency even in warm water and help you, and the caffeine on the outside helps you rather than hurting your skin as it would from the inside.  Others like honey are actually surprising exfoliators, and marshmallow fluff has egg whites which can firm skin and fight against acne.  Cinnamon is among the highest antioxidant foods and can therefore kill off bacteria and free radicals.  Naturally, if you were to combine these, it would make for a great natural scrub you can make in the comfort of your own home.

One of the most important things to remember about cystic acne is that you have to leave it alone.  It seems like you want to pick at them, release puss, stuff like that.  But they are more complicated, and though sometimes cystic acne leaves you with scars anyway, they are far worse if you don’t leave them alone.  Picking at things naturally leaves infection and damage to the skin in general.  It’s just that much worse with cystic acne. 

It can appear anywhere around the body, and even with the best treatment, they can take an amount of time to treat, because they are extremely stubborn.  The scars are permanent, and they are usually bigger and darker than you would find with other acne, especially when you don’t leave them alone.  Sometimes, if they are there too long, you need to go to your dermatologist to deal with it.  But all in all, cystic acne is a more complicated form of acne than most of us are more likely to deal with.  Other severe forms of acne occur only in a few people.  But cystic acne is more likely to occur in people in general.  They still don’t understand it keep in mind, but occurs in more.

Acne conglobata has been described as one of the worst forms of acne and generally only occurs in adult sufferers.  It may be said that the damage done in the teen years or lack of care in general builds up to a certain point for years before, therefore causing deeper seated problems and this rare form of acne.  Most suffer only from acne vulgaris, occasionally in severe forms.  But even the severe forms of acne vulgaris do not really compare to acne conglobata, which has only been effectively treated with Accutane up to this point. 

It is essentially seen and recognized, because it results in burrowing and interconnected abscesses which turn into large and irregular scarring, even if you take the best care possible in many cases.  Pustular acne may suddenly disappear and acne conglobata may suddenly appear.  But no one has really narrowed down the exact cause for it.  It has become more elusive even than acne vulgaris, for which the cause is also unknown.  But some have suggested that it may be hereditary or something that simply lies dormant for years at a time.

After it has already occurred, some dermatologists have cut out irregular scarring, which can leave scarring of its own.  But it is nothing compared to those of acne conglobata.  It is advised to keep pores clear and well taken care of.  But there is at this time no way to prevent or treat acne conglobata outside of Accutane.  It remains an elusive form.