5 Acne Myths

Millions of Americans every year try to do something about their acne. This is easily judged by the numerous infomercials that flash across our screens every day. Everyone wants to understand and deal with their skin problem, but unfortunately many people don't know very much or worse still know something wrong. Here are five common myths about acne. These are things that people think, but are not true.

1. Acne is caused by your diet

This is absolutely false. Just because your face is greasy doesn't mean that eating some greasy pizza is going to make it worse. French fries, chocolate, and hamburgers are not directly related to acne problems. Naturally if all you are eating is junk food then maybe you should consider changing your diet. One of the best things you should do for your total health, not only for your skin, is to have a balanced diet. But generally food does not affect your acne.

2. Washing your face more heals acne

Many people think that bad hygiene is the root of acne. Moms around the world are complaining to their teenagers that they don't wash well enough. In reality, washing your skin hard with soap will do more harm than good. The irritation caused by rough cleansing will make your skin look worse. What you should really be doing is gently washing your face with appropriate acne medicine.

3. Acne is not painful or serious, it just looks bad

Acne can often get serious enough to require real medical attention. Large pimples in the height of teenage acne can be extremely uncomfortable and certainly justify the classic angst that teenagers are associated with. Bad pimples can cause long term scarring of your face as well. Serious acne should be diagnosed and treated by a dermatologist to ease the discomfort and prevent future face scarring.

4. Tanning helps heal acne

Though tanning your face can make pimples less red and noticeable, there is no evidence to suggest that the sun heals acne. In fact, the ultraviolet radiation can really damage your skin in addition to the damage and irritation of the pimples. By making your skin dry and irritated you can make pimples much more painful than they were before.

5. Acne can't be cured; you just have to let it run its course

Today there are many products that can permanently reduce acne. Letting acne run wild is often not the best way to deal with it. On the other hand, some people also use too much acne medicine, which can lead to dry, irritated skin. Meet with a dermatologist and see what can be done. If there is a big even that a teenager has to be at and wants to get rid of a particularly large pimple, dermatologists can actually use a cortisone shot to reduce the swelling.

Knowing more about acne can make getting through it easier for teenagers as well as their parents. There are a lot of products and options out there, so learn as much as you can before you act.

Sources: http://www.skincarephysicians.com/acnenet/myths.html