The Health Solution

• Security or general acne skin care products
• Over - the - polar, specialised acne skin care products
• On - prescription acne skin care products.
  

Green tea is used by the Chinese as a traditional medicine to treat many ailments including acne and to improve general well-being. But does it provide an effective herbal alternative to modern medication?

The answer seems to be 'Yes'. There are only two herbal treatments that are known to be effective in treating acne and green tea is one of them.

In a recent study by Jennifer Gan-Wong, M.D. a green tea cream was trailed against a 4% benzoyl peroxide solution on people suffering with moderate to severe acne. The results from this research study showed that green tea was just as good in treating acne as the benzoyl peroxide.

But benzoyl peroxide dries out skin causing itching or allergic reactions. Unlike green tea that has the added advantages of natural anti-bacterial properties and antioxidants, particularly epigallocatechin gallate which is 200 times more powerful than vitamin E at fighting free radicals.

Green tea also helps to reduce inflammation, hormonal activity and aids in detoxification - which is all good news for acne sufferers.

Green tea extract is an extremely versatile herbal supplement - it can be administered topically, often being used in creams, taken as a in the form of a pill or incorporated into your diet and drunk as a tea.

This last method is very popular (Green Tea with Honeysuckle is often known as 'Pimple Tea' in many Chinatowns) when drunk after a meal it aids digestion and helps to detoxify your system, getting rid of the toxins that can cause acne. Tip: don't drink it with sugar, this will neutralize the worthwhile effects of the tea.

It seems that taking green tea for acne is a win-win situation? It has many beneficial properties which promote good all-round health with little or no known side effects and for the price, green tea it's definitely a herbal treatment that's worth trying.

Puberty brought bouts of acne. In your 20s, finding Mr. or Mrs. Right was of chief consequence. When the 30s hit, you worked to raise little Johnnie or Suzie to be a model kid. Now that your hitting the fabulous 40s, you should be coasting through life, right. Well, why are you suddenly dealing with the cosmetic double whammy of acne and wrinkles? Even your insurance company figures that you should have gotten rid of acne by the age of 25.

The number people over 30 needing acne treatments has climbed to the extent that a report published in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology recommends raising the age for insurance coverage of the acne drug tretinoin to at least 40. The authors of the report, Drs. Steven Feldman and Alan Fleischer, add that many insurance companies refuse to pay for tretinoin prescriptions for patients older than 25.

Cosmetic Catch 22 Even if your insurance company leaves you to fend for yourself, you still have options for freeing yourself from acne and wrinkles. At first, coping with acne and wrinkles may seem like a cosmetic catch 22. Do you dry your skin with acne cleansers containing benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, and worsen your wrinkles? Or, do you smear on the moisturizer to smooth the wrinkles, but cope with the zits brought on by the extra oil or sensitivity to a new product?

There's a smarter way to handle acne and wrinkles.

1. Interpret the acne

2. Allow your skin to improve as you use self-awareness to remove zits.

Interpret the acne

While dealing with acne and wrinkles, target the acne first because acne is an autoimmune disease. Having an autoimmune disease means that your thoughts, emotions, and/or environment are affecting you in an adverse way and require immediate attention. Thus, acne may reveal that you need to relax more, change your eating habits, reframe your interpersonal dialogue, stop dating that jerk from the office and/or make another beneficial alteration to your lifestyle.

Zits arrive on your face to report on some unpleasant activities within your body and life. Once you get feedback from these zits, you can take action to send the zits away while augmenting your health in the process.

Acne is usually an indication various hidden or overlooked health problems. Here's a sample of the questions you should ask yourself when dealing with acne so that you can unravel the mystery behind your zits. Are you:

Regular?

About 70% of your immune system is located in your intestines. If this area is blocked with waste, your immuno-defenses are down. So, instead of waste leaving your body via the rectum, it chooses to leave through the skin. Waste leaving the skin can cause an infection that presents itself as acne.

Tense?

Tension likewise reduces the vigor of the immune system. Take a few deep breaths throughout the day to calm your body. Take a long walk in the fresh air to wind down.

Eating nutritionally?

Cases of acne have been improved with consuming foods containing zinc, essential fatty acids, vitamin A and a host of other nutrients. All of these vital nutrients are available in leafy green vegetables, fruits and olive oil.

Worried about unresolved issues?

Not resolving personal issues creates conflict and tension in the body. Again, these issues most be addressed to avoid undue stress within the body.

Exercising daily?

Exercise reduces stress and gives you an opportunity to subconsciously contemplate challenges that you may be facing. Physical activity also keeps your muscles and intestines toned, which keeps encourages regularity.

Changing pillowcase frequently?

Using a dirty pillowcase aggravates an acne condition. Your face naturally secretes oils during the night. These oils are sticky. So if you pillowcase if dirty, you are allowing your face to collect extra waste during the night, which could further clog your pores.

Moving or changing your job/career?

New demands or feelings of lose can sometimes accompany change. Transfer these emotions into something constructive by writing in a journal or envisioning how these changes are going to benefit you. Find comfort in these changes and opportunities for new beginnings.

Experiencing excessive facial hair growth and erratic periods?

Conditions such as acne, excessive facial hair, and erratic periods could indicate an androgen disorder or other underlying hormonal imbalances. Your doctor can provide you with a series of endocrine tests to ascertain your hormone levels and what corrective actions you should take. Ricardo Azziz, M.D, who serves as Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Director of the Center for Androgen-Related Disorders at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, estimates that 80 percent of women with excessive androgen levels suffer from an endocrine disorder called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Dr. Azziz adds that women with PCOS often have insulin resistance and are at increased risk for developing Type II diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

Once the acne is under control you can move on to the wrinkles. Another reason for treating the zits first is because if you alter your lifestyle in such as way as to free yourself from acne, and you doing this in a healthy and patient fashion, you will actually lessen the number of wrinkles you have.

Health is wholeness and beauty is a reflection of robust health. You'll never buy robust health in a jar. It is a mind, body, spirit and environmental support system that garners full-bodied health. Lets look at want you actually need from a "beauty cream".

Face Cream Education There are five basic ingredients in any given anti-aging or anti-wrinkling cream.

1. The oil or moisturizer

2. The preservatives to keep the cream from spoiling.

3. A scent or flavor

4. A color

5. The active ingredient.

Only one of these components is essential, the oil. The preservative is only needed to keep the cream useful. Your face does not need preservation because the skin is alive. Since some people have allergies to scents and colors in cosmetics, the body says that these two ingredients are not necessary. The active ingredient is usually the latest cosmetic drug or multivitamin that is supposed to lift or dramatically reverse your age by 5-20 years.

Researchers S. Jay Olshansky, Leonard Hayflick and Bruce A. Carnes bluntly comment on the antics of cosmetic companies in their report No Truth to the Fountain of Youth, published in the June 2002 edition of Scientific American. The authors warn everyone aiming to reverse the signs of times on their face that, "? anyone purporting to offer an anti-aging product today is either mistaken or lying".

I bet you are thinking, "Won't that oil make acne worse?" The answer is not if you are using the right oil. Some essential oils such as bergamont, lavender, lemon, neroli, sandalwood, tea tree and ylang ylang have cleansing and antibacterial properties which help combat acne infections. Other essential oil like geranium, clary sage and orange regulate the production of oil on the face. When mixed with a carrier oil such as jojoba or camellia, these essential oils are ideal moisturizers.

Nothing that you put on your face will truly change your appearance. Creams are useful, but they are only one instrument in an orchestra of anti-aging concerts. Health starts on the inside. If you want to improve your beauty start with how you treat yourself and feed yourself. I mean not only what foods you eat but what thoughts you eat.

You may eat thoughts of the sort, "I can't?", "I had a stressful day", "I'm tired of?", "I can't wait until?", "I'm getting old", "My body isn't as healthy as it used to be". The menu is endless. If you want to look young and healthy, you have to think young and healthy thoughts. Here's steps to jumpstart your quest:

Start by changing your thinking. Develop your own youth model, i.e. with steps you'll take to maintain your vitality and stick to it.

Enjoy nutritious foods. A study in the Journal of American College of Nutrition found that eating a variety of fruits and vegetables and using olive oil every day could help keep wrinkles away. The researchers found that people who ate a diet rich in green leafy vegetables, beans, olive oil, nuts and multigrain breads, while avoiding butter, red meat and sugary goodies, were less predisposed to wrinkling. Researchers believe that antioxidant vitamins, such as A, C and E, which are found in fruits and vegetables, may help protect the skin from environmental damage.

Use a gentle cleanser each day.

Steam your face everyday for 5-15 minutes, especially if your have acne. The steam removes waxy build-up on the skin while it stimulates circulation. This combo of benefits cleans to pores to reduce the possibility of acne while firming up the skin and facial muscles.

Exfoliate your skin daily.

Moisturize your face in the morning and evening with natural oils. In addition to the acne fighting oils listed above, you can mix essential oils such as frankinsense, myrrh, neroli and rose to help encourage the growth of new skin cells. You can create a moisturizer by diluting 1-3 of your favorite essential oils in a carrier oil such as jojoba or camellia oil in a ration of 1 part essential oil to 3 parts carrier oil.

Massage your face daily when you apply your facial oil.

Lie down on an incline bench for 5-20 minutes each day to let the blood flow to your head.

Wear a sunhat in the sun.

Give yourself a light skin peel once a month.

Finally, forty can still be fabulous and your beauty-plan a lot less enigmatic. Just remember the basics, interpret the messages of your zits, and educate yourself about wrinkle creams- you don't need them.

Naweko San-Joyz is creator of the Acne Messages program, the only acne program to combine the latest scientific research and ancient wisdom to deliver an acne cure as unique as the acne sufferer. As there are millions of people with acne, there are a millions cures, find your unique cure with Acne Messages. ISBN: 0974912204 available at Amazon and Noixia.com, Home of Six Billion Natural Cures for Acne

Acne, which affects the majority of teenagers, and a very large number of adults as well, can be treated using various different methods, with prices ranging from relatively inexpensive to incredibly expensive. However, the best acne treatments are those that treat acne from inside the body, as well as on the surface of the skin - since acne starts inside.

The name on the package really doesn't matter as much as what is inside the package. Some ingredients have proven to be quite effective for treating acne, while others don't seem to have any affect. Some ingredients are perfectly safe, while other's have risks associated with them. What you use to treat your acne is up to you - but it is important that you make informed decisions, in order to find the best acne treatments for you.

Benzoyl peroxide is one of the most effective ingredients found in a large majority of acne medications, however, there is quite a bit of controversy surrounding this chemical. Benzoyl peroxide has been linked to skin cancer, and it is on the FDA's 'unsure' list. This means that while it has been approved by the FDA for human use, the FDA cannot say that it is safe to use - but the FDA hasn't determined that it is unsafe either.

Some of the most effective treatments for a large majority of people who suffer with acne are: ProActiv, Accutane, and Retin-A. This doesn't mean that these medications work for everyone - it just means that it is effective for the majority of people who use these treatments.

ProActiv is a three step topical acne fighting system that does not require a prescription, although it does contain prescription grade Benzoyl peroxide. Accutane is an oral prescription medication. There are many side affects associated with the use of Accutane, such as chapped lips, dry skin, nosebleeds, eye irritation, joint and muscle pain, hair thinning, skin rash, intestinal problems, urinary problems, headaches, and vision problems. There are even some psychological side effects, such as depression. Accutane is not prescribed to women who are pregnant or nursing, due to serious birth defects. Retin-A has very few side effects, and is available in both prescription and over the counter forms. Retin-A is used to treat a variety of skin problems other than acne as well, including wrinkles, lines, scars, and discoloration.

If using one of these products is of interest to you, you should start with ProActiv. If ProActiv doesn't work, try Retin-A next. Avoid using Accutane if you can, and if you do decide that you want to give Accutane a try, make sure that you weigh the potential side effects carefully.

While these treatments are costly, they have proven to be the most successful. Therefore, in most cases, they are well worth the expense. People spend billions of dollars purchasing inexpensive acne treatments that simply do not work. If you look at it in terms of how much money you would spend buying products that do not work, in relation to the amount you will spend to purchase an acne treatment that works for a large majority of the population, you will find that you are better off spending the money on the products that work in the long run, bypassing those that do not work.

Keep in mind, however, that even though these are the best acne treatments available, this doesn't mean that other, less expensive treatments won't work for you. What works for you will depend on many factors, including how severe your acne is. Discuss your options with your dermatologist.

No matter which acne treatment you use, you must keep your face clean, keep your hair and hands off your face, use the treatment as directed, and give the treatment time to work. Failure to do any of these things will keep your acne treatment from working - no matter how good it is. You should also remember that what works for some people may not work for others. The best acne treatments are not always the best for everyone. What worked for your neighbor may cause your acne to become worse. Work to find the best acne treatment for you - and make sure you give it time to work!

Acneteam.com strives to provide you with the latest information with regard to acne, the best acne treatments, the "old wives' tales" and cures. Don't blame the blemishes, we love to help! See for yourself at: AcneTeam.com (http://www.acneteam.com/)

Most acne medications only mask the symptoms of acne and does nothing to stop the real cause of acne. This is why people buy acne products month after month (year after year). And every time they stop using the product acne would come back again and again.

What you need to do is find out what the real cause of acne is and stop it.

So what's the real cause of acne?

Acne occurs when your body contains more toxics than your kidneys and bowels can remove. (Your kidneys and bowels are the two primary channels of elimination that your body expel toxics and waste products through.)

These toxics can be the accumulation of fat stored chemicals the liver can not wash out or there may be a problem with fat digestion, fat accumulation, food allergy, or even the accumulation of hormones that your body produces.

Once these toxics build up, your kidneys and bowels can get overloaded and clogged up, causing it to not function properly. When that happens some of the load will be dumped onto your liver. One of your liver's main roles is to metabolize pile up fat into usable energy for your body.

This means, your liver will be doing some of your kidney's work. So now, your liver gets overloaded and it too will not work at full capacity.

What happens when your bowels, kidneys, and liver gets overloaded?

When that happen your body will expel toxins through your lungs and skin (your secondary channels of elimination). And this is when acne occurs. This is when your skin starts to breakout.

But whatever the toxic source is that's causing this problem, acne is a sign that your bowels and kidneys are overloaded with toxins, waste products, or hormones.

It is a sign that your liver is growing weaker in its detoxification abilities (and it will continue to grow weaker if you do not do what it takes to get rid of the toxics in your body).

So if you think that acne is your only problem, think again, your liver, kidneys, and bowels are getting weaker every time you breakout.

Houa Yang is the author of "The Definite Guide To Acne Free Skin." It reveals the same method he personally used himself to get rid of acne in 3 days and stop it from ever coming back for the past 4 years...without any prescription drugs or acne medications! For more info visit:

http://www.howtogetridofacne.com

Acne is not a common complaint; it is known to be a source of considerable emotional distress and social embarrassment. How ever, there are a large numbers of acne treatment options to tackle this problem.

Home treatment option is the most common among the most households; acne treatment method being very simple and mostly improvised over experience gained over years. Always try to keep the spot-prone areas very clean, so wash the affected area twice a day with a un perfumed and non oily cleanser. Antibacterial face washes and soaps specifically for greasy skins are also available. How ever, your skin needs a minimum amount of oil in your skin to maintain its natural condition. Thus it is required to avoid aggressive washing action with hard soaps.

Never pick at spots; over squeezing can cause permanent scarring. During summer months, acne tends to be less problematic as the sunshine helps to dry the skin. How ever, no home treatment will start working immediately; it can take weeks, if not months, to observe any noticeable healing results. Non prescription remedies though over-the-counter remedies are also used to treat acne. Lotions with Benzoyl peroxide have the tendency to dry out the skin and encourage it to shed the surface layer of dead skin. Benzoyl peroxide also displays an antibacterial action. Cumulatively, these combined effects make it harder for oily pores to become blocked and for infection to develop. Benzoyl peroxide can cause redness and peeling, especially during the initial stages. How ever, this tends to settle down within a few days.

To get acne treatment, if you consult your physician, you will be prescribed, some times, to start treatment with a preparation containing Benzoyl peroxide. If these options do not work for you, then there are a range of other treatment options which can either be rubbed onto the skin (topical) or taken in tablet form (oral).

Several topical treatments are available for you to try and test. Azelaic acid, an alternative to Benzoyl peroxide, may cause less skin soreness. Topical Retinoids, medicines based on vitamin A, can be rubbed into the skin once or twice a day. Retinoids work by stimulating the outer layer of skin to flake off, and may cause irritation and skin peeling at the start of treatment. How ever, sun light may make your skin more sensitive with this treatment. Topical anti bacterial solutions may reduce the intensity of the problem. Treatment should be continued for at least six months. Preparations that combine an antibiotic with other acne medication are available.

For treating Acne, more revolutionary methods have been introduced recently, which recommend the use of oral tablets and preparations. Oral antibiotics (tablets), taken daily for around 3 months, is prescribed for inflammatory type of acne. This causes to kill off the bacteria infecting the skin. Many strains of bacteria tend to become resistant to oral medications. The treatment period may extend to 6 months and Benzoyl peroxide, is often also prescribed at the same time. For women, prescription with a standard combined oral contraceptive pill (containing an oestrogen and a progestogen) can improve acne symptoms. How ever, this treatment may not work for all women.

Isotretinoin is a powerful medicine known as an oral retinoid - which also usually exists in topical form. It is prescribed to be used in severe forms of acne that have proved too resistant to other treatments. It works efficiently by drying up oily secretions, which emanates from skin pores. This medication is associated with serious side effects which are highly adverse to patients. It can also damage an unborn baby if taken by a pregnant woman. This medication is prescribed only by your physician.

Acne treatment is known to be very tricky, as the patient infected, faces serious emotional distress during the treatment. Acne treatment is usually prescribed by qualified professionals and their guidance is absolutely necessary.