:Clear Skin Blog

Every acne complex has one - the moisturizing lotion they tack-on to the end of their treatment. After all the harm you’ve done irritating your skin with their over-drying creams and cleansers, you’re supposed to apply a moisturizer that will prevent your skin from suffering real damage. In fact, many times the moisturizer also offsets the benefits of the creams and cleansers in the first place, making the whole treatment kind of pointless.

I don’t mean to sound too harsh towards moisturizers, but the fact is these are often the most useless steps in acne “systems”, right up there with cleansing lotions that are basically no different than normal facial soap (only more expensive). Moisturizers are also often marketed in flatly unethical fear-mongering tactics, such as implying that you need them in order to prevent fine lines and wrinkles. Aging is going to happen with or without moisturizers, and what you put into your body is a *lot* more important than anything you slather over your face with regards to keeping your skin cells healthy and supple.

In almost all cases, moisturizers attempt to make up for damage to your skin that you really shouldn’t be inflicting in the first place. As I’ve mentioned before, virtually anything (from garlic cloves to baking soda to brand-name spot treatments…) that dries out your skin will diminish the appearance of acne for a time. But that doesn’t make it a healthy or reliable acne solution.

Most of the time, if you are experiencing dry skin not caused by a harsh treatment, you can solve the problem simply by drinking more water. Give your body what it needs to hydrate your skin cells, and that’s what it will do. Unless you have a unique medical condition or are caught in extreme weather, moisturizers are usually unnecessary.

Do not buy into the “never leave the house without plastering your face with SPF15″ marketing tripe. Just as most people don’t drink enough water, similarly most people don’t get enough sun. Deaths related to low vitamin D levels (from insufficient sun exposure) are at an all-time high. So go ahead and get some sun - it may just save your life.

And guess what? Moisturizers are a common cause of clogged pores. Even moisturizers labeled as “non-comedogenic” can still clog your pores when applied a bit too liberally, and thus can lead to even more acne blemishes. Is it worth it?

Again, there are occasions when using moisturizers is a good idea, especially during times of extreme heat or cold. But most of the year, you shouldn’t need to bother (and you may even be inviting negative reactions). Moisturizing your skin from the inside-out is almost always a healthier and smarter decision.

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It’s frequently said that there is no cure for acne, only treatments. This is basically true. Even treatments that do get to the root of the problem, such as vitamin B5 solutions and vitamin A derivatives, still have to be consistently taken in order to continue working. They are not ‘cures’, in the sense of one-time solutions that prevent acne from ever coming back.

That said, any visit to a forum will usually reveal some conspiracy nut who happens to think “the medical community doesn’t want a cure, because there is more money in selling treatments, etc.” Today is 9/11, and as the reaction to that event should show, there is no shortage of conspiracy nuts out there. However, this kind of thinking is just plain dumb.

Understand that in a capitalist economy, individuals and individual companies are concerned with their own personal financial gains, not the gains of ‘the industry’. For instance, if I had some wonder drug that once-and-for-all cured acne, would I NOT bring it to market for fear of lowering the profit margins of the industry at large? Only if I was a moron, because regardless of the industry’s fate, I would stand to make a huge fortune. It would be like Apple refusing to launch the iPod because they didn’t want to devalue the overall profits of the music industry. It’s absurd.

Even large companies are made up of individuals - individuals that would gladly leave those companies and start their own if they saw the chance to launch a superior product. Frankly, many leading companies are started by entrepreneurs who did just that. There is no secretive medical community that keeps all the world’s cures hidden in order to milk the public with their non-cure treatments. The free market is competitive. As long as someone stands to benefit, you can bet they’ll try.

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Being Italian, I’m a rather big fan of garlic, but can it give you clear skin? According to some acne sufferers it can. Of course, anyone who browses acne message boards knows that people are desperate enough to try anything, and a few recommendations does not always equal a solid treatment. What can garlic really do against acne?

As far as herbs go, garlic is very strong. One of its chief benefits is bolstering the immune system. Besides fighting unwanted bacteria and infections, a weak immune system can lead to the production of unnecessary antibodies that stimulate your oil glands, contributing to acne. Thus the immune-boosting properties of garlic can be helpful. Garlic is also has anti-septic and anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, it directly combats bacteria and reduces the swelling and redness in your acne blemishes.

Garlic may be used either internally or externally, and each approach has different benefits. Topical application usually involves cutting open a garlic clove and applying it directly to problem areas (often for 10-15 minutes), while garlic supplements are available for those who want to take high doses internally. Applying garlic to the skin is probably the most popular method right now. Topical application isn’t going to help your immune system, but it basically acts like a spot treatment. Many users report quick results, with the acne blemish rapidly becoming less noticeable. The downside is that garlic is strong, and can dry out your skin excessively, leaving flaky patches or an irritated rash. And of course, there is the smell.

Some garlic users rave about their discovery, but it’s important to remember this simple fact: Most anything that severely dries out your skin is going to reduce the appearance of acne, at least for a time. Garlic is certainly a healthy addition to your diet, and it may even make for a worthwhile spot treatment if used sparingly (and typical treatments like BP don’t work for you), but you shouldn’t frequently resort to anything that leaves your skin excessively dry unless you want to deal with more blemishes in the very near future.

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