Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Soap Recommendations for Acne

By Jamie Steele

A few decades ago, people thought nothing of the soap they used to clean their acne-prone skin. Of course, this condition was far less prevalent in those days. However, nothing could be more important in treating you acne than the type of soap or cleanser you are using to eliminate dirt and bacteria from your skin.

A harsh soap can actually stifle the effectiveness of your acne medications, making you pour hundreds of dollars into expensive treatments until you finally decide to visit a dermatologist. People truly underestimate just how fragile of an organ our skin is, and this is largely why so many continue to struggle with this condition. In this article, we will provide some suggestions for soap shopping to ensure that you don't purchase a product that will worsen your acne.

You may remember using rubbing alcohol as child when you scraped you knee against the floor after falling with your bike. That probably wasn't the most pleasant experience you can recall. Regardless, we all know that alcohol is widely used because it is an effective disinfectant. While alcohol can help us control acne bacteria, overall it is more hurtful that helpful in curing the disorder. Alcohol can induce a severe drying effect, which irritates the skin and encourages the production of new acne breakouts. This brings us to our first rule in selecting a product: avoid one that contains alcohol. This may mean some label scanning, however, it is well worth it.

Anyone who has studied the human skin for a decent amount of time should now that it is somewhat acidic. It has a pH that falls under 7, usually one of around 5. Soaps are on the other end of the pH spectrum at the 8, 9, and 10 levels. While this may sound like a useless fact, the truth of the matter is that regular soap is troublesome in treating acne. Going back to our lesson on the human skin, we know that it's primary function is to protect us from the outside world. Bacteria and other intruders can be big threats. In order to do this, it needs to maintain that acidic environment which was mentioned above. So, a pH balanced soap is in order. These soaps and cleansers have a neutral pH of 7 that will not cause much of a disruption. Expect to do a little more hunting for these products. It is well worth your time.

Finally, stay away from cleansers and soaps that have thousands of different bells-and-whistles. This includes foaming washes or those with exfoliating beads. You want a basic product that is extremely gentle. Anything that goes above and beyond your standard definition of a soap includes more additives, which carry the risk of aggravating your acne. So shop carefully!

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