Having skin problems always? You might find a few causes here and how to slow it down.
1. Your hormones may be to blame.
"Fluctuation in hormones, such as before one's
menstrual cycle, is the main cause," explains dermatologist Julia Tzu,
M.D., of Wall Street Dermatology. Specifically, androgens (male hormones) like
testosterone. This usually rears its ugly head in the form of deep (painful)
cystic acne around the chin, neck, and back, says dermatologist Rebecca Kazin,
M.D., F.A.A.D., of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery and
the Johns Hopkins Department of Dermatology.
2. Stress can be an extra (and very influential) driving
force.
Another source of hormonal changes: stress. Whether you work
full time, are a full-time mom, or juggle both, chances are, your stress levels
are high. "When you're stressed, you have an organ called the adrenal
gland that makes the stress hormone cortisol, and puts it out into the body to
help the body deal with stress," Dr. Schultz explains. Unfortunately, a
tiny bit of testosterone leaks out with it. For a woman, this male hormone can
drive the oil glands to produce more oil—the root cause of breakouts. (Thanks a
lot, hormones!)
3. Pollution isn't helping your case either.
"Air pollution just puts this layer of crap on your
face," Dr. Schultz says. Especially if you live in a city. Go walk around
outside for a half hour, he suggests. When you come home, wipe your face with a
toner pad or face wipe, and see what color it is. Warning: You're not going to
like what you see.
4. You may be using the wrong products.
If you have oily or combination skin and are prone to
breakouts, you should be using skin-care products labeled "oil-free,"
"non-comedogenic," or "water-based," Dr. Schultz says. Just
one of these will ensure that the lotion you're slathering on isn't going to
clog your pores and make matters worse.
5. You're cleansing too frequently and intensely.
"Overwashing your face can make acne worse," Dr.
Kazin explains. Cleansing more than twice a day is too much and can just dry
out skin, "which can cause [it] to produce more oil to
overcompensate." Your Clarisonic addiction may not be helping either.
"It helps remove all makeup and helps your cleanser work better, but I
worry about the coarse ones. It's almost like giving yourself microdermabrasion
twice a day, which can cause a breakout," says Dr. Kazin. Dr. Schultz
seconds that: "Anything that rubs skin will, to a small extent, promote
acne." That includes a grainy or gritty cleanser, too.
6. Specific foods may or may not have an effect—the evidence
is all super fuzzy.
We've all heard the foods that allegedly cause
acne—chocolate, fried foods, pizza, caffeine, nuts. But Dr. Schultz reminds us
that in large, statistically significant studies, these have not been proven to
cause zits, but there are always exceptions. "If you break out when you
eat chocolate, don't eat chocolate." Same with dairy, which again, has
been shown in some cases to have an effect but no concrete cause-and-effect
relationship exists.
The one food Dr. Schultz does recommend to avoid is iodine.
"Iodine causes acne in everyone if you eat enough," he says. You can
find it in shellfish, like lobster, shrimp, crab, and some greens like kelp and
spinach. The different between iodine and those other "acne-causing
foods" is that iodine builds up over weeks and months before it starts to
affect skin.
7. Your sweet tooth is causing a skin problem.
Another potential skin saboteur is sugar, because it raises
your insulin level. More and more evidence shows that insulin may boost those
oil-triggering male hormones, Dr. Schultz explains. Stick to low-glycemic
foods—ones that have complex carbs like whole grains, which break down slower
in the body and cause less of an insulin spike. Your health will be better for
it, too.
Source: www.self.com
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Skincare