Monday, November 2, 2009

Aloe Vera Gel for Fresh Skin

A short entry here for a great treatment. Though known to many, not a lot of people use aloe vera gel as topical treatment which can be a bummer! 100% natural aloe vera gel has done wonders to my skin. From treating burns to dry flaky skin, aloe vera gel has contributed a lot to my path to clearer skin. In scientific studies, it has been shown that aloe vera treatment on skin can speed up healing - especially in first to second degree burns. So we relate this to acne where from time to time we get damages to our skin and having aloe vera can possibly help improve the health of the skin. Many acne sufferers also have a problem with dry skin. I tend not to use the normal moisturizers due to its oiliness. Instead I opt for aloe vera gel. Not only does it make my skin feels refreshingly cool it also doesn't give me the oily feeling that usually accompanies the typical moisturizers. In some medicinal studies, aloe vera gel has also been shown to reduce inflammation in skin diseases.

The best thing about aloe vera is that it is 100% natural and is cheap to buy. I apply it to my skin once in the morning before I leave the house and another time at night as I am getting ready for bed. There really is no harm in trying aloe vera gel unless you are allergic to it. Give it a shot! Try replacing the moisturizer with a 100% natural aloe vera gel (I recommend the one from Fruits of the Earth) for a while and see how it goes. Many people have found improvements of skin health and texture with aloe vera gel so don't be afraid to try it out! Good luck and until next time take care!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Super Drink to Battle Acne

Camellia Sinensis, or better known as green tea leaf to us, should be the number one priority in everyone's diet. Filled with antioxidant (EGCG) properties, green tea has been proven to be extremely beneficial for one's health. Here is a list of possible health benefits from consuming green tea:

  • Improves and prevent cardiovascular disease
  • Reduce inflammation
  • Increase metabolic activity (great for weight loss)
  • Fight against free radical
  • Limiting overactive hormonal activities
These are just some of the many benefits from drinking green tea! For many years before it was introduced to the West, green tea had been a prominent drink in many Chinese diet to serve as a function of detoxification. In 2003, Dr. Gan Wong from the American Academy of Dermatology ran a test comparing green tea cream with 3% green tea and 4% benzoyl peroxide solution and the result was near identical. In other words, the green tea cream had shown effect in fighting against the acne bacteria. In the Book of Tea written by a Zen Priest centuries ago, it was stated that green tea improves the function of the five organs-especially the heart. A German study conducted has also shown that applying green tea mixed with hot water improved the skin's health that has been damaged by radiation therapy.

We all know that oily skin is an issue with many of us acne sufferers so here is an interesting fact. In many restaurants at Asia, oily finger-food entrees such as deep fried shrimp always comes with a bowl of tea. No, they are not for drinking. Those bowls of tea are actually for you to wash your oily fingers in and they work wonders! So in some way, tea has been shown to contain properties that remove oil.

After drinking two to three cups of green tea everyday for the past few years, my skin texture has improved dramatically. Initially I drank green tea for its fat oxidation benefits but I realized my skin looked a lot better as well after consuming it for a while. There should be no reason that you are not drinking this if you have acne! Not only is it cheap and effective, it is also easy to make and consume. If you can get your hands on the actually green tea leaves then perfect! but I usually use the green tea packets made by Kirkland from Costco.

You can either mix it with hot water or drink it cold (hot is preferable when it comes to tea). Keep in mind that you should avoid any sugary content! Drink them without adding any kind of sweeteners. Have them during breakfast, lunch, and dinner whenever possible and you are good to go!

NOT how you consume green tea!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The Case Against Prescription Drugs

DISCLAIMER: What I am about to talk about is based on my personal opinion. I am aware that there are some people out there who have had great success against acne with their prescription drugs. However, I believe a majority of us out there fall into a category where it is just not working for us.

Having suffered through a decade of acne, I have gone through many prescription drugs ranging from topical creams to oral antibiotics. Long story short, none of them had any real permanent effect on my skin problem. Rather, the only thing that disappeared was cash from my wallet. I remember going through Minocycline, Doxycycline, and Tetracycline throughout different times of my life and the only thing that happened was having dry, flaky skin and I literally looked like my face was peeling off. That in conjunction with some sort of topical cream (dermatologists love prescribing both topical cream and antibiotic at the same time) such as Tretinoin, Benzaclin, and Duac usually leaves my face feeling like shit throughout the day. Ignorant and young, I thought to myself these side effects are nothing compared to the reward of healthy and clear skin. Time after time, my skin will seem as if it is clearing up but shortly after my oral or topical medication run out, my biggest fear will strike as the acne returned. I thought perhaps my dosage wasn't enough or the chemical content within my topical cream isn't strong enough and that's why my acne keeps returning. Maybe the concentration on benzoyl peroxide is too much. Maybe it's too little. Maybe my dosage of doxycline wasn't strong enough. Filled with denial, I continued to believe the drugs have to work and I am just not receiving the right amount. It wasn't long (6-7 years ... okay maybe it was a bit long) before I begin to question the drugs.

I begin to ask myself why isn't the drugs curing my acne. I asked the exact same question to my dermatologist and this is what her answer was:

"These drugs are just treatments"

Treatments? In other words, they don't permanently rid your body of acne. The prescription drugs are just temporary solutions for acne. As soon as the treatment stops, acne will come back into your life. I have a friend who had undergone an Accutane treatment (the strongest oral medication there is for acne) twice and the acne always comes back shortly after treatment ended. Pharmaceutical companies know this and dermatologists know this as well. It is all a giant scheme to launder money off us. They provide us with temporary solutions and expect us to keep paying in order to fend off acne. A small supply of topical cream such as Duac (45grams) can cost up to more than 100 dollars. Did my dermatologist even warned me of the potential cost of Duac when she prescribed it to me? Nope. So what happens when you are out of money and cannot potentially support the cost to treat your acne?

Speaking of which, I'm sure a lot of you have heard of Proactiv as well. Talk about a great marketing scheme! That product is literally at the top of the acne world. If only it acts like one. Not only did the product failed to work, I remember I had one of the worst breakout moment during my regimen with Proactiv. Like the prescription drugs-though it isn't one-the product offered temporary solution only. Patients were expected to pay a monthly fee to get their supplies of Proactiv. As I mentioned earlier, what happens when you can no longer afford it?

Feeling a little down, I thought it was the end of the world. Are there no solutions to acne besides these drugs? I decided to take it upon myself and begin researching. After flipping through many articles and books, I learned that there is another approach to battling against acne. This approach is not only effective and simple but it is also powerful. On top of that, the price tag on this is many times lower than that of prescription drugs. What is this powerful approach that is so common yet no pharmaceutical representatives or dermatologists will ever want you to know? A holistic approach. Here is the definition of holistic from dictionary.com:

a. Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts.

b. Concerned with wholes rather than analysis or separation into parts: holistic medicine; holistic ecology.

A holistic approach can be broken up into simple parts.
  1. Nutrition
  2. Lifestyle
On top of that, you aim to avoid as much artificial chemical content from topical cream and oral medication as possible.

Intrigue by such a unique method, I began adopting this approach. I began to watch my nutritional intake by limiting myself on junk food and taking in more nutritional content that has been shown to reduce acne. Working out and exercising had become a solid part of my life and I performed them on a consistently. I tossed all my acne cream that I have gotten out and begin applying natural homemade products to my skin instead. Long story short, my acne was cleared and never returned to my face two years later except for occasional one or two small whiteheads that appear from time to time. Even so, those small zits were no problem compared to the ones I used to get since they disappear within a week. Here is the interesting part, shortly after I begin my holistic approach, acne was no longer on my mind. By changing my diet and habits, I have adopted a new lifestyle. My skin was looking better, my healthy felt better, and I just felt like a brighter and more active person in general compared to the lackluster one when I was using prescription drugs and stressing over acne. In fact, I wasn't even aware of acne until one day my parents told me that my face looks a lot better and healthier now. Then it hit me. What I had been doing wasn't a treatment, it was a change of lifestyle to a better one. Best of all, I don't have to continuously put up a tremendous amount of money to keep acne at bay. Instead, I just have to go on living normally with my new lifestyle. So if you are frustrated about why the drugs your dermatologists prescribe isn't working then give the holistic approach a shot!

The purpose of this blog is to dive into the world of holistic approach. I will be writing up on the benefits of many nutrients that we aren't usually aware of and many homemade products that can be made cheaply and effectively to fend off acne. I will also label diets and habits that could potentially lead to more acne or reduce acne. Stay tune for more!