Fighting Your Teen's Hormonal Acne
As a parent, you’re focused on getting everything ready for your teen to go back to class. But have you thought about their skin? Let Advanced Laser Clinic help with our August Back-to-School Specials.
Many teenagers struggle with acne as part of their adolescence. While acne is not a life-threatening skin condition, it can nonetheless overwhelmingly affect someone’s appearance and self-esteem. Even a mild breakout can make sufferers feel embarrassed about their looks and less willing to participate in normal social interactions.
Contrary to the popular myth, acne breakouts aren’t a result of poor hygiene, eating greasy foods or excessively touching your face. Dermatologists have identified four key factors that cause acne:
- Oil Production
- Dead Skin Cells
- Clogged Pores
- Bacteria
Acne typically appears on the areas of your skin with the highest concentration of oil-producing glands. This includes your face, neck, chest, back, and shoulders. Hair follicles are connected to these oil glands, which secrete an oily substance known as sebum that keeps hair and skin lubricated. Sebum normally travels along the hair shafts and through the openings of the hair follicles onto the surface of your skin. When hair follicles become blocked with oil and dead skin cells, acne is the result.
Sebum and dead skin cells form a soft plug, creating an environment where bacteria can thrive. The bacteria responsible for inflamed acne breakouts are Propionibacteria acnes (P. acnes). P. acnes are normal inhabitants of hair follicles. However, when the P. acnes population in your skin grows out of control, it can cause redness, inflammation, and infection, leading to the formation of pus.
How Bad Can Acne Become?
There are three levels of severity associated with acne.
- Mild acne consists of a few lesions that are close to the surface, and not deep or inflamed.
- Moderate acne is marked by deeper lesions, accompanied by redness.
- Severe acne involves many lesions, multiple cysts and widespread redness and inflammation.
What Triggers Acne Flare-ups?
Several factors can make acne breakouts worse, though these triggers are different for everyone.
Cosmetics - Makeup and hair care products can clog pores. Be sure to look for the following acne-friendly terms on product labels: “oil-free,” “non-comedogenic” or “non-acnegenic.”
Sweating - Because sweat can clog pores, sweating can worsen acne in some people.
Overwashing - It may be tempting to think washing your face more will help get rid of acne, but that’s not the case. For acne-prone skin, dermatologists recommend washing twice a day with a mild cleanser. Washing more often and using strong, astringent cleansers or toners can strip the skin’s natural barriers and create irritation, leading to more acne.
Medications - Some medications can trigger and worsen acne, such as oral corticosteroids, progestin-based birth control, and anti-convulsives.
Menstrual cycle - Many women may experience hormonal acne breakouts around their monthly period, due to hormone fluctuations.
Picking or Squeezing - Touching acne lesions can make them worse and can even lead to permanent scarring. Squeezing or popping pimples can cause sebum and bacteria to leak into surrounding skin tissues, leading to more swelling, redness and possibly infection.
What Causes of Acne Scarring?
While acne may only stick around for a few years, it can leave behind permanent scarring. Acne scars are most often the product of an inflamed lesion. The greater the inflammation on the skin, the more likely scarring is to occur. Deep breakouts that take a long time to heal also increase the chance of scarring.
Acne scars result from the body’s natural attempt to heal itself. To repair the redness and inflammation that come with acne, the skin will form new collagen fibers. Raised acne scars occur when the skin overproduces collagen, while pitted acne scars are the result of not enough collagen production
Modern society puts such a strong emphasis on appearance — especially during the challenging teenage years — that anyone who doesn’t conform to the “norm” can be shunned and stigmatized. If acne is considerably affecting the way you feel about yourself, interfering with your social life or making you feel depressed and anxious, it may be time to seek out therapeutic treatments.
At Advanced Laser Clinic, we love working with acne patients and helping them regain their skin clarity and quality of life.
What Are Advanced Laser Clinic Hormonal Acne Treatments?
IPL Treatments
Lumenis M22 Intense Pulse Light (IPL) has been successfully proven to treat acne safely and effectively. Lumenis M22 is an FDA-approved treatment that uses filtered light to selectively target and kill the P. acnes bacteria on the skin surface, and simultaneously shrinking the sebaceous glands contained in the skin.
During the 20- to 30-minute procedure, your skin care expert will apply a thin layer of gel to your skin, followed by the IPL treatment. Most patients experience minimal discomfort. After the procedure, some patients may experience temporary reddening and minimal swelling of the acne and surrounding skin for a day or two. These side effects are short-lived and usually associated with little or no downtime.
To see maximum results with IPL, a series of four to six monthly treatments is most effective. Most patients will need periodic touch-up treatments ranging from monthly to every six months, depending on the type and severity of your hormonal acne is Springfield Missouri.
Microdermabrasion Treatment
Uses tiny crystals that exfoliate and gently remove the outer layer of skin to reveal fresher skin underneath. This treatment works best for mild acne due to clogged pores and comedones, acne scarring, hyperpigmentation, and uneven skin texture. Your skin will instantly feel smoother after your first treatment with the best results seen after 3 to 6 treatments. Microdermabrasion is also a good choice for people with skin that is sensitive to chemical peels.
Chemical Peels
Using light a chemical peel is a great way to exfoliate the skin. The peel targets the dead and dying skin cells to help with cell proliferation. As with most acne treatments, a series of peels and maintenance peels are the best way to keep your acne under control.
Acne Facials
Certain skin types are too sensitive for Microderm or Peels. In this case, we recommend an acne facial. This treatment involves steaming, deep pore cleansing, and extractions. Acne facials will leave the skin cleaner and more clear with no downtime.
Skin Care Products
This is a very important step in the process of clearing the skin. Following a consistent skincare routine using high-quality products can have a great impact on the skin. What a patient does on a daily basis to treat the skin will boost any procedure for maximum results. At Advanced Laser Clinic we customize a realistic routine for each individual person.