Acne Care Tips

The main precaution to be observed is that cream or oil should not be applied to the face or the hair, or on any part of the body at all. It has been observed that patients who use cream or other greasy cosmetics on the face experience aggravations in their acne. Similarly, applications of oil to the hair lead to aggravation of acne on the face, especially the forehead. Even if the oil is applied elsewhere on the body, it can easily get transferred to the acne-prone areas by hand. It is a wrong belief that oil is necessary for maintaining a good growth of hair on the scalp. This however, is not true because people who use plenty of oil on their hair are as bald as the people who do not. It has also to be understood that no oil can penetrate the intact skin; otherwise, an oil massage on the skin should be equal to eating the same quantity of oil.

Oil applied to the skin soaks only the most superficial layer of the skin; it cannot penetrate deeper than that. The oil remains in the superficial skin layer till it gets washed off or mopped up into the clothes. None of the claims that a particular oil can prevent hair loss or lead to a luxuriant growth of hair has ever been confirmed by scientific evaluation. Most of the oils marketed by the various commercial groups, have been evaluated by their own people who do not understand the fundamentals of hair growth and hair loss. Such enterpreneurs have always shied away when the scientific community has challenged them to prove their claims.

The only function of oil is to keep the hair matted together so that they do not fly off, but, the oil interferes with cleaning and forms a film where the dust from the atmosphere accumulates just as a patch of oil applied to a shirt would act as a spot where the dust would get stuck compared to the adjoining areas of the cloth. Most beauticians advise their clients to apply oil onto their hair at night so that it gets soaked into the hair and then wash the excess with shampoo next morning. This practice is as foolish as going in for vomiting after a hearty meal. The fact is that excess of oil requires extra shampoo to wash it off completely and this means wastage of oil as well as shampoo for complete cleaning; otherwise, the cleaning is incomplete.

Topical therapy : As already explained, the best approach for the management of ame is to prevent ame. This means that the patient must keep on using some medication on a regular basis even when he/she is not having acne. This medication should be started at the time of puberty (preferably, even before the individual starts developing ame) and continued till the age of 25 years when the person is no more prone to develop ame.. Moreover, the medication must be applied on all the acne-prone areas and the application repeated whenever the face or other areas are washed. It is to be used more like a cosmetic rather than a medication.

With these considerations in mind, we have formulated a medication which could be used as a cosmetic. It contains lactic acid/ sodium lactate and is thus based on the ingredients produced by the skin itself as a part of the natural mechanism for protection against infections. It was theorised that an individual who develops more severe acne possibly produces lesser quantities of these natural chemicals, and augmenting this natural mechanism should be the most logical approach for preventing acne. This formulation is a colourless liquid which disappears into the skin and can therefore, be used even during the day like a cosmetic. Since it contains the body’s own constituents, there is no question of an allergic or a toxic reaction. It is to be applied with the finger-tips and massaged into the skin till it disappears into the skin. Application of larger quantities with a cotton swab leads to unnecessary wastage and should be avoided.

After the lesions disappear completely, the oral treatment can be stopped while the topical treatment should be continued to prevent further recurrences. When however, the next severe recurrence does occur, another course of the oral antibiotic can be instituted again. Thus, a few courses of the antibiotic therapy for a year or so, along with the regular use of the preventive topical treatment, can keep the skin almost clear of the acne lesions.

There are several so-called ayurvedic preparations advertised which promise to purify the blood. Most such preparations presumably contain antibiotic/antiseptic agents, the dosages ofwhich have never been standardised, and their toxicity/safety never confirmed/investigated on scientific criteria.The term blood-purifier is a misnomer. The manufacturers do not know even the impurity in the blood which is being removed by the so-called blood-purifier.

The medicine is applied to the face and the other acneprone areas twice a day-in the morning after the bath and then again at night. If the face is washed again during the day, it is useful to apply the formulation again. Ideally, the applications should be started at puberty and continued till the age of at least 25 years.