Want to get rid of acne? Change your lifestyle

NEW DELHI - If you are trying to get rid of acne, changes in your lifestyle and some cleanliness habits in your daily routine can do wonders to your facial skin, say experts.

“People forget personal hygiene like washing their hair daily because normally if you have dandruff and hair comes in contact with your facial skin, you are bound to get pimples. But if your scalp is clean, you can see the difference,” Neelam Khurana, vice president of Timpac Healthcare, told IANS.

“Also, one should never share towels with anyone. There are more chances of getting infection. Also, make sure you don’t pop those pimples; it can lead to scars,” she added.

Timpac Healthcare is known for offering clinical obesity management, cosmetology, medical aesthetics, wellness, medi spas and anti-aging treatments.

One could get acne due to factors like genetic history as well as hormonal imbalance during pregnancy and menopause. Sometimes the polycystic ovary syndrome too causes skin problems.

“As we reach puberty, changing hormones stimulate the sleeping oil glands and they start over-secreting. The gland becomes larger with the sebum and dead cells inside it and pollution and dirt further clog it, creating a black head and then a pimple,” said Chiranjiv Chhabra, senior dermatologist and cosmetic laser surgeon of Skin Alive clinic.

Anup Dhir, senior cosmetic surgeon in Apollo Hospital, says apart from all these factors, stress too causes these regular breakouts.

“Stress also plays a role. While the connection between acne and stress has been debated, scientific research indicates that ‘increased acne severity’ is significantly associated with increased stress levels,” said Dhir.

Usually acne is pertinent among teens and Dhir says he gets around 20-30 queries related to acne every month from both the sexes.

Chhabra says it’s a myth that pimples will go away as you get older.

“The frequency of acne attacks reduces with time but leave scars and blemishes. So it has to be addressed medically if we wish to have a blemish free face. If we treat acne in the early stages (teenage), the acne scars do not develop or are much less and easier to treat,” he said.

Many recommend consuming loads of water to flush toxins out of the body, but Khurana explains that a person should drink water according to his weight.

“One shouldn’t drink like a fish. There has to be some calculation. Unfortunately, no one tells you how much water a person should drink,” said Khurana.

“A person should drink 40 ml of water per kilogram of body weight, which means, if you weigh 60 kg, you should drink approximately two litres of water. Also try to sleep for eight hours; it also works,” she added.

While a lot of oil-free products, face washes, face packs are selling like hot cakes in the market, experts feel they are meant for the general population. They also say home remedies can’t replace professional advice when it comes to “active acne”.

Usually clinics charge Rs.2,500 per session for acne treatment.

“Teenagers with acne problem usually lose their self-esteem and do not want to socialise. Sometimes it affects their studies as well. If these issues are not handled with the right treatment and counselling, it can lead to depression,” said Chhabra.

While using benzoyl peroxide is a first-line of treatment for mild and moderate acne, experts suggest, in extreme cases, where acne is painful and leaves scars, one should opt for treatments like photo therapy, chemical peels and skin polishing; in extreme cases laser treatments are used used to get rid of marks.

(Shilpa Raina can be contacted at shilpa.r@ians.in)