'Home Treatments That Help Fight Pimple Prone Skin

The most effective home treatment regimens for acne start with washing your face.

You may think you know how to wash your face -- you've been doing it all your life, right? Well you may have been causing some acne problems. Washing the face twice a day, either with a formulated soap that is designed to fight acne, or with an antibacterial lotion that contains benzoyl peroxide, or salicylic acid, can help prevent acne. Washing your face several times a day however, can wash away essential skin oils. This can cause your sebaceous glands to create more skin oil -- and perhaps over-produce skin oil and cause acne problems. Washing your face or entire body carefully up to two to four times each day with a very gentle soap and without a lot of friction will leave you with a clean face and body and should minimize acne problems. However, scrubbing or scraping the skin with a rough wash cloth, may help you feel clean and refreshed, but that method is very hard on your skin and will, almost certainly, create acne problems by scrubbing away natural skin oils and actually damaging your hair follicles. If you properly care for your skin with washing and moisturizing, your skin will stay healthy for you.

Diet and nutrition: Another home treatment area concerns your diet. Even though science has not found a direct link between diet and acne it is very important to maintain healthy eating habits and to remember that we are all unique or, more precisely, our metabolism's are all unique. Greasy hamburgers, for example, may not appear to have a harmful effect on some people, they may cause major problems, in the areas of weight management and complexion, for other people.

There are many reports from individual acne sufferers that certain drinks or foods, such as dairy products, eggs and nuts. These foods can make a person' acne worse. If you suspect that something you are eating is causing your acne, play close attention to what you eat when your break out. Try eliminating those foods.

The water treatment: An important yet simple home treatment for acne is drinking water. Water is the main carrier of nutrients throughout your body and is quite possibly the single most important contributor to healing and preventing acne flare-ups.

Wastes and toxins from what you eat and what you breathe will build up in your system and cause health problems as well as skin problems such as acne. The human body has four outlets for this buildup of toxins and wastes: the bowels, the kidneys, the lungs, and the skin. Your bowels and kidneys are your body's primary outlets for this toxic buildup. If these two primary outlets are not working properly your lungs and skin become involved in the process, causing breathing problems and skin problems.

To keep your bowels and kidneys working at maximum efficiency, drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day; this will help flush toxins out of your system and keep your complexion healthier.

Vitamins for skin health: Your skin, just like every other organ in your body, requires proper nutrition to function properly. Since very few of us eat a well balanced diet, the use of vitamins to supplement our diet are very important.

Some vitamins and minerals are powerful antioxidants that effectively flush toxins out of your body; others have antibacterial effects. These types of vitamins are vital for keeping your pores open and healing any damaged skin tissue.

NOTE: It is important to note that taking too much of a vitamin or mineral can be toxic and extremely dangerous. Each supplement listed has a recommended dosage that you should not exceed.

The most beneficial vitamins for your skin health are:

Vitamin A: Vitamin A reduces sebum production and also works as an antioxidant that helps rid your body of toxins.

Vitamin B Complex: B vitamins help to keep your skin looking healthy and also have a positive effect on the anxiety and stress that not only accompanies an outbreak of acne but may cause further outbreaks.

The vitamins in the B vitamin family are: Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Pyridoxine and Cyanocobalamin. Each one of these B vitamins has a role to play in keeping your skin and body healthy.

Vitamin C with bioflavonoids: Vitamin C has been called the most important vitamin supplement you can take. Vitamin C works as an antioxidant and the bioflavanoids work as antibacterial agents.

Chromium picolinate or chromium polynicotinate: Chromium is used to reduce skin infections. A chromium supplement is especially required for people who consume large quantities of sugar and sugary foods.

Zinc: Zinc helps your skin tissue heal, helps prevent scarring caused by deep blemishes and also has antioxident properties.

Vitamin E: Vitamin E is another antioxidant that will aid healing skin tissue.

Multivitamins: Taking a good multivitamin with chromium every day will give you most, if not all, of the vitamins you need to supplement your diet.