Tips For Clearing Acne In Skin Of Color
How to treat acne in skin of color
For people with skin of color, acne is often accompanied by dark spots or patches called hyperpigmentation. Fortunately, there are plenty of things people with skin of color can do at home to help clear their acne, as well as the dark spots that linger afterwards.
The term skin of color refers to diverse skin types and complexions. It includes people of African, Asian, Latino, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Native American descent.
People who have skin of color share some common skin-care concerns. Near the top of this list is how to get rid of acne and the dark spots that often appear when acne clears.
The secret to seeing clearer skin lies in knowing what really works when it comes to treating darker skin types. Below youll find 10 tips that science shows can lead to clearer skin.
1. Treat both the acne and the dark spots.Many people seek a dermatologists help for the dark spots, which can last much longer than the acne. Its important to treat the acne, too. When you get rid of the acne, you eliminate whats causing the dark spots.
Acne and dark spots
Dermatologists recommend treating acne and dark spots at the same time.
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Spots and patches of darker skin
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Keloids, a type of raised scar
Do not pop pimples
If you pick, pop, or squeeze acne, you increase your risk of getting a scar.
Retinol: This can unclog pores and fade dark spots.
Cocoa butter
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How Do You Know You Are Getting A Pimple
When clogged pores become infected or inflamed, a pimple, a raised red spot with a white center, forms. If your pores become clogged, closed, and then swollen, you have a white spot. A blackhead occurs when the pores are clogged, left open, and the tips appear blackish from oxidation or exposure to air.
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Bathe Or Shower Daily To Keep Skin Clean
Taking a bath or shower each day can help clear the skin of bacteria as well as sweat and dust that may have accumulated over the course of the day. A study published in Asia Pacific Allergy found that children with eczema saw their symptoms improve as a result of bathing daily plus moisturizing immediately afterward in the summer months. Always be sure to wash with a mild soap that doesnt include dyes or fragrance, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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Reach out for a Poultice of Helpful Herbs
Another excellent option for your query of how to get rid of eczema naturally is poultice. A poultice is a blend which made of clays, salts, herbs, activated charcoal, and other helpful substances. All of this is wrapped in a cloth piece and then placed on the affected area. It is left on the skin for a few hours and replaced several times a day.
Poultice for eczema gets made from vegetables and herbs. Use horsetail, plantain, calendula, carrot paste, chamomile, thyme, sage, juniper berries, cucumber and Epsom salt.
How to use?
- Make a thick paste of the above herbs
- Apply it on the skin directly or with a cloth layer
- Leave it on for a minimum of 20 minutes and a few hours if possible
- Replace it further
Benefits of Poultice
A poultice is very beneficial when it gets difficult to get submerged entirely in water when a flare-up hits. This combination of the herbal mixture stays in contact with the affected area directly. Hence it provides a soothing effect and heals it quickly.
Precautions
Always be careful while making a paste. Maintain hygiene and use a clean cloth while applying the poultice.
Are Natural Remedies Worth Trying
Some people strongly recommend natural remedies instead of the treatments usually prescribed by medical professionals, with examples including aloe vera gel and coconut oil. Most of these substances are harmless, and some do possess antibacterial and/or antimicrobial properties, but be warned: much of what theyre claimed to do has never been verified.
Prescribed treatments dont sound exotic or fancy, but thats because theyve been purpose-developed to achieve specific goals safely and effectively. If youre sure that it will be safe to try a natural remedy, then youre welcome to try but dont expect to get results similar to those youd get from prescribed medication.
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Honey And Sugar Mixture
Honey can help you give a relief from eczema marks. After you wash the affected areas of your body, apply honey on them. Then you add crystallized sugar to honey, and scrub your eczema scars with this mixture. Finally, after 10 minutes, you rinse them off with cold water. Repeat this remedy daily until you can see your desired results.
How You Get Eczema
Eczema is a chronic, or lifelong, health condition connected to your immune system and its inflammatory response. Ordinary substances we encounter in our everyday lives, such as dust, mold, animal dander or certain chemicals, seem to trigger an allergic response in people with eczema causing their skin to flare up in an itchy, dry or painful rash.
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Importance Of Eczema Treatment
There is growing evidence that allergens introduced into the body through the skin can lead to the later development of food allergy, asthma and hay fever. Aggressively treating eczema in children and taking steps to restore normal skin barrier function may lower the risk of future development of these conditions.
What Do I Need To Know About Immunosuppressants Used To Treat Eczema
- Not specifically approved to treat eczema sometimes used off-label for moderate-to-severe eczema.
- Sometimes used as an alternative to phototherapy.
- Very strong medications, developed for chemotherapy and to prevent organ rejection after transplants.
- Require short-term use and regular blood test monitoring by a doctor.Side effects may include blood pressure and kidney or liver problems.
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How Can Parents Help
Help prevent or treat eczema by keeping your child’s skin from getting dry or itchy and avoiding triggers that cause flare-ups. Try these suggestions:
- Kids should take short baths or showers in warm water. Use mild unscented soaps or non-soap cleansers and pat the skin dry before putting on cream or ointment. Teens should use unscented makeup and oil-free facial moisturizers.
- Ask your doctor if it’s OK to use oatmeal soaking products in the bath to help control itching.
- Kids should wear soft clothes that “breathe,” such as those made from cotton. Wool or polyester may be too harsh or irritating.
- Keep your child’s fingernails short to prevent skin damage from scratching. Try having your child wear comfortable, light gloves to bed if scratching at night is a problem.
- Kids should avoid becoming overheated, which can lead to flare-ups.
- Kids should drink plenty of water, which adds moisture to the skin.
- Get rid of known allergens in your household and help your child avoid others, like pollen, mold, and tobacco smoke.
- Stress can make eczema worse. Help your child find ways to deal with stress .
Change Out Of Wet Clothing As Soon As You Can
Staying dry should be your summertime mantra if youre struggling with eczema-prone skin. If you feel perspiration start to build and your T-shirt start to stick to your back, for instance, swap your wet clothes for dry ones as soon as you can. The BioMed Research International study found that changing clothes when they become wet with sweat is an effective way to manage sweat if you have eczema.
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Tips For Taking Care Of Your Skin
Sometimes it may seem like your skin is impossible to manage, especially when you wake up and find a huge zit on your nose or a cold sore at the corner of your mouth. The good news is that there are ways to prevent and treat common skin problems read on for some tips.
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Do Moisturizers Help Eczema
Moisturizers are the first-line therapy in treating eczema. They help protect the outer layer of the skin by sealing in moisture, combating dryness, keeping out allergens, irritants and bacteria and preventing flare-ups. And they soothe the skin for long-lasting hydration.
Doctors recommend you apply a moisturizer at least twice per day, including once after a bath or shower. Develop a schedule so that moisturizing becomes part of your skincare routine.
If you experience symptoms on your hands, keep moisturizer by all sinks in the home or carry a small tube with you. This way you can easily moisturize every time you wash your hands throughout the day.
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Lifestyle Tips For Hand Eczema
Find the cause.
Ask your doctor if they can do a âpatch testâ to learn what may be triggering your symptoms. They can also help you figure out if something in your day-to-day life, like at work, makes things worse and what you might do differently.
Cut back on handwashing.
Wash your hands only when theyre dirty or have germs, like after you use the bathroom. Each time you wash up, you rinse away some of the nourishing oils that your skin makes.
Also, be picky when you choose soaps because some have harsh chemicals. Look for products that donât use the word âsoapâ but instead say âmild cleansing barsâ or âlipid-free cleansers.â These are gentler on sensitive skin.
Before you suds up, take off your rings. They can trap irritants next to your skin. Rinse your hands with lukewarm water, pat them dry, and moisturize before you put rings back on.
Be sure to dry carefully between your fingers and under rings, where soap residue can linger and skin is more likely to dry or crack.
Stay dry.
You can also go waterless when washing your hands: Rub your usual cleanser between dry hands and blot it off with a soft towel.
Try to avoid hand sanitizers and waterless cleansers with irritating ingredients like alcohol or solvents.
Love the gloves for a little while.
Wear disposable gloves when handling foods like citrus, tomatoes, onions, chilis, garlic, peppers, or meat.
Manage cracks on your hands.
Dial back the shower power.
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Tea Tree Oil For Eczema
Tea tree oil has excellent disinfectant and soothing properties for any inflamed skin. This is basically due to the terpenes present in the tea tree oil which makes it a fine anti0bacterial agent. However, tea tree oil is also very strong oil and thus has to be used carefully by those having sensitive skin. Eczema does make your skin sensitive. Because eczema also makes your skin dry, you need to add tea tree oil in some other carrier oil because this essential oil also is drying in nature. Secondly, it should not be used alone on sensitive skin.
How to Use Tea Tree Oil for Eczema
Get this:
- Tea tree oil- 8-10 drops
- Any carrier oil 1/4 cup
Do this:
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Home Remedies For Eczema
Home remedies for eczema can be simple or complex. The easiest, most effective treatment is to make changes to avoid or remove whatever is causing the allergic reaction. But try not to expect a quick response. Eczema is easier to control than cure.
Here are some things you can try on your own to ease the irritation of eczema.
Change your laundry detergent or fabric softener. Liquid detergents may be less irritating than powders or tablets. Use an extra rinse cycle when you wash to remove residue.
Put on a cool compress. Holding a clean, damp cloth against skin can ease itching.
Take lukewarm showers or baths for no more than 10 or 15 minutes to prevent dry skin. Dry yourself very carefully and apply moisturizing lotion all over your body.
Add colloidal oatmeal to the bath or as a paste on your skin. This finely ground oatmeal helps with itchy, dry skin. Or try a baking soda bath or paste.
A mild solution of bleach and water may ease inflammation and itching, as well as killing the bacteria that can cause skin infections when you have eczema. Add a half-cup of household bleach to a full tub of water, soak for 10 minutes, and rinse. Talk to your doctor before giving this a try because chlorine can cause problems for some people.
Add apple cider vinegar to bath water. Use an amount between 1-2 cups.
Moisturize your skin twice a day. But avoid lotions with fragrances or other irritating ingredients.
Eczema Around The Eye
When eczema occurs on the face, it often affects the skin around the eyes or eyelids . Eczema that develops near the eyes needs special attention because the eyes themselves can be affected.
Those with eczema around the eyes are more susceptible to certain eye problems such as conjunctivitis , inflamed cornea, and changes in the shape of the cornea .
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See A Doctor If Otc Moisturizers Dont Work
Applying moisturizer twice a day, especially after cleansing your face, helps your skin retain moisture. If over-the-counter moisturizing creams dont work, or if your facial eczema doesnt respond to self-treatment, see a doctor.
Your doctor might recommend other therapies, including:
- prescription topical corticosteroids to reduce inflammation
- prescription antihistamine
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How To Get Rid Of Eczema Scars
Scarring can be an unfortunate side effect of eczema. The reddish marks left behind be a particularly aggressive eczema outbreak can be just as distressing as a flare up and make us feel self-conscious especially if the dark scars are on our face or arms. As hard as it is, the best thing you can do to avoid eczema scarring is to stop scratching. Scarring is caused, in part, by the repeated abrasion of scratching your eczema affected areas. With that in mind, if you do still have some scarring and youre looking a natural way to treat it, weve put together a list of home eczema care remedies for you to try.
But first, we need to learn a little more about eczema scarring.
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Take A Colloidal Oatmeal Bath
Colloidal oatmeal contains natural emollients that calm red, inflamed skin and ease uncomfortable irritation. Its available as a finely ground powder thats easy to sprinkle into a warm bath.
To reap the most benefits, soak for 1015 minutes, then gently pat your skin dry with a towel and apply your favorite heavy-duty moisturizer.
What Are The Risk Factors Associated With Eczema
There are numerous risk factors associated with the skin during the problem of eczema. Here is a list of some for the people who may be prone to the condition more than others:
- People who live in freezing temperatures and climate encounter the situation of eczema more
- People who have dry skin can develop the disease more than the people who have oily skin, healthy skin or combination skin
- People who use perfumes, powder, cosmetics, and deodorants a lot may encounter the disease as well.
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Gentle Soaps And Detergents
Laundry detergent can contain harsh chemicals that aggravate eczema.
Many body washes and cleansers contain detergents, which help provide a soapy lather. Detergents and other lathering agents can dry out the skin, especially in people with eczema.
Bar soaps can also be harsh on the skin because of their alkalinity.
Try using a gentle, no-lather, fragrance-free cleanser. Avoid products with rough particles for scrubbing or exfoliating, as these can further irritate the skin.
Many people with eczema also find that switching to a more gentle, fragrance- or color-free laundry detergent can help improve symptoms.
Additionally, try skipping fabric softener, which lingers on clothes and often contains fragrances and chemicals that can irritate the skin.
Sitting next to a fireplace or near a furnace may feel good, but it can worsen eczema symptoms. The hot, dry air can dehydrate the skin and aggravate the itchiness of eczema.
Use a humidifier during the dry winter months and avoid getting too close to heaters and fireplaces.
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What Do I Need To Know About Topical Calcineurin Inhibitors Used To Treat Eczema
- Topical calcineurin inhibitors are an alternative to topical corticosteroids, when skin is being damaged or there is concern about overuse of steroids.
- They are approved for adults and children age 2 and up.
- They may be used 2-4 times weekly as maintenance/preventive treatment.
- When used, you need to avoid sunlight and sunlamps calcineurin inhibitors may cause skin to be more sensitive to light.
- They may cause skin pain , especially when applied to acutely inflamed skin.
- Topical calcineurin inhibitors have an FDA warning. They may increase risk of skin cancer and non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The American Academy of Dermatology says this risk applies to oral forms of the medication taken at high doses for long periods of time the risk is lower with limited topical use.