Acne : Acne can affect people from ages 10 through 40 and up. Acne can show up as any of the following; congested pores, whiteheads, blackheads, pimples, pustules, or cysts (deep pimples). These blemishes occur wherever there are many oil (sebaceous) glands, mainly on the face, chest, and back. Acne is commonly referred to in slang as zits. You can do a lot for your acne if you understand what brings it on and what really doesn't (despite what people tell you)--and if you know what you can get at a drugstore or cosmetic counter without a prescription. For tougher cases, you should consult a physician. No one factor causes acne. As physicians understand it, acne happens when oil (sebaceous) glands come to life around puberty, when these glands are stimulated by male hormones that are produced in the adrenal glands of both boys and girls. The oil glands, which are located just beneath the skin, continuously produce and secrete oil through openings in the skin. The oil lubricates and protects the skin. Under certain circumstances, cells that are close to the openings of the oil glands block the openings. This causes a buildup of oil underneath the skin. Bacteria, which live in everyone's skin but generally mind their own business, feast on this oil, multiply, and cause the surrounding tissues to become inflamed. If the inflammation is right near the surface, you get a pustule; if it's deeper, a papule (pimple); deeper still and it's a cyst. If the oil breaks though to the surface, the result is a " whitehead." If the oil becomes oxidized (that is, acted on by oxygen in the air), the oil changes from white to black, and the result is a "blackhead."

Retin A does help reduce the appearance of scars that you have from acne and does help reduce the redness of your skin when you have acne problems. Apply Retin A after washing your face in the evening and apply over your entire face when you are getting ready for bed. Applying Retin A in this manner will help your skin heal over the night hours when you are less likely to be in the sun and less likely to put your hands on your face where you can put dirt back on your face.

Skin Care Healthy Skin : The skin, your body's largest organ, protects you against heat, light, injury, and infection. A suntan is not a sign of health - it can lead to skin damage, and eventually, premature again, wrinkling or skin cancer. Skin cancer can be prevented and it is never too late to start taking better care of your skin! Steps You Can Take - Check your skin often, ideally after a shower or bath, for any changes in moles or birthmarks or for precancerous skin lesions that look dry, scaly, reddish, and slightly raised. Report any changes immediately to your health care provider. You can also get a yearly skin and mole exam from a health care provider. Do not use sunlamps, tanning beds, and tanning pills. None of these are safe. You can use tanning make-up products safely, but remember they are not sunscreens and will not protect your skin from the sun. Use a broad spectrum sunscreen that guards against both UVA and UVB rays, with a sun protection factor. Stay out of the sun, especially between 10am and 3pm when the sun's harmful rays are strongest. Don't think you are safe if it is cloudy or if you are in the water, harmful rays pass through both. Wear protective clothing like a wide-brimmed hat and loose, lightweight, long-sleeved shirts and long pants or long skirts when in the sun. Select sunglasses that block 99 to 100 percent of the sun's rays.

Acnes is not caused by : Heredity: Except for very severe acne, most people don't have the problem just the way their parents did. Besides, some degree of acne is almost universal, so you'd expect to have more than one relative that has been affected at some point. Food: All over the world, parents tell teens to avoid pizza, chocolate, greasy and fried foods, and junk foods. While these foods may not be good for overall health, they don't make acne worse. Dirt: Oil is a natural secretion of the oil glands, though some people are naturally oilier than others. "Blackheads" are oxidized oil, not dirt. Sweat from exercise, whether washed off promptly or not, also doesn't cause acne. On the other hand, excessive washing can dry and irritate the skin. Stress: Some people get so upset by their pimples that they pick at them and make them last longer. Stress, however, does not play much of a direct role in causing acne. The good news is that to improve the acne, people would not be required to calm down and reduce stress, unless it is causing them to pick at their skin. Hormones: Some women break out cyclically, but most women (and all men!) don't. Likewise, hormone tests and treatments aren't much help.