Despite being one of the most common inflammatory skin conditions in the world, acne is still very misunderstood. Even in this age of skincare acne myths are still abound – like toothpaste to treat pimples! We debunked that here if you want to read about it. Fortunately, at Lamelle Research Laboratories the acne experts have helped us sort the facts from fiction.
Myth 1: Only teenagers get acne
Nope, not true! It would be great if acne was a problem you could simply outgrow, but this isn’t the case for everyone. There are four main triggers that contribute to acne:
- skin that doesn’t naturally exfoliate the way it should, leading to a build-up of dead skin cells that can clog the pores;
- an excess of oil that gets trapped in pores;
- infection
- inflammation.
These triggers can affect both adults and teens, but it’s true, teens are often most affected. This is due to their body’s creating more androgens during puberty, a hormone that can increase the production of oil. It’s also good to note that regardless of your age, the active ingredients proven to help clear up acne remains the same.
Myth 2: Chocolate causes pimples
The one acne myth we all fear – chocoholics, you can breathe a sigh of relief! The idea that your favourite chocolate bar could be the baddie behind your breakout has persisted for decades, so much so that multiple studies have been performed to find out the truth. The conclusion is now an extremely mixed bag. Some experts say yes, eating chocolate could worsen acne and while others say it has no real impact.
What we do know is that some research has found a correlation between low zinc levels and acne. To be clear, this doesn’t mean that acne is a sign of a zinc deficiency. It does mean that though that if you have acne, you’re more likely to not be getting enough zinc.
The zinc-acne connection makes sense, because zinc helps regulate our immune cell response in a way that helps control inflammation – one of the big triggers for a breakout. For this reason, Lamelle have created the Lamelle Acnevelle Plus. It is an oral supplement that includes zinc glycinate and nicotinamide, a combination proven to help reduce the redness and sensitivity associated with inflammatory acne.
Myth 3: You can scrub your way to clear skin
Yes, a pimple is the result of a blocked pore, but the idea that you can ’empty’ these with a scrub is misguided. In fact, harsh, grainy scrubs are one of the worst things you can do to treat a breakout! More often than not, the particle is too big to get inside the pore. Worse yet, the friction will irritate your already inflamed skin, causing it to get even angrier.
So, while acne sufferers will definitely want to up exfoliation, they need to choose their weapons wisely. In this case, gentle chemical exfoliators will do a much better job of gently ridding your skin of the excess skin cells clogging up pores. This is why the Lamelle Clarity collection for acne treatment doesn’t contain a scrub. Instead, it contains a mix of alpha hydroxy acids, non-irritating forms of retinol and salicylic acid to gently increase your skin’s cellular turnover.
Myth 4: Getting a tan will help clear up my skin
Yes, getting a tan may help temporarily minimise the look of redness associated with acne and, at first, it might feel like it’s helping to dry it up oily skin. Alas, all you’re doing is dehydrating and burning your skin causing it to produce even more oil and become inflamed. And guess what that leads to? Yep, a worsening case of acne.
If you want a golden glow but suffer from acne, you might be better off using a gentle self-tanning product. But something all acne sufferers definitely need in their artillery is a good sunscreen. Especially since many of the active ingredients proven to help clear up acne, things like exfoliating acids and retinoids, will increase their skin’s sensitivity to the sun. And while we are here, the acne myth that sunscreen makes it worse is not true either – you just have to find one that’s lightweight and non-greasy.
The bottom line
Ultimately, the more you know about what really causes acne, the better equipped you’ll be to treat it. You can learn more about the acne fighting range Clarity by Lamelle here. Or purchase it on these online stores to get you on your path to clear, healthy skin: Dermastore, Glo Laser & Beauty, Online Skin Shop and SkinMiles.
And before you go…don’t listen to myths!
