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Getting acne....Q&A............(part 3 of 5)

I’ve started getting acne spots. How long do they last? This depends on what type of spots they are and, even then, it can be very difficult to predict what will happen. Some spots will appear and then disappear during the course of a day but others will evolve more gradually through the various stages. Comedones can be very persistent if they don’t get inflamed. Mildly inflamed spots will last 5–10 days before settling down, but can leave a flat red mark (macule) for several weeks. Nodules and cysts may last for weeks or months unless you get some treatment. What is the difference between a whitehead and a yellow- head spot? These two common terms describe quite different types of spot. A whitehead is a closed comedone where the pore is blocked and not open to the air. There is no inflammation (redness). A yellow- head suggests a spot with pus in it. The medical term is a ‘pustule’. Whiteheads may become yellowheads if the blocked pore becomes infected. My daughter is only 9 but she seems
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Dealing with dry skin

If you have overly dry skin (known as xerosis in the medical world),
it’s probably more of a problem for you when the weather is cold and
the humidity is low. This occurs most often in the winter months in
northern climates. In Western societies, our modern lifestyles also
emphasize overbathing, which only serves to worsen the dryness.
On top of that, we often live and work in overheated spaces.
If your skin is dry, keep it moist by using only mild soaps or soap
substitutes as I recommend in the preceding section. You could also
consider moving to a more humid climate — think rain forest. If
you’re already using a mild soap (and assuming a move to the
Amazon is out of the question), apply moisturizers regularly, partic-
ularly when your skin is still damp (check out the “Giving your skin a
drink!” sidebar in this chapter to find out why). Finding the right
moisturizer for your skin may involve trial and error. Look for those
that are labeled as noncomedogenic. I happen to recommend Oil of
Olay, but many other excellent products are available. Go ahead and
use a moisturizer that contains a sunscreen if you think you need
one. You can also use room humidifiers to help hydrate your skin.
If you have acne and dry skin, you probably know that acne treat-
ments can make your dry skin worse. Using moisturizers over your
topical acne medicine can make these symptoms more tolerable. If
you wear makeup, you can apply it over the moisturizer.
Some common recommendations for dry skin are of questionable
or no value, including the following:
 Ingesting copious amounts of water
 Taking lots of vitamins
These “remedies” won’t hurt you, but don’t look to them to cure
your dry skin. Instead, treat your acne and dry skin with TLC and
the gentlest of cleansing methods.
If your skin gets flaky and scaly, that doesn’t mean that you have
wrinkles. In fact, several of the topical treatments that I cover in
Chapter 9 can cause your skin to look dry and scaly as a side effect,
but some of these medications can actually prevent wrinkles.
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