Hmm, maybe all those other harsh things work...
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Hmm, maybe all those other harsh things work...
Ever notice how back in high school etc when you noticed someone with terrible acne...how after say a summer they come back with clear skin? most people use products (over the counter and/or prescriptions) that contain salicylic acid or benzyl peroxide alone but consistently, and rid themselves of acne after months of treatment...shouldnt products such as these do the same thing that sea buckthorn oil and zinc oxide do to the mites (ie kill them)?
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SteveInAustin
- Posts: 206
- Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:24 am
- Location: Austin, Texas USA
No idea. I don't think that has been shown to be the case.
Acne is definitely caused by the acne bacteria. But in addition to that, we suspect mites are the trigger.
So we can either attack the bacteria or we can attack the mites. Or both.
We know benzoyl peroxide kills the acne bacteria. That can be why it works for most people. We don't know if it kills the mites, however.
I will say this, though. I have no other explanation I have seen which explains why people have initial breakouts of acne when starting these programs. For example, accutane causes an initial breakout, and we know it works well for most people. Antibiotics causes an initial breakout, and it works well for most people. And the ZZ/XFML products cause initial breakouts and works well for (most?) people. Well, okay then, what causes the initial breakout? Well, if you believe that the acne bacteria is the only cause of acne, then you can not come up with any explanation as to why the initial breakout occurs. But if you include mites as a trigger for the acne bacteria, then that explains it.
The explanation is that the mites usually die off at a small enough rate that it just causes a small amount of acne. When the mites die, they leave behind corpses which your pores try to get rid of. The mite bodies are very large, and so the pore must produce lots of oil to flush it out of the pore. And then the acne bacteria feed on the oil, which causes inflammation, an immune response and the familiar acne pustules to appear. Well, if you introduce a chemical that kills off the mites in large numbers, or if you take away the mites' food supply thereby killing them off in large numbers, then there are lots more of these mites dying in your pores. And so lots more acne pustules will form on your face. That explains these initial breakouts... But without mites, there seems to be no explanation. At least I've not heard of any.
And so I would say that anything which causes an initial breakout is probably also working to kill mites. I forget if benzoyl peroxide causes initial breakouts. If so, yes it probably kills mites. Same with salicylic acid. But I think salicylic acid doesn't cause initial breakouts. I could be wrong. I think salicylic acid only exfoliates the skin, thereby allowing benzoyl peroxide and other topical treatments to enter the pores faster. It's also said that salicylic acid "unclogs" pores, but I think that's probably a myth. Acne probably doesn't form because of any clogs in the pore. And it isn't treated by unclogging the pore, either. From my perspective, salicylic acid is fairly useless and only irritates the skin. Your results may vary.
Steve
Austin, Texas USA
Acne is definitely caused by the acne bacteria. But in addition to that, we suspect mites are the trigger.
So we can either attack the bacteria or we can attack the mites. Or both.
We know benzoyl peroxide kills the acne bacteria. That can be why it works for most people. We don't know if it kills the mites, however.
I will say this, though. I have no other explanation I have seen which explains why people have initial breakouts of acne when starting these programs. For example, accutane causes an initial breakout, and we know it works well for most people. Antibiotics causes an initial breakout, and it works well for most people. And the ZZ/XFML products cause initial breakouts and works well for (most?) people. Well, okay then, what causes the initial breakout? Well, if you believe that the acne bacteria is the only cause of acne, then you can not come up with any explanation as to why the initial breakout occurs. But if you include mites as a trigger for the acne bacteria, then that explains it.
The explanation is that the mites usually die off at a small enough rate that it just causes a small amount of acne. When the mites die, they leave behind corpses which your pores try to get rid of. The mite bodies are very large, and so the pore must produce lots of oil to flush it out of the pore. And then the acne bacteria feed on the oil, which causes inflammation, an immune response and the familiar acne pustules to appear. Well, if you introduce a chemical that kills off the mites in large numbers, or if you take away the mites' food supply thereby killing them off in large numbers, then there are lots more of these mites dying in your pores. And so lots more acne pustules will form on your face. That explains these initial breakouts... But without mites, there seems to be no explanation. At least I've not heard of any.
And so I would say that anything which causes an initial breakout is probably also working to kill mites. I forget if benzoyl peroxide causes initial breakouts. If so, yes it probably kills mites. Same with salicylic acid. But I think salicylic acid doesn't cause initial breakouts. I could be wrong. I think salicylic acid only exfoliates the skin, thereby allowing benzoyl peroxide and other topical treatments to enter the pores faster. It's also said that salicylic acid "unclogs" pores, but I think that's probably a myth. Acne probably doesn't form because of any clogs in the pore. And it isn't treated by unclogging the pore, either. From my perspective, salicylic acid is fairly useless and only irritates the skin. Your results may vary.
Steve
Austin, Texas USA
Nice post steve, I see what you are saying...I also think killing off the mites initially releases toxins/bacteria they had within them onto the skin, causing more room for infection etc....also about SA unclogging pores, I think it really does effectively dissolve sebum to a certain extent (which may help get rid of old dried sebum, but obviously you are constantly releasing new sebum)
Well that would provide a perfect explaination for why accutane works, it a) starves the mites and bacteria by drastically reducing oil production and b) shrinks the pores so that there is less room for the mites. An antibiotic, however, would only kill the bacteria, leaving mites free to roam about. So, in theory, would taking antibiotics exclusively for acne actually avoid an initial breakout because no mites are dying? Do antibiotics kill mites?
Do antibiotics cause an initial breakout as well?
Do antibiotics cause an initial breakout as well?
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SteveInAustin
- Posts: 206
- Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:24 am
- Location: Austin, Texas USA
Yes, antibiotics generally cause an initial outbreak of acne.Rob wrote:Well that would provide a perfect explaination for why accutane works, it a) starves the mites and bacteria by drastically reducing oil production and b) shrinks the pores so that there is less room for the mites. An antibiotic, however, would only kill the bacteria, leaving mites free to roam about. So, in theory, would taking antibiotics exclusively for acne actually avoid an initial breakout because no mites are dying? Do antibiotics kill mites?
Do antibiotics cause an initial breakout as well?
Steve
Austin, Texas USA