Just as there are countless “well-known” but totally incorrect “causes” for acne, so there are countless equally accepted “cures.” They too are nearly all wrong. Let us touch on just a few.
Camphor Is a Sure Cure for Acne:
Camphor is a volatile compound derived from an Asian evergreen tree. It is used in some cosmetic compounds because it makes the skin feel warm, and it helps to relieve itching to some extent because it has a slight numbing effect.
Camphor is touted by many aestheticians and so-called skin specialists (who are not, however, physicians) as a product that can quickly alleviate sudden skin outbreaks. “A camphor mask will work wonders,” they will assure the unsuspecting beauty parlor client. And sometimes it works-but no more often than doing nothing!
The truth is that camphor does nothing for any known skin rash or for acne. The best that can be said for it is that it does no known harm.
Sun Exposure Cures Acne:
As we have stressed throughout this book, unprotected sun exposure is bad for your skin. In addition to the long-term damage it undoubtedly does, leading to a higher risk of skin cancer and inevitably to earlier, more severe wrinkling, sun can dry the stratum corneum and thus give rise to increased flaking-and an increased probability of clogged pores and hence acne.
In addition, sun exposure can also cause or aggravate certain drug-related reactions. For example, if you take sulfa drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs such as piroxicam, certain members of the tetracycline family, St. John’s wort, and a common antifungal product called grisefulvin, those chemicals are distributed throughout your body, including in your skin. Then, when too much ultraviolet light falls on the skin’s surface, it may react with the chemicals to cause a rash. Clearly, this is not acne, but it can cause redness and itching. The answer, of course, is to use a sunblock if you are on any medication and even if you are not!
By all means, go into the sun. But make certain you always use a sunblock-and reapply it often enough if the sunlight is strong and direct. Wearing a hat on especially sunny days is a pretty good idea too. The sun will not cure your acne, but by protecting your skin from ultraviolet light damage, you will help it remain healthier and wrinkle-free. In the long run, you may even make it more resistant to acne.
Alcohol Dries Away Acne:
This myth applies to vodka that, applied to the skin, will dry away your acne in no time. Or so the old wives assure us.
But, as we have stressed before, this is very wrong indeed. Alcohol will, on occasion, reduce the secondary infection from an open wound. But acne is a very different matter.
The only way that alcohol might help acne (provided its use is sensibly controlled) is by letting you relax happily over a cocktail after a tough day at the office. A nice, cold martini may lessen stress, and less stress may inhibit acne. The poet Robert Browning explained that a “stiffish cocktail, taken in time, is better for a bruise than arnica.” He might have added that, similarly taken in time, it can also work wonders for stress- induced acne!
So never apply that alcohol to your skin’s surface. If you do, it will certainly dry things up and thus generate more dry skin cells. But the sebum emerging from your pores will continue unabated. The result, after the first few minutes, will be that clogs are more, not less, likely to form and lead to acne.
Don’t use alcohol or alcohol-based products on your skin.