Acne thread

I didn't say you didn't know what you're talking about. All I'm saying is that the "genetic predisposition" is a silly excuse.



Yes, washing out your face disturbs the equilibrium. However, in theory, the equilibrium constant should not change despite how much you wash your face. The goal of washing your face isn't really to keep your skin dry. It's to wash out all the crap that you absorb from the atmosphere/environment that gets trapped under your oils. If you're afraid that your body overproduces oil, you can manipulate this by applying Vaseline to areas that you've rid of natural body oils.

You're right that you should apply a moisturizer to your face after cleansing, as it helps your sebaceous glands in establishing an equilibrium and producing less oil. You're also right about the goal of washing your face, except to add to the "crap" to wash away would be excess oil. You can't, sadly, wash away excess oil without washing away all of the oils, though, which is why everything I said above occurs.

Also, since you're still riding the idea of "genetic predisposition" as an excuse:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/29/acn...index.html (read Facts About Acne on the left-hand side of the article)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12566802 (quote from the Abstract: Postadolescent acne is related with a first-degree relative with the condition in 50% of the cases.)

http://www.nutritionmd.org/consumers/int.../acne.html

And a quote to finish with:

"Genetics, not junk food, is the main cause of acne, according to a study by the Twin Research Unit at St Thomas's Hospital, London. The findings, based on more than 1,500 pairs of identical and non-identical twins, showed that 80% of susceptability to acne is tied to genes. Factors such as the Pill, diet and smoking had no significant effect. Isolating the key genes responsible for spots should lead to better acne drugs." (quoted from REAL magazine 15-28 July 2003)