Miley Cyrus isn’t one to hold back on her beauty secrets.  Some girls out there want to keep it to themselves if they have a skin problem
at all.  Not Miley, she confesses her struggle with acne via her Twitter page and tells the world what worked for her.

sensai face wash has changed my life i just washed my face and SMILED! that is a miracle.

@pink_cashmere seriously it is the most amazing thing! i have no reason to say this except to give hope!

@manu124 i use her moisturizer! its amazing but the sensai face wash step 1 and 2 has CHANGED my life. bad skin is so hard

@lexiosborne please try it! i had ACNE for 3 years. So bad my make up artist didn’t know what to do! it changed my skin!

@Maellee a beauty product can change your life! having acne is miserable you feel so insecure. i am so happy to have found sensai.

@indieleigh baby i know how you feel! i had horrible acne for 3 years. i cried everyday it changed my life i will post a link.

its made by kanebo and i use the silky purify line. step 1 and 2

@mileyfan_14sensai is made by kanebo! check it out! its so great! my skins not just clear but healthy and soft!!

So there you have it.  Miley is a true believer in Sensai and I think I might just have to give it a try!   I appreciate Miley’s honesty and I believe she can make a huge difference for a lot of teens out there struggling with their skin issues.

Roche said Friday it will stop selling the acne drug Accutane as sales of the treatment continue falling amid competition from less expensive generic versions.

Generic versions of the acne treatment have been on the market since 2002 and Roche’s branded product’s market share has since slipped to less than 5 percent.

The decision was made for economic reasons, not safety reasons, the company said. The drug has a rocky safety history, having been linked to birth defects if taken during pregnancy, along with depression and suicidal thoughts. The company said costs for personal-injury lawsuits are high, but it continues to “rigorously” defend the drug.

Here are some homemade acne care solutions that you can easily try. Because of different skin types, different atmospheric and environmental conditions and differed food habits, one solution may not work for everyone. You may have to do some experimentation before you find one of the magic homemade acne remedies that does the trick for you.

Use an herbal cleanser to clean your face and skin. This will remove excess oil. Make a paste of gram flour and use it to clean your face and skin. This will clean your skin well and would not be harsh. However make sure to rinse the skin well with water to remove the gram flour paste.

Sandalwood and turmeric have been used for acne care for a very long time. Mix sandalwood and turmeric powder in equal quantities to create a fine paste. Apply this paste to your pimples and leave it for about an hour. This mix has excellent healing and antibacterial properties, which makes it one of the best homemade acne remedies.

You should also remove dead skin cells from your face once or twice a week. You can do this by using diluted apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Apply the solution to your face with a cotton ball and leave it for about 10 minutes before wasting with water.

If you have severe pimples then pulp of acidic fruits has really worked well. Take some orange and grape fruit pulp and drain out the juice from it. Apply the pulp to your face and leave it for 20 to 30 minutes before rinsing with water. This acne care solution is extremely effective for cystic acne and also to fade the scars.

Use Antioxidants on your skin. To heal the damaged skin and prevent new acne breakout you will require a homemade acne remedy that has good healing and antioxidant properties. Aloe Vera works really well for healing and acne prevention. You can use gel from an Aloe Vera leaf and directly apply it to your skin. Otherwise you can buy Aloe Vera Gel from one of the herbal wellness stores.

Here are some secrets you don’t know yet – Do you know that there are some natural techniques that can get rid of acne, pimples, zits, beachheads and acne in a few days for sure. This may seem impossible, but is actually 100% true. To get access to these secrets click here – Acne Care

Two different strengths of silica-encapsulated drug significantly reduced lesion counts compared with nonencapsulated therapy, Daniela Mavor, of Sol Gel Technologies in Ness Ziona, Israel, reported at the International Congress of Dermatology.

Differences in efficacy and tolerability emerged early and persisted through the study.

“As early as week two, we noted a reduction of acne lesions, which was significantly superior to leading commercial products,” Stanley Shapiro, Ph.D., also of Sol Gel, said in a statement. “At week four, a 75% improvement was achieved.

“Throughout the study, the high-strength acne kits were significantly better tolerated than the two commercial products,” he said.

Benzoyl peroxide is an established therapy for acne, but the compound often causes burning and irritation that ranges from mild to severe.

Sol Gel Technologies has developed a proprietary delivery vehicle consisting of silica microspheres that form a barrier between the skin and the medication inside the spheres.

The microencapsulating process also leads to a continuous release of the active ingredient, Mavor and colleagues explained in a poster presentation.

Investigators evaluated the safety and efficacy of silica-encapsulated benzoyl peroxide in a clinical trial involving 78 patients, ages 16 to 35, with mild or moderate acne vulgaris.

Disease activity required included at least three comedones (noninflammatory lesions), six or more papules or pustules (inflammatory lesions), no more than 25 lesions of either type, and fewer than four nodulocystic acne lesions.

The patients were randomized to one of four treatment groups: 4% or 7% silica-encapsulated benzoyl peroxide, or a 2.5% or 7% commercially available, nonencapsulated formulation of the acne medication.

Study participants were asked to apply assigned medication twice daily for four weeks. Medication came in a kit that included a cleanser, a toner, and a lotion, applied in sequence according to instructions.

The primary outcome measures were change in number, type, and severity of lesions; safety and tolerability; and change in images obtained at each clinic visit.

By week two, the 7% silica-encapsulated treatment had reduced the total lesion count significantly more than either of the two conventional therapies. The percent reduction from baseline also was significantly greater with the high-dose encapsulated formulation (P=0.016 to P=0.033).

Over the four weeks of the study, the 7% encapsulated formulation led to significantly more improvement compared with the two nonencapsulated formulations (P=0.010, P=0.021).

By Investigator Global Assessment, patients using either strength of encapsulated benzoyl peroxide improved by 40% to 50% from week one to week two. In contrast, little change was noted in patients assigned to the conventional acne therapy.

At weeks three and four, patients using the 4% silica-encapsulated formulation had 75% and 82% improvement, respectively, compared with weeks two and three, Mavor reported.

Patients in the 7% silica-encapsulated arm had improvement of 56% and 75% at weeks three and four, respectively.

However, amidst all of the chaos, it is important to find time to plan your senior portraits. Your senior portraits will be the pictures that you have to remember your high school experience by.

When taking your high school pictures, it is crucial that you look your best. However, this can be extremely difficult for those high school seniors who struggle with acne. Even if you have suffered from unwanted blemishes all through your high school career, you certainly do not want these pesky pimples to ruin your senior portraits.

The folks at Haas Photography in Beaver Dam, WI, are offering some amazing tips on how to achieve a flawless finish in your senior portraits. Watch out, blemishes – Here are some of the tips they shared with us:

Bye, Bye, Zits! – “Of course, the most obvious way to conceal blemishes is makeup. The equation for a smooth finish is concealer plus foundation and finishing with a loose powder. Guys with acne shouldn’t be embarrassed to use a little makeup in their senior portraits. If done correctly, nobody will be able to notice in the finished product.”

The Right Regimen – “Be sure to prepare for your senior pictures up to three months in advance by employing a good skin care regimen. The right skin care can make a dramatic difference in your complexion. High school students struggling with acne should use a sensitive skin facial cleanser, a toner or cream with at least 2.5% benzoyl peroxide, and an oil-free moisturizer. Avoid touching your face, and drink plenty of water.”

Wave That Magic Wand! – “If all else fails, most photography studios do indeed offer photoshop and retouching. This technique can dramatically improve your complexion, and turn bumpy skin blemish free. Be sure to look at samples of the studio’s work before proceeding with their services – This includes seeing a ‘before’ picture. You don’t want to go with a studio that is going to make dramatic changes to your senior pictures. You want to look like yourself, just a better version of yourself.”

Even when you are done with your senior portraits, Haas Photography suggests that you employ a good skin care regimen if you struggle with acne. This involves a proper diet, a healthy amount of exercise, and the right products. As the folks at Haas said, “Unfortunately, your senior photographs can be photoshopped – Your real-life cannot be!”

For more fantastic tips on finding the right photographer and taking great pictures, visit the Haas Photography blog at http://www.haasphoto.com/blog/.

“As early as week two we noted a very early reduction of acne lesions, which was significantly superior to leading commercial products, and at week four a 75 percent improvement was achieved,” said Stanley Shapiro, PhD, Head of Sol-Gel’s Skin Care Science & Technology unit. “Throughout the study Sol-Gel’s high-strength kits were significantly better tolerated than the two commercial products.”

The Sol-Gel Anti-Acne kits feature Sol-Gel’s patented drug delivery technology. “In the Sol-Gel kits, the proprietary silica microcapsules encase and continuously release the benzoyl peroxide, enabling a significant increase in efficacy and tolerance in comparison to products containing free benzoyl peroxide,” said Ofer Toledano, PhD, VP, Research and Development.

The principles of the Sol-Gel encapsulation system will also be presented at the Dermatology Congress.

Study Methodology

Participants in the double-blind, controlled and randomized, 4-week, 4-arm parallel groups were randomized to receive one of Sol-Gel’s kits or of a comparable leading commercial products. Safety and tolerability were assessed by the Principal Investigator dermatologist who also evaluated the rates and grades of erythema, edema, dryness, scaling/peeling, stinging/burning, itching and skin tightness. Efficacy was assessed by lesions count, including total lesions count, inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions and Investigator Global Assessment by improvement of Severity Score.

Sol-Gel’s Anti-Acne Kits

Sol-Gel’s Anti-Acne kits provide a fast-acting, highly-effective and well-tolerated benzoyl peroxide-based acne care program. In contrast to other treatments, the kits deliver visible reduction of acne as quickly as within three days and after two weeks significantly out-perform the leading brand in the resolution of acne and remain substantially more effective with continued use.

The Kits, available in two strengths, both treat and prevent acne. Starting with the cleanser, toner and lotion, and optionally adding a spot treatment, the Sol-Gel regimens include timed-release benzoyl peroxide in combination with ingredients that clean, heal and balance the skin. They treat the entire face to reveal clear, blemish-free skin faster – without the dryness and skin irritation caused by other acne treatments.

WHETHER you call it colonic irrigation, colonic hydrotherapy or colonic cleansing, there¿s nothing sexy about a jet of water up your rear end.

And yet some of the sexiest women in the world swear by the process.

The late Princess Diana was one of the first to bring it to the public’s attention. It’s reported she spent thousands of pounds a year on the treatment, and Goldie Hawn and Demi Moore are also said to be fans.

Andrew Matheson, from Aqua Zen Health Centre in Melbourne, believes colonic hydrotherapy, which involves introducing water into the 1.8 metres of the large intestine via the rectum to eliminate faecal plaque and toxins, is an essential part of the health routine for “nearly all of us”.

Process of elimination

He believes the western world’s unhealthy diet is to blame for many of the illnesses which kill us prematurely, such as cancer and liver disease, and adds that everything from acne, depression and stress can be treated by cleansing the colon.

Only pregnant women or people with certain rectal or abdominal conditions should steer clear, he says.

“People with high-stress careers and/or people who have a great many distractions and demands on their lives… can greatly benefit from colon hydrotherapy,” he says. “It can allow them to simply let go.”

Certainly something is let go, as some people report eliminating up to a kilo of waste after a colonic treatment.

Many practitioners will examine the eliminated matter to assess your overall wellness, with undigested food, parasites and mucous all revealing to those who are wise in waste various information about your health.

Not everyone thinks it’s a good idea. “It’s dangerous and there’s no evidence that it provides the kind of benefits people claim,” says Dr Peter Ford, president of the Australian Medical Association in South Australia.

He also believes potential dangers of colonic irrigation, such as bowel perforation, are underestimated.

But colonics experts say these risks are greatly minimised if care is taken when choosing a therapist. “Ask for a practitioner’s credentials and whether they belong to a colon hydrotherapy body,” advises Anna Paredes, head of the Australian Colon Hydrotherapy Association.

“They are there to assist you to feel better and get back on track to good health.”

Then, it’s just a matter of taking a deep breath and opening up.

More at the Herald Sun…

The pitch: “The first three-step preventative acne solution specifically formulated for African-American and ethnic skin types. It features the brand’s revolutionary Thermalceutical(TM) Complex designed to calm and cool acne lesions found in African-American and ethnic skin types.”

The skinny: First, a confession: I am a compulsive skin picker. I have acne-prone combination and hyperpigmented skin. (MAC Studio Fix and I are close personal friends.) I don’t get major breakouts, but when a blackhead or small pimple appears, I’m right on it, picking and popping.

I tried this product for one month. The first week my skin appeared to be getting clearer. After the first week, all kinds of bumps started popping up. That’s when I started hearing “Oh, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Give it another week, and it’s just purging all the bad stuff out.”

That was easy for everyone to say; they weren’t walking around with zits covering their face. I hung tough. Week three, and my best friend says, “Doesn’t look like Dr. Miracle is going to give you that miracle, huh?” By week four, my face looked worse than ever. I had to go double on the Studio Fix that week. I stopped using it, and about two weeks later my skin cleared up. I loved the tingly feeling on my skin from the toner, but Dr. Miracles did absolutely nothing for me.

Roaccutane works for thousands of acne sufferers in the UK every year – nearly 12,000 prescriptions for the drug were handed out last year.

The leaflet you get with the tablets warns about depression and even suicidal feelings.

It can also cause physical side effects like exhaustion, aching joints and severely dry lips and eyes.

It is licensed in the UK as a last resort for patients with severe acne who have already tried two other forms of treatment.

But top skin doctor Tony Chu says this isn’t happening.

Roaccutane hidden information

“An awful lot of people are being offered Roaccutane almost as a first-line treatment,” she said.

“It’s bad medicine. You know with Roaccutane you can get patients clear and off your books in six months rather than go through the mill and try them on a variety of things until you hit on the thing that will actually work for them.”

Dr Chu says doctors have no way of knowing which patients will get mental health side effects.

But it can take many months to find the right combination of alternative treatments like oral antibiotics and skin creams which is frustrating if acne’s ruining your life.

Different treatments instead of Roaccutane

After spending two years trying different antibiotics and creams 22-year-old student Charlotte Bowser from Truro was desperate to try Roaccutane.

“When I heard about it I was like: ‘Wow! Give it to me now’. I’d tried so many different lotions from my GP.

“I had one that bleached my hair and clothes. And I had another one that was like pouring lemon juice on a cut. That was horrible. I hated it.”

Roaccutane gave Charlotte bad mood swings, but it did get rid of her spots. It also worked for 17-year-old Luke from Hereford.

He said: “I didn’t feel depressed but what I definitely did get, and what a lot of people do say, is that your energy levels are so incredibly low. I always wanted sleep.

I learned about Phillips Milk of Magnesia by reading Paula Begoun’s book, “Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me.” Magnesium is a great oil absorber and soother/healer, and it is a lot less smelly, cumbersome, and hard to wash off than most clay masks.

This product is so effective at absorbing oil, you can even apply a thin layer under makeup to reduce shine during the day! This takes a little practice; if you get it on too thick you get white powdery residue, but you just have to use a small amount and let it dry. Then gently wipe away any excess before you apply makeup! This helps get rid of red, irritated skin and helps dry up acne when you use it overnight.

 Not precisely a miracle product, but very good in the fight against acne and oily skin.

Make sure you get Original and not mint! Mint can irritate the skin!After using milk of magnesia on his face for only two weeks, his skin has improved. It is so much better that instead of hiding behind shoulder-length hair, he got his hair cut so his face can actually be seen now.

Milk of magnesia definitely works on severe acne. Be sure to get the original flavor of MoM, because the mint one contains mineral oil. It’s wonderful to have my son smiling again.

Dermatologists are skeptical that milk of magnesia would be helpful against acne even though a letter in the Archives of Dermatology (January 1975) stated that topical application of MoM might reduce redness and inflammation.

We have received a number of testimonials like yours. Certainly there is little harm in trying MoM on blemishes.