It’s obvious that you’ll need to clean your face twice a day. While a gel cleanser is often recommended a green tea-based cleanser in a cream format will work to remove excess oil and assist you in treating African-American skin with acne.

A facial toner can be used to bring your skin and its pH level back into balance.

A natural exfoliate with jojoba wax beads will give you the right amount of exfoliation twice a week. Not to abrasive and won’t irritate your skin.   You can also use a green clay mask to pull the excess oils from your skin.

While a great skin care regimen will assist you in taking care of your skin externally, there’s nothing like making a complete lifestyle change for better skin care.

Changing your lifestyle can be your best acne treatment. Why? Because the results will be long-term and the changes that you make will be good for more than just your skin. Your overall physical health, mental health and skin health will benefit.

To make a lifestyle change sounds easy, but it can be hard to do. Everyone knows they need to exercise for at least an hour a day but how many people actually do it?

Most people experience acne as teenagers, and this is because of the upsurge in hormones as the body starts going through puberty.

OK, what you put in your mouth can make all the difference in whether or not you have active or in active acne. What most people don’t realize is that the foods that cause internal inflammation are the same foods that exacerbate acne breakouts.

When we speak of inflammation causing food, these are foods that trigger a rapid rise in blood sugar levels. When this happens, the pancreas gland excretes insulin. Insulin lowers your sugar levels back to a healthy range but in the process your body experiences inflammation.

It’s simple but isn’t easy. You can avoid inflammation by simply not eating foods that cause the rise in your blood sugar level. Foods that you have allergic reactions to also calls inflammation in the body

Some of the foods you might want to avoid:

• Pizza

• Soda – caffeinated and decaffeinated, regular and diet

• Bread made with enriched,  refined or white flour, this includes muffins, cookies, rice cakes and crackers.

• Processed foods with trans fatty acids and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils

• Dairy products — that means your cheese, milk, ice cream and half-and-half

• French fries and white potatoes

• Coffee

• Alcohol

• Sugar

Are you wondering what’s left for you to eat?  Here are some suggestions:

• Fish and Poultry but not fried. Baked, grilled, broiled or lightly sautéed is the way to go.

• Vegetables — bake, steam or broiled. When we say vegetables were talking about healthy green ones, white potatoes don’t count.

• Fruits — most fruits are good but we’re not including lemons, limes, grapefruits and oranges.

• Herbal teas

• Bread and cereals made from whole grain

Although the list contains foods that are not low-carb, they are definitely low in starches. It’s the starches that cause inflammation.

The secret to making these foods work is that if you have anywhere from 5 to 10 servings of vegetables and/or fruits every day, they’ll provide you with the fiber needed and give you plenty of antioxidants to nourish your skin.

Using natural products and maintaining a healthy eating regimen is a great prescription for treating acne and African-American skin.

Dedicated to your beauty,

Juliette Samuel,

Founder/Esthetician/Publisher

NYRAJU Skin Care – Natural Skin & Hair Care Products for People of Color

http://www.nyrajuskincare.com