The Evolution of Miley
The past year has been one of change for tween sensation Miley Cyrus, star of the Disney Channel hit "Hannah Montana."
Have you ever been in the family room minding your own business when your 15-year-old sister lets out a bloodcurdling scream from the upstairs bathroom? The scream is so piercing that you wonder if Freddie Krueger is in the house. Then, seconds later, your sister runs into her bedroom proclaiming her life is over because she found a huge zit on her cheek!
Your skin does lots of things to keep you healthy. It keeps germs out, it sweats to help you cool off and it produces oils that keep you smooth and soft on the outside. To accomplish this, your skin contains different types of glands that lie beneath its surface.
As far as acne (zits, pimples, you know) goes, it's the oil (sebaceous) glands that are to blame. When kids become adolescents, hormones stimulate their sebaceous glands as well as other parts of the body. When sebaceous glands are stimulated, they produce more oil. Sebaceous glands are most prominent on the face, shoulders, chest and back.
A pimple forms when excess oil (sebum) and dead skin cells become trapped within your pores, the tiny holes in your skin. In addition, a particular bacterium that lives on the skin has a field day feasting on these oils. (The scientific name of this obnoxious microbe is Propionibacterium acnes.) When P. acnes chows down on sebum, it creates byproducts that cause inflammation. Doctors treat acne by using products that kill P. acnes and thin the skin to eliminate blackheads and prevent more from forming.
Health Top Tips Nutrition Love Lifestyle Happiness Weight LossHere are more things to know about acne.
-- Wash your face once or twice a day with mild soap and water.
-- Don't pop your pimples! Although you may succeed in spraying pus all over your mirror, the pimple will also pop beneath the surface, which can lead to a bigger, uglier zit.
-- Eating fatty foods does not make acne worse.
-- Acne medication can make you more likely to sunburn. Use sunscreen when you go outside.
-- Blackheads are not caused by dirt. They result from oil, black pigment (melanin) and dead skin cells that get trapped in pores.
-- Acne creams take three or four weeks to work, and they have to be used daily.
-- Howard Bennett