Tuesday, July 26, 2011

What is a Boil?

As a Registered Nurse and Soap Crafter, I am often asked the question "What is a Boil?" Bottom line, it's an irritant that is embedded in your skin that your body is working hard to isolate and remove from the body. Much like a pearl is to a conch.

Many things can irritate the skin but usually it's an anaerobic bacterium or a staph infection that is irritating the area. Many bacteria produce enzymes that break down good tissue. Our body has a reaction to this, which is the inflammatory response. This inflammatory response to irritants can cause further skin break down if it gets out of control. Trying to reduce inflammation can be beneficial but much of the time anti-inflammatory medications can impair the immune system even further.

Sometimes boils can indicate something more serious. It is not normal to get boils deep in the skin often. This can indicate an impaired immune system. People with Diabetes or an impaired immune system often times have problems with skin infections, cysts and boils.

Our liver will often times metabolize hormones that would otherwise irritate organs including the skin. Teenagers are prone to breakouts because their livers are not mature enough to metabolize the increase of hormone production during puberty.

Acne is more of an inflammatory problem than it is a bacterial problem. Propionibacterium is abundant on all of our skin. Many people believe it is the cause of breakouts because it is the primary bacteria involved in a breakout. Propionibacterium alone would not cause a breakout. If this were true, a breakout would be highly contagious, which it is not.

There are many factors that can cause a breakout. Other than irritants the actual shape of a skin follicle can facilitate in a breakout. In order to reduce a breakout it is important to use mild friction along with a non-irritating soap. The reason it is so important to avoid irritation to the skin is due to inflammation. Inflamed skin will usually break out much more often than skin that is not inflamed.

People with oily skin break out often because of clogged follicles. Trying to dry the skin will not fix this problem because their bodies will work hard at reproducing the oil that has been lost.

Lotions can often times dry out the skin in some climates. Lotion also contains a large percentage of ester or wax, which can clog skin follicles. Lotion is usually a combination of ester, triglyceride, glycerin and water. Esters in oil are what make the skin water resistant. Esters also keep the body from losing too much water in a dry climate. Triglycerides will usually be absorbed by the skin often more than esters, which sit on top of the skin and inside of skin follicles. Triglycerides will give the skin a very soft feeling. It is good to have both Esters and Triglycerides in a moisturizer because this simulates the natural oil production of our skin.

Glycerin is water loving. It has no reason to be on the skin. Once the water evaporates from the lotion. The glycerin looks for more water. If the humidity level is high in your area, the glycerin can pull from this and the glycerin won't dry your skin so much. In dry climates, glycerin will often pull water from the skin. Oils high in triglycerides which are rarely irritating to the skin are Olive Oil and Hemp Seed Oil. Oils high in Esters would be Cocoa Butter or Shea Butter. It is VERY important to only apply a moisturizer to clean skin. Applying a moisturizer to skin with a large population of anaerobic bacterium will only facilitate a breakout.

Some people will add 3 percent Tea Tree Oil to a mix of these oils in order to reduce the population of Propionibacterium. Tea Tree oil's primary chemical constituent is terpinene 4 ol. This chemical is one of the very few naturally occurring chemicals that kill Propionibacterium. You should never apply undiluted Tea Tree Oil directly to the skin. Undiluted volatile plant oils or Essential Oils can cause severe skin irritation in some people.

It is also important to pay close attention to the chemical constituents that make up the oil. Each constituent has it's own chemical properties. Some naturally occurring chemical constituents are very irritating to some people. If you have trouble with skin irritation, it is best to use a fragrance free soap despite the therapeutic value of the volatile plant oil. Maintaining healthy skin is always about balance. There is no cure-all because inflamed skin has many possible causes. It is always important to pay close attention to anything that comes in contact with the skin, especially your own hands. Other factors can be types of fiber in clothing, detergents, cosmetics, medications, foods and many more.

I hope this article has given you some insight on how to treat your skin. Thank you for stopping by our site.

Sean R.

Monarch Soap

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