If you suffer from acne, zits, whitehead pimples and blackheads, you likely are desperate to find an easy cure for face acne, back acne, even acne in some private places on your body.
As you know, from personal experience, there are almost too many acne skin care programs around.
For those of you who need some direction or are new acne victims, let me give you 4 broad categories of acne skin care products that might help you in your search for a solution.
1.
There is, of course, preventative or mild acne skin care products.
2.
Non-prescription or drug store remedies.
3.
Targeted acne skin care by prescription from your doctor or dermatologist.
4.
Home remedies.
The first category of products are aimed at preventing acne altogether or, at the least, preventing acne from becoming rampant and ruining your quality of life and relationships.
These are general skin care products that promise cleaner skin and cleaner skin is the main goal whether or not you suffer from acne..
This category also includes skin cleaners for general use and for removing makeup.
Some of these even claim that they can help prevent whitehead pimples and blackheads by unclogging skin pores, one of the main factors that facilitate the start of acne.
To be frank, quality skin care products should always be part of a daily skin cleansing routine, whether or not you have acne, because they are designed to focus on the causes of acne by controlling the production of skin oil which clogs skin pores and leads to acne.
The aim, of course, is to prevent the oil from getting trapped in pores and causing the growth of bacteria that lead to acne.
There is also a group of mild acne skin care products that are known as exfoliates.
These act like professional chemical skin peeling but are much milder.
In effect, these products peel away dead skin cells to make way for new cells.
These new cells give us fresher and smoother skin.
If you have severe acne, however, these mild solutions will not help very much because they are mainly designed to prevent severe acne in the first place.
Next, we have products that are more effective of the non-prescription category.
These are more expensive and do make some big promises.
These include products that are designed to remove excess oil from skin pores.
Most of these non-prescription acne treatments are formulated with active ingredients specifically designed to kill acne-causing bacteria.
A word of caution here: Read the labels! Look for an acne treatment product that has lower concentration of benzoyl peroxide, about 5% by volume, and see how your skin reacts to it.
There are also skin moisturizers that use formulations of alpha-hydroxy-acid, another killer of acne bacteria.
It's no wonder that these formulations have become very popular because they have proven to work in mild cases.
Because of the large number of these non-prescription products being advertised, you would be wise to test a few on yourself to find just the right formulation that fits your skin type and level of oil production.
Again, read the labels because many of these products will tell you for what type of skin they work on most effectively.
Failing to find a solution through your testing, it may be time to go to the last resort, that is, consulting a skin care professional.
Only your doctor or dermatologist should be consulted for severe or chronic acne.
Only they can prescribe acne skin care products that will most closely address your particular level of this terrible affliction.
Some prescription solutions include creams or ointments that can be applied directly to the affected area.
There are also oral medications for the most severe pimples or inflammation.
Your doctor or dermatologist may also suggest minor or major surgical procedures such as cosmetic surgery, dermabrasion, or chemical peels.
These are the most expensive solutions unless they are covered under your health insurance as medically necessary.
Your doctor could also prescribe a hormone-based treatment, since hormonal changes are also known to cause acne.
Such severe acne treatments are known to be very effective in some cases.
Another word of caution: To avoid scarring and to prevent further bacterial infection, never try to squeeze pimples or blackheads.
This is a sure way to make the problem much worse and lead to permanent damage of your skin.
Some of the simplest solutions to try are various home remedies.
There are too many to mention here but you can find ample information on the blog.
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