Finding an acne skin care product that really works and doesn’t cause uncomfortable side effects is a never-ending battle for many patients. With all of the “miracle” acne medicines that claim to banish your pimples overnight, it’s no wonder consumers are skeptical.

If you frequently suffer from acne outbreaks, there are several topical skin care products available as an alternative to oral prescription drugs. Acne medicine in the form of topical creams or gels generally has fewer and less serious side effects.

What Causes Acne

Acne occurs when a hair follicle becomes clogged and bacteria grow on the surrounding skin. The overgrowth of bacteria causes the skin to become inflamed and the result is acne in the form of pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, and boils.

Mild acne can be treated with over-the-counter formulations, but moderate to severe cases call for stronger prescription acne medicine.

Acne Affects All Ages

When someone mentions acne, the first thought that comes to mind is a pimply-faced teenager. But acne is not restricted to this age group. Both young and middle aged adults make up a large percentage of patients who use acne skin care products on a regular basis.

Like teens, adult patients often feel embarrassment and anxiety about their skin’s appearance. Finding an acne medicine that works quickly and prevents future outbreaks is important to acne sufferers of all ages.

Acne Skin Care Tip – Seek a Physician’s Advice

It’s best to seek a dermatologist’s advice before selecting an acne medicine to use over the long term. Some skin care products are effective initially but after extended use they may not produce the same results.

A dermatologist is better qualified than your family physician to recommend an acne medicine that best suits your skin care needs, depending upon the severity and frequency of your acne outbreaks.

Advantages of Topical Creams as Acne Medicine

Some prescription acne medicine in pill form can produce unwanted side effects almost as troubling as the acne itself. In order to avoid these complications, many doctors will prescribe a topical cream instead of oral medications.

These acne skin care creams and gels are often just as effective as skin care pills. Topical skin care products can also be used by patients who may be unable to take prescription pills due to drug interactions.

BenzaClin Topical Cream

BenzaClin topical gel is a prescription acne medicine commonly used to treat mild to moderate acne. Unlike other skin care products that require some time before an improvement is noticed, BenzaClin works quickly to treat skin care problems such as acne vulgaris.

Patients wishing to try BenzaClin can do so without the worry of serious side effects that frequently accompany many oral prescriptions drugs. The most common side effects caused by BenzaClin are usually limited to the skin and may include dryness, redness, or itching in the affected area.

BenzaClin acne medicine is applied to acne outbreaks just twice a day. Its active ingredients include clindamycin and benzoyl peroxide.

Benzoyl peroxide is a well-known acne medicine that reduces both oily skin and inflammation. Clindamycin is a powerful antibiotic that kills the bacteria responsible for acne outbreaks.

Coupled together, these two ingredients are the basis for a potent acne skin care product that is generally well tolerated by most people.

Preventative Skin Care Tips – Recognizing Acne Triggers

In addition to finding an acne skin care treatment that works well for you, it is just as important to know what conditions or substances can trigger your acne outbreaks. Here are some tips to reduce your acne woes:

1. After an acne flare up, do not pick or scratch at the affected area. Doing so can postpone the healing process and lead to scarring. Instead, continue using your prescribed acne medicine or other skin care product until the condition subsides.

2. Don’t over wash or scrub your blemishes. Many acne sufferers think their skin condition is due to poor hygiene. This is not the case. In fact, many acne patients clean or wash their faces too often, which can aggravate the skin.

3. Although no specific foods have been linked to acne, eating a well balanced diet should be part of your overall health and skin care regime. By eating a healthy diet and avoiding an excessive amount of processed foods, you can improve your health as well as limit acne occurrences.

4. Get enough rest. While a good night’s sleep won’t rid your face of pimples, a regular schedule that includes at least six hours of uninterrupted sleep will help your body function better and limit the number of future acne outbreaks.

5. Try not to stress out over acne. Stress is one of the leading causes of acne in adults. To increase the effectiveness of your acne skin care product, try incorporating various stress techniques into your daily routine. Exercise or participate in some other activity that helps take your mind off of your acne.

Acne Introduction

Acne is the most common and chronic skin disease. It is an inflammatory condition of the sebaceous (oil) glands and hair follicles usually found on the face, the neck, chest and shoulders. Nearly eight out of ten young people between the ages of 12 and 24 suffer from the some degree of acne. It is closely related to the disturbance in the hormones experienced at puberty.

Acne Symptoms

Acne is characterized by the presence of comedowns or blackheads, pimples, small superficial sebaceous cysts and scars. There are over half a dozen forms of acne. All of them are concerned with sebaceous glands or the glands connected with hair follicles. The most common from of acne are blackheads and pimples.

Acne Causes

All forms of acne have their origin in wrong feeding habits, such as irregular hours of eating, improper food, excesses of starches and sugar, and fatty foods. Chronic constipation is another major cause of acne. If the bowels do not move properly, waste matter is not eliminated as quickly as it should be and the bloodstream becomes surcharged with toxic matter. The extra efforts of the skin to eliminate excess waste result in acne and other forms of skin disease.

Acne Treatment – Home Remedies for Acne

1. A pack made by boiling 50 gm of raspberry, strawberry or blackberry leaves with 1.5 litres of water for 3 minutes will give itching free and soothing skin. One of the well liked home remedies for acne.

2. Mix natural yoghurt and fine oatmeal to a thick paste, apply and leave to dry. Wash the face with luke warm water and pat dry it. Afterwards you can apply and antibiotic lotion depending on the skin type.

3. The latest method nowadays used for the treatment of acne skin is the aloevera. Soaps and gels made from aloevera serves a good purpose in healing the acne damaged skin. One of the best home remedies for acne.

4. The orange peel is valuable in the treatment of acne.

5. Make a paste by mixing honey and cinnamon powder. Apply the paste while sleeping and wash the face next morning. One of the simple home remedies for acne.

6. Unboiled milk mixed with besan has been proved effective for the daily wash of acne skin.

7. Mix 1 tablespoon groundnut oil with 1 table spoon lime juice for treating pimples. One of the effective home remedies for acne.

8. Apply fresh limejuice mixed with a half glass of boiled milk for treating pimples, blackheads and cracked skin.

9. Apply ripe tomatoes paste on pimples and wash it after keeping for an hour.

10. Apply fresh mint juice every night to treat acne.

11. Make a paste of salt in vinegar, keep it for 20-30 minutes and then wash.

12. Drink a glass of wheatgrass juice daily to remove acne.

13. Make a paste of turmeric powder in mint juice keep it for 30 minutes and then wash with luke warm water. One of the popular home remedies for acne.

14. Apply a paste of fresh fenugreek (methi) leaves in water, keep it overnight and wash the face with warm water next morning.

15. Mix lime juice and rose water in equal portions and apply every night after thoroughly washing the face. Keep for 30 minutes and then again wash the face and pat dry it. One of the common home remedies for acne.

Acne Prevention

Acne is common in teens and twenties, and a serious disorder of the sebaceous glands, requiring medical direction. To keep skin conditions under control, observe the following suggestions:

1. Reduce the oiliness of the skin.

2. Remove the blackheads regularly.

3. Have a well-balanced, regular diet with lots of fresh fruit juices.

4. Avoid emotions, high temperature, humidity, nylon and silk garments as they all block skin pores and promote acne.

5. Try to avoid chocolates, nuts, fried and fatty foods.

6. Vitamin C and vitamin E are antioxidants which rejuvenate the skin, so the diet rich in these vitamins should be included.

Cleaning methods to be followed for acne skin

1. Cleanse the face with medicated soap and warm water.

2. Apply acne cream or ointment all over the face and the neck.

3. Saturate cotton with an antiseptic lotion and touch each and every pimple or acne.

4. Steaming is an excellent way to clean all types of skin. It cleans the skin, stimulates the circulation and unclogs the blocked pores.

5. Electrical devices are available to produce steam–this process is known as a sauna facial and are highly beneficial for the cleaning of acne skin.

6. If your skin is dry, steam your face once a week. In the case of oily skins, steaming can be done daily. Steaming should be done by leaning over a large bowl of boiling water. Cover your head with a towel, making a tent around the bowl.

No medication will prove effective without balanced and healthy diet. So its important to take good diet before opting for any medication. Zinc is also and efficient mineral in dealing with acne. Along with diet, good and healthy living habits are also essential in preventing and treating acne.

Acne is one of the major health related conditions, which is common in teenagers and youngsters. Acne brings huge problems to teenagers. Teenagers who have acne feel isolated, ugly, and insecure. Who wouldn’t when everywhere you look, only clear faced (skinned) people are put on the pedestal.

Acne is an inflammatory disease involving the sebaceous glands of the skin; characterized by papules or pustules or comedones. Acne is the term for plugged pores (blackheads and whiteheads), pimples, and even deeper lumps (cysts or nodules) that occur on the face, neck, chest, back, shoulders and even the upper arms. Acne can simply be defined as a group of skin rashes which appear basically at the teenage. But it can occur at any age and can happen to anybody.

When people think of acne, usually the figure of a person comes up with an occurrence of red, inflamed pores on his or her face. Though this is the most common form, but is not the only type of acne which people experience. There are various types of acne which people may experience and there are numerous causes reported for acne.

Types of acne:

• Acne Vulgaris – most commonly experienced around puberty, typically of the face and shoulders/chest

• Acne rosacea – a red rash predominantly on the face

• Acne keloidalis nuchae (Pseudofolliculitis nuchae) – a rash caused by shaving

• Acne conglobata (Hidradenitis suppurativa) – chronic abscesses or boils of sweat glands and hair follicles; in the underarms, groin and buttocks, and under the breasts in women

• Acne cosmetica – acne caused by cosmetics

• Acne fulminans – an extreme form of acne conglobata

• Acne medicamentosa – acne caused by starting or stopping a medicine

• Baby acne – a rash seen on the cheeks, chin, and forehead of infants

• Chloracne – an acne rash caused by exposure to chlorinated hydrocarbons such as dioxins or PCBs.

These are the several types of acne but the common type which occurs usually is acne Vulgaris. Acne Vulgaris occurs at the time of puberty. It is most common in the teenagers.

Causes of acne:

As stated earlier, acne can be caused due to numerous reasons. But generally there are four major factors responsible for causing acne. They are:

• Overactive oil glands

• Blockage of the skin pores

• Activity of normal skin bacteria

• Inflammation

They act together to cause the characteristic pimples, whiteheads and blackheads associated with acne.

Treatment:

The treatment procedure of acne started many years ago. Since then the treatment procedure gradually developed into better form. Acne treatments are also of considerable antiquity:

• Ancient Rome: bathing in hot, and often sulfurous, mineral water was one of the few available acne treatments. One of the earliest texts to mention skin problems is De Medicina by the Roman writer Celsus.

• 1800s: Nineteenth century dermatologists used sulphur in the treatment of acne. It was believed to dry the skin.

• 1920s: Benzoyl Peroxide is used

• 1930s: Laxatives were used as a cure for what were known as ‘chastity pimples’

• 1950s: When antibiotics became available, it was discovered that they had beneficial effects on acne. They were taken orally to begin with. Much of the benefit was not from killing bacteria but from the anti-inflammatory effects of tetracycline and its relatives. Topical antibiotics became available later.

• 1960s: Tretinoin (original Trade Name Retin A) was found effective for acne. This preceeded the development of oral isotretinoin (sold as Accutane and Roaccutane) since the early 1980s.

• 1980s: Accutane is introduced in America

• 1990s: Laser treatment introduced

• 2000s: Blue/red light therapy

Some old treatments, like laxatives, have fallen into disuse but others, like spas, are recovering their popularity. Acne responds well to treatment, particularly if treated early, at the onset of the condition. Treatment is offered to:

• Prevent possible scarring

• Deal with inflamed and painful areas

• Limit the formation of new blackheads and whiteheads

• Lessen any stress or embarrassment associated with the acne

Mild acne can be treated with over-the-counter medications. More serious acne requires treatment by a dermatologist.

Mild acne is managed well by over-the-counter preparations such as benzoyl peroxide, Resorcinol, Salicylic acid, Sulfur, etc. Nowadays acne is also treated with Natural Acne Treatment. Natural acne treatment doesn’t have any side affects and it also totally affective in treating acne. Now acne no longer remains a big problem for the teenagers and the youngsters.