If your face has already broken out with pimples, the battle is not over. Your skin care after you have acne is just as important as the preventative measures you take, based on our home remedies.
What Does a Doctor
Do For Acne?
There's no reason to put up with serious acne, because a number of medications can treat it successfully. When should you see a dermatologist for your acne? When it seems serious or is causing scarring.
Children should be treated fairly young if they start showing signs of acne, especially if their parents suffered from severe acne. See a dermatologist if you:
Use benzoyl peroxide products for six to eight weeks and still have problems.
Have pustules larger than a match head.
Have nodules the size of the end of your little finger.
Have any scarring from your acne.
Today's arsenal of treatments include topical and oral antibiotics and a class of medications called retinoids. Tretinoin (Retin-A) is applied to the skin, while isotretinoin (Accutane) is taken orally. Pregnant women should not take isotretinoin; it has been shown to cause birth defects. It's considered a last-ditch treatment, but it's especially effective for cystic acne.
Do no harm. Don't pick, squeeze, rub, or otherwise manipulate those pimples, because doing so can spread bacteria and raise the risk of scarring. The plug at the top of the pore is like a balloon. You can pop it, but below the surface, the sebum, bacteria, and skin cells may be forced into the surrounding tissue, causing inflammation.
Use benzoyl peroxide. A number of over-the-counter (OTC) products contain this ingredient, which helps break up the plug of dead skin cells, bacteria, and oil in pores and cuts down on the bacteria as well. Start with the lowest concentration -- a 2.5 percent or 5 percent lotion or gel once a day. After a week, increase to twice a day, morning and night, if it doesn't irritate your skin. If your acne doesn't improve within four to six weeks, use a 10 percent lotion or gel once a day and, if needed, twice a day. Work your way up gradually, especially if you have sensitive skin, because the higher the concentration, the more irritating it may be. If it dries your skin too much, apply a mild moisturizer as well (either at a different time of day or after applying the benzoyl peroxide).
Give one of the other OTC products a shot. Other acne products contain sulfur or resorcinol, which help unplug oil glands by irritating the skin. Most dermatologists, however, believe that benzoyl peroxide is the most effective anti-acne ingredient available without a prescription.
Apply that OTC product for prevention, too. Use acne medication not only on pimples that have already formed but also on acne-free areas that are prone to breakouts. That can include your entire face (avoiding the lips and eyes, however), back, and chest.
Go easy on your face. You can't wash away acne with hot water and a rough washcloth. Washing only removes oils from the skin's surface, not from within the plugged ducts. Adults can suffer from both acne and dry skin. In fact, if you're too aggressive in your quest for cleanliness, you may very well end up drying out or irritating the sensitive skin on your face.
Don't exfoliate your face. Exfoliating refers to removing the top layer of dead skin cells using a rough washcloth, loofah, or specially designed product. But skin with acne is already irritated, and scrubbing can make things worse. Don't use brushes, rough sponges or clothes, cleansers with granules or walnut hulls, or anything else of that nature on the delicate facial skin. For the back and chest, where skin is less sensitive, you can try one of the acne scrub pads along with soap that contains benzoyl peroxide.
Though just about everyone has had to battle acne at one time or another, an unsightly blemish can still make you want to hide your face from the public. Hopefully you now have a better understanding of where acne comes from, and the home remedies you can take to both treat and prevent it.
