Helpful Tips for Acne Treatment

Teenagers and young adults are often plagued by acne in their high school years but acne doesn't discriminate against age. Adults are often plagues by it also and it can leave a devastating effect on self esteem. Acne makes you feel ugly and less confident. However there are lots of ways to deal with it, from prescriptions to over the counter products and home remedies. But remember, not all products work for everyone. You will need to try different methods to find the right one for you..

The number one Acne treatment, in my opinion, it Proactive Solutions. I have been using it for over a year now and it works great. The results are quick and Proactive is a miracle product in itself. But it might not work for everyone. I read a review not too long ago from a very dissatisfied customer and I have to say I was very surprised by it myself because I have never heard anyone say that Proactive did not work for them before. But like I said, not everything works for everyone so you really need to keep looking until you find something you are happy with.

Proactive Solutions is a little expensive and I would never have tried it myself if I didn't get an offer through the mail to try it for free and only pay for shipping. Now I'm hooked and never want to be without it. There are cheaper methods and here are some of them.

1. We all know that your diet playa a big role in skin care. They used to say that eating chocolate and fried foods could cause acne but that has been said to be a myth. I can say that drinking plenty of water can help to keep your skin free of those dreaded pimples.

2. Benzoyl Peroxide is the main ingredient in over the counter acne treatments and is the most important ingredient that does the job. Trying an over the counter with benzoyl peroxide could do wonders for your acne problems. You need to watch out though because it can also cause skin irritation.

3. Visit your Dermatologist. They can recommend a prescription that might help you. There are many prescription treatments such as Clindamycin Gel, Tretinoin Gel, Nicomide and Isotretinoin. You can also talk to you Dermatologist about Photodynamic Therapy.

4. Home remedies. A fairly less expensive and natural route and you might already have the products in your kitchen cabinet. Keep in mind that the methods I am going to explain are not 100% proven and may not work for everyone but some people have said they work pretty well and it is definitely worth a try. According to the book, Best Choices from the People's Pharmacy, one reader shares one of his home remedies that helped him treat acne as a teenager. He simply washed his face with milk everyday and it cleared it right up. This doesn't sound like something many of us would want to do but since we all have milk in our Fridge then it might be worth a try. It does work for people in India. They mix milk with ground nutmeg and apply it to their blemishes as a treatment and according to them it works very well.

Another approach is a clay mask applied to your face. There are versions of it in drug-stores and cosmetic counters. Although it is not proven to work it is definitely worth a try. One teacher who taught pottery classes in the Dominican Republican said that his students smeared liquid clay on their faces for their acne and it worked great for them.

Another home remedy that has been known to work for some people is nutmeg and honey. This calls for mixing a teaspoon of powdered nutmeg with a teaspoon of honey and putting it on the pimple for 20 minutes then rinsing it off. This has worked for some people so give it a try. You can also try ground cinnamon and honey to make a paste. Put it on your blemishes and leave it on overnight. Since these home remedies have not been proven it is up to you whether you want to try it or not.

Ever heard of the natural product, Tea Tree Oil? I haven't until I read about it. An Australian study compared a gel made from an extract of the Australian tree, Melaleuca Alternifolia to a popular over the counter acne treatment, Benzoyl Peroxide. Scientists conducted a 124 patient study and found that even though the results were longer with the tea tree oil -5 percent gel, the benefits were better because there were no side effects. Benzoyl peroxide was essentially faster but it does have it's side effects such as skin dryness, stinging, itching, burning, and redness of the skin. So you see with the natural tea tree oil it is better even though it is slower. If you can't find a water-based tea tree oil gel then look for a cleanser with tea tree oil already in it and it should be readily available. Some people are allergic to tea tree oil so use precaution when trying it and try a dab on the inside of your forearm first.

Have you ever heard some people say that acne is caused by dirt and you need to scrub your face with a harsh and gritty cleanser? Well this is not true at all. Simply cleaning your face gently with a non-drying cleanser such as Dove, Cetaphil, or CeraVe is a good recommendation. Also your cosmetics and sunscreens should be non-comedogenic, which means they prevent blackheads. You can find this information on the label of your sunscreen and cosmetics.

Here is a shocking home remedy for acne; Neosporin. I don't know if anyone else knew about this but I sure didn't. Simply apply Neosporin to your affected areas. A 39 year old woman was having trouble with acne pretty bad and was placed on topical prescription creams by her Dermatologist. Apparently the prescriptions did not work well for her at all and she decided to experiment with Neosporin ointment that most of us would normally use for cuts and scars. Her results were amazing! After only two weeks of using Neosporin on her blemishes her face almost cleared up completely. Any blemishes she might get now are very small and disappear within a few days of applying the Neosporin. This was very surprising to me since I have never heard of it. It just goes to show that there are a lot of inexpensive ways to treat acne that we have not heard of before. These sort of home remedies can save us a lot of money.

Birth control pills are another way to keep your skin clear but not everyone wants to use them. Your best bet would be to try the home remedies I have mentioned in this article since they are natural and inexpensive.

I hope this article has helped you to choose what will work best for you and I hope by using the home remedies you will save a ton of money.