Acne Treatments
Looking for acne treatments that work is almost a right of passage with our teenage years. Most people have suffered with acne at some time in their life. Acne pimples are the most common affliction of our adolescent years. Even one or two acne blackheads can cause a great deal of anxiety in front of your bathroom mirror.Excessive face acne can leave you feeling depressed and can sometimes lead to acne scarring.
Although there is no real acne cure there are many treatments for acne which have proved to be effective for many sufferers. In some instances especially the mild cases it is possible get rid of acne completely. Vigorous acne treatment of even the most severe types can help prevent acne scars from forming. Skin acne known by the medical name acne vulgaris affects millions of people a year annually and can vary from quite mild to extremely severe.
The medical cause of acne is unknown but a heredity is thought to be one possible factor, so that if one of your parents had acne there is a strong likelihood you will also have it. Acne develops when the sebaceous glands in the skin become overactive as they do in adolescence. These glands create excessive amounts of sebum resulting in oily skin.
The two main types of body acne are non-inflammatory and inflammatory. In non-inflammatory acne, there are generally just a few whiteheads and blackheads on the face. This is a mild type of skin acne and the best acne treatment would be with the use of non-prescription drugs or, in the case of blackheads, with the prescription drug "Retin A".
At it's worst inflammatory acne can lead to disfiguring cysts and pitting scars on the face or other areas in the case of neck acne, back acne and chest acne. Cystic acne treatment usually involves prescription drugs and on rare occasions surgery may be required to treat inflammatory acne. The onset of acne usually starts around puberty at about eleven years for girls and thirteen years for boys.
Because boys bodies begin increased production of hormones that stimulate the activity of the sebaceous glands their acne is generally more severe. Girls also produce these hormones but in much smaller quantities. Why hormones are involved in the production of acne is not known but many teenage girls with acne have higher than normal hormone levels.
So what acne treatment products are available to clear up mild acne? Well firstly you could try one of the many non-prescription acne products and apply regularly. Although there are many branded names they will usually have one or more of the following active ingredients: sulfur, resorcinol, salicyclic acid, and benzoyl peroxide. As part of your acne control regime wash your face once or twice daily with unscented soap or cleansing lotion.
One drug dermatologists sometimes prescribe for severe acne is tretinoin which is known under the generic name of Retin A which is available in cream, gel and liquid forms. This should be applied to the skin every night before going to sleep. It is used mainly to remove blackhead acne and has some effect in treating pimples and pustules.Treating acne with Retin A you should expect to see results in two to three weeks, although occasionally it may be up to 6 weeks.
A side effect of the Retin A acne treatment that occurs in some but not all users is an increased sensitivity to sunlight. If you use Retin A you should stay out of the sun as much as possible cover up and use sun block. For the same reason you should not use sun lamps due to their ultraviolet rays. Retin A is drying, and can cause irritation or peeling of the skin. If this effect is noticed you should cut back on it's use for a while.
Because of the variability in the success rates of certain over the counter acne treatments and the unwanted side effects associated with some prescription acne cures many people are finding success with a revolutionary natural acne treatment.
This particular acne therapy which is available in the form of a self help information product is called "Acne Free in 3 days" and contains scientifically proven secrets that have allowed many followers of this unique system to be free of their acne in 3 days. You can read more about this unique acne treatment here.